Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Nwaka Onwusa Full Interview

Transcript

Nwaka Onwusa Full Interview · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversation. I am your host, Rushan McDonald.
0:04
Speaker 1: I recognize that we all have different definitions of success.
0:08
Speaker 1: For some, it's a sizeable paycheck. Mine is helping people
0:11
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0:14
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0:18
Speaker 1: listening to Money Making Conversations. I want you to stop
0:21
Speaker 1: tripping over small challenges and prepare to rise above the
0:24
Speaker 1: bigger obstacles that life will present to you. That's what
0:26
Speaker 1: we do on Money Making Conversations. My next guest, and
0:29
Speaker 1: Walker on Musa, is a black woman working in a
0:33
Speaker 1: white man world dominated. She's a startup. I'm telling I've
0:38
Speaker 1: done several interviews on Money Making Conversation and said you
0:41
Speaker 1: gotta speak to and walcome. You got a big to him.
0:44
Speaker 1: She's the next level, next level. So we're gonna find out.
0:47
Speaker 1: She is the vice president and chief creator at the
0:51
Speaker 1: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Walker as a
0:53
Speaker 1: music level, a contemporary bohemian with an old soul. I mean,
0:58
Speaker 1: that's that's young people. You know you've ever been around
1:00
Speaker 1: up coming room and go She teamed, but she talked
1:02
Speaker 1: like she forty. That's that's you know, we'll talk to her.
1:06
Speaker 1: We're talking like she like she Secily Tyson. That's what
1:10
Speaker 1: we're actually gonna be interviewed Sicily Tyson on the show
1:12
Speaker 1: to day. That's how soul. That's our spirited. She is
1:14
Speaker 1: in the nameties at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
1:17
Speaker 1: and Walker develops informative immersive exhibits celebrates the diversity of
1:20
Speaker 1: musical expression during this period of civil unrest. Music has
1:24
Speaker 1: this role, especially from a historical specter. Please welcome to
1:27
Speaker 1: money making Conversations and Walker and Woosa Is that right? Yes,
1:37
Speaker 1: I don't know what's Once you get past the name,
1:39
Speaker 1: we're all good and mark up, come on the way.
1:43
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, I'm honored to me. This is crazy.
1:46
Speaker 1: Just listening to the intro, I'm like, damn going up.
1:49
Speaker 1: But I have been, like you know, and I've interviewed.
1:52
Speaker 1: I've been fortunate and blessed with the show because I've
1:54
Speaker 1: been doing it and interviewed a lot of great people.
1:56
Speaker 1: And when the name starts popping up, if you didn't
1:59
Speaker 1: be and walkome man, she on fire, that's okay, cool, okay,
2:04
Speaker 1: But then everybody kept you know know she you know
2:05
Speaker 1: she got that old spirit. You know she you know
2:08
Speaker 1: she she's young when she talked like you about fitting,
2:10
Speaker 1: you know, she tells about that old who soul and
2:17
Speaker 1: this young body and talk about that and why people
2:20
Speaker 1: why people are so engaged with your person. Now, I
2:23
Speaker 1: know that's that's a lot to say, because you know,
2:25
Speaker 1: your your spirit wasn't was designed to just talk about yourself.
2:30
Speaker 1: But when people talk about you, you have to be
2:32
Speaker 1: delivering something to them that made them excited and made
2:36
Speaker 1: them respectful to make you a recommendation. That's all you
2:39
Speaker 1: wanted life. You want people to recommend you to. That's
2:42
Speaker 1: like a good that's like a credit reference, right, sore reference. Right.
2:47
Speaker 1: So talk about it being the vice president chief curator,
2:50
Speaker 1: because I'm that's a big word, curator. We're gonna get
2:52
Speaker 1: to that word in a minute. But just tell me
2:54
Speaker 1: what people think so much of it? Waka, oh my god.
2:58
Speaker 1: Well I again honored um to be on this call
3:02
Speaker 1: and to be speaking with you. Um, I you know what,
3:05
Speaker 1: I'm just gonna leave it as um. It's a guide
3:09
Speaker 1: in me. I'm just gonna leave it as that because
3:11
Speaker 1: I don't have the full answer for that. But UM,
3:14
Speaker 1: I know I'm passionate about my work and I can
3:17
Speaker 1: definitely blame that on my parents. UM, both my mom
3:20
Speaker 1: and dad. UM hard workers, entrepreneurs, UM, very strong work ethic,
3:27
Speaker 1: and that is what powers me. That's what feels me.
3:30
Speaker 1: So you know, I'm all about the work and let's
3:33
Speaker 1: just get it done. And UM having an opportunity to
3:36
Speaker 1: curate and put out different, um, a number of different
3:40
Speaker 1: exhibits with different varying topics. UM, you know, probably that's
3:45
Speaker 1: what people are feeling. But definitely the passion. So I'm
3:48
Speaker 1: sure that that's what folks are feeling. And music really
3:51
Speaker 1: is about passion. I know that I didn't. I didn't
3:56
Speaker 1: I couldn't read, but I knew that I knew my
3:58
Speaker 1: mom's favorite music. That's born. You can't read, But you
4:00
Speaker 1: know about Johnny Taylor because I knew that. I could
4:03
Speaker 1: just see the words that they put on that. So
4:05
Speaker 1: I didn't know that's sad, Johnny Taylor, but I knew
4:06
Speaker 1: those are the words you put together. That was my
4:08
Speaker 1: mom and dad's favorite music. And so because music plays
4:11
Speaker 1: that role and it means so much to us, what
4:15
Speaker 1: does it mean to you? Gosh, music is definitely a lifeline.
4:21
Speaker 1: Like what you said, you don't have to speak the
4:23
Speaker 1: same language, you don't need to read. Um. Music is
4:26
Speaker 1: just one of those things where you know you are
4:30
Speaker 1: you are moved the power of music. We hear these slogans, um,
4:34
Speaker 1: and it can found cheesy at times, but to truly
4:37
Speaker 1: feel the power of music, I'm gonna makes you cry, dance, laugh,
4:41
Speaker 1: I want to hit somebody. I mean, you got you
4:44
Speaker 1: got all kinds of range of emotions. But music is
4:47
Speaker 1: just so powerful and I love that that is truly
4:49
Speaker 1: the universal language. It really is what connects us. It
4:52
Speaker 1: doesn't matter where you from, what walk you're walking. Um,
4:56
Speaker 1: that's what I love about music. I mean the messages
4:59
Speaker 1: that are in the in the music, that's what it
5:02
Speaker 1: is inspiring to me. You know. It was really interesting that,
5:05
Speaker 1: you know, because I look at my life, you know,
5:07
Speaker 1: and uh uh you know, I look at how music
5:11
Speaker 1: has played a role, and I degrees in mathematics and
5:15
Speaker 1: I can always remember a radio's important to me. And
5:19
Speaker 1: and then as I was touring on the road and
5:22
Speaker 1: stand up comic are certain song who just keep me awake,
5:25
Speaker 1: you know, uh, keep me Bruce Hornsby's at that first
5:30
Speaker 1: album put out, Graceland by Paul Side. You know those
5:34
Speaker 1: those songs, uh, you know, And and now I got
5:38
Speaker 1: my Pandora and I've just got if you listen to
5:41
Speaker 1: my Pandora, I got from Kim to Kirk Franklin to
5:45
Speaker 1: uh to uh to uh Bruce Springsteen, you know to
5:51
Speaker 1: you know that that to me. And then I got
5:54
Speaker 1: you know, flow Ride of My House. You know what
5:56
Speaker 1: I'm saying. I got, you know, I Rise, you know
6:00
Speaker 1: a d you know what I'm saying. So and so
6:04
Speaker 1: that's to me. When I listened to my when I
6:06
Speaker 1: when I go through that whole realm, I got Patty
6:09
Speaker 1: on there and and I just go and I got
6:11
Speaker 1: I got Willie Hut Show there. You know, it's just
6:15
Speaker 1: it's just it's just it's just it's so important. And
6:19
Speaker 1: then when you create a curator at the Rock and
6:21
Speaker 1: Roll Hall of Fame, that's like the mecca where every everybody,
6:25
Speaker 1: every artist who's done music wants to get there, like
6:27
Speaker 1: the Basketball Hall of Fame, like the Hall of They
6:30
Speaker 1: want to get there, right and you want to get
6:33
Speaker 1: MP and the creator explain that, explain that role, and
6:37
Speaker 1: then explain if there are pressure, what is the pressure
6:41
Speaker 1: being that person. You know, I'm still pinching myself. So
6:46
Speaker 1: this is a recent promotion that happens for me as
6:49
Speaker 1: a rock hall. And again, just to be a curator
6:52
Speaker 1: to your point where Sean as you were saying, just
6:54
Speaker 1: to even work at the Rock and Roll Hall of
6:56
Speaker 1: Fame and um be a curator there. Really, i'man was
7:01
Speaker 1: a dream. I didn't even know I had UM to
7:03
Speaker 1: be quite honest, you know, So to be there, I mean,
7:06
Speaker 1: we are running the narratives. Were as curators what curators do,
7:09
Speaker 1: We're writing the stories. We are the storytellers. You know,
7:12
Speaker 1: you have filmmakers who are sharing stories, you have novelists
7:15
Speaker 1: who are sharing stories. Will curators tell that story in
7:18
Speaker 1: the physical space, regardless of it's an art museum to
7:21
Speaker 1: a music museum. And so I'm happy to be there
7:24
Speaker 1: to shift um the narratives to um provide even more
7:29
Speaker 1: inclusion about amazing UM musicians and you know, and just
7:34
Speaker 1: to do that work. So it really is my citadel.
7:37
Speaker 1: I watched the Game of Thrones and I just really
7:39
Speaker 1: I'm honored, like it's my I feel like I'm a
7:42
Speaker 1: mister in the citadel. Like it's just such an honor.
7:46
Speaker 1: The collection UM is just beyond dope. I mean going
7:50
Speaker 1: over jeez, over thirty thou forty thousand different artifacts collected. UM.
7:55
Speaker 1: They're so impactful of musical history, UM, to the fabrics
7:59
Speaker 1: of who we are. I mean there's you know, I'm
8:02
Speaker 1: kind of going all over the place. I'm just excited
8:04
Speaker 1: about it. But the thing about it is that no,
8:06
Speaker 1: you're not. Because when you when you walk in and
8:09
Speaker 1: you and Heaven, you know, it's like it's like a
8:11
Speaker 1: no different than I'm sure when they put the African
8:14
Speaker 1: American Museum together. There's so many likes and it's something
8:19
Speaker 1: made you cry, some made you emotional, some made you
8:22
Speaker 1: I can't believe this. I didn't know. And that's why
8:27
Speaker 1: I started our conversation just talking about music in general,
8:30
Speaker 1: because you can't have this job being a singular thought person.
8:35
Speaker 1: You know, I just like country, I just like a rock,
8:39
Speaker 1: I just like rap. You have to have a palette
8:42
Speaker 1: of music. That's like I was talking about, you know,
8:45
Speaker 1: like I said, I'm a toopod guy. You know what
8:46
Speaker 1: I'm saying. You know, but I listened to Snoop too,
8:50
Speaker 1: you know, I know, like I said, a great Sleight album.
8:54
Speaker 1: You know, you can call me al. I can just
8:56
Speaker 1: remember that video with Chevy Chase and Paul Simon like
8:59
Speaker 1: it's playing on TV right now today. You know, you've
9:02
Speaker 1: got to be born in the USA, you know, you know,
9:06
Speaker 1: you got to be able to understand that's just some
9:09
Speaker 1: of the songs, but it's even deeper than that, and
9:11
Speaker 1: so that's what you've been. You know, a person of color.
9:16
Speaker 1: People can question whether you should be in that position. Absolutely,
9:21
Speaker 1: you know, I will I mean a number of experiences, um,
9:24
Speaker 1: but one of them rings out so plainly for me.
9:28
Speaker 1: I've started my career, my curating career, UM, a museum
9:32
Speaker 1: career for that fact, at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles,
9:36
Speaker 1: and UM, you know there was an exhibit specifically, I
9:39
Speaker 1: remember it right now, what's called the Sounds of Laurel Canyon,
9:43
Speaker 1: California Dreaming and that's you know, you're talking about Buffalo,
9:46
Speaker 1: Springfield and Johnny Mitchell, and I mean you're hitting on
9:51
Speaker 1: all of these really phenomenal bands, UM, predominantly white bands, UM.
9:56
Speaker 1: And you know, doing my research knowing the photographers no
10:00
Speaker 1: were the key players with this movement. But I remember,
10:03
Speaker 1: I will not forget there was a writer who came
10:06
Speaker 1: in and like, you know, number one, they were looking
10:08
Speaker 1: for Waker. My name is kind of ambiguous, so like
10:12
Speaker 1: who is Waka? Where is she? I remember looking for
10:15
Speaker 1: a Japanese woman one, So that was already that was like, okay,
10:19
Speaker 1: now I be black, um, and why not know him
10:23
Speaker 1: as Japanese. Gotta be Japanese. That's close. So hey, we
10:34
Speaker 1: all connected from the continent. So we're looking for a
10:37
Speaker 1: Japanese woman, um, and they find out that I'm black,
10:41
Speaker 1: and so the feedback was just like damn um whole
10:44
Speaker 1: And so even to your intro, like, Waka, you've curated
10:47
Speaker 1: this Laurel cay and exhibit and you're black. And I
10:50
Speaker 1: was about thirty or twenty nine or something at that point. Okay,
11:01
Speaker 1: there we go fifty and spirit and that's when that
11:04
Speaker 1: came out, and that's how that was manifested. But yeah,
11:07
Speaker 1: I mean it's just you know, I like, I like
11:10
Speaker 1: I like having an ambiguous name. I like if people
11:13
Speaker 1: can't tell if I'm a male or female or you know,
11:17
Speaker 1: like I love that. Um. Just let's the work speak
11:19
Speaker 1: for it. Though. So they came not knowing, oh I
11:22
Speaker 1: was a black woman. Um. They came because hey, this
11:25
Speaker 1: is a dope topic and it's timely for that time,
11:28
Speaker 1: you know, for that period. Um, but let's just check
11:31
Speaker 1: it out. But yeah, yeah, let's just check it out
11:34
Speaker 1: because this is interesting. It's really amazing when I you know,
11:37
Speaker 1: when I say that, I find so much fun. You know,
11:40
Speaker 1: first of all your energy and you came so you know,
11:43
Speaker 1: so I know the people I talked to that they
11:45
Speaker 1: have personalities and they're very opinionated people. When they say, man,
11:48
Speaker 1: you need talk to you. She's your son. We just
11:52
Speaker 1: we just stocked. Can we take interviewing you? I gotta
11:55
Speaker 1: hit it all that out, okay. And so yeah, so
12:01
Speaker 1: when when I look at when I look at her,
12:03
Speaker 1: you said, you started the Grammy Museum. Okay, tell us
12:05
Speaker 1: about your you know, because people want to know how
12:08
Speaker 1: you get these gigs. You know, what did you? Can
12:11
Speaker 1: you sing? Your your spoken word? Artist? Can you play
12:14
Speaker 1: an instrument? You degree? When did you go to college?
12:17
Speaker 1: Major in music or art? One of those key things
12:22
Speaker 1: that got you in this position at the Grammy Museum
12:26
Speaker 1: and now at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
12:28
Speaker 1: as the vice president and curate chief. Give me chief.
12:33
Speaker 1: She's a c c at the Rock and Roll Hall
12:35
Speaker 1: of Fame. Just keep people just see see her. Who's that? No?
12:38
Speaker 1: The chief creator? Okay, oh my god. Well the longest
12:45
Speaker 1: short um is essentially I just will say it is
12:49
Speaker 1: my title. Thing is just definitely out of your comfort zone. Um.
12:52
Speaker 1: I had no idea. Again, I'm a daughter of an
12:57
Speaker 1: immigrant mother from the South, like I had no idea
13:00
Speaker 1: of what a curator was. So that was not my
13:02
Speaker 1: initial aspiration. Nor did I truly understand the the impact
13:08
Speaker 1: of museum. Um. You know, at a younger age for
13:11
Speaker 1: someone to say, hey, you know, I'm going in as
13:13
Speaker 1: a back you know, as an undergrad with museum studies,
13:17
Speaker 1: it was not. That was not me um. So again
13:20
Speaker 1: my passion just for music in general, not having access
13:24
Speaker 1: to it because I grew up in a very Pentecostal
13:28
Speaker 1: home where we were only listening to gospel music. I
13:30
Speaker 1: mean maybe some maybe some James Brown, you know, some obviously,
13:35
Speaker 1: some Supremes, a lot of motown um in general. So
13:39
Speaker 1: I was able to at least be introduced to these
13:41
Speaker 1: foundational musicians in our music. Come on, you know my dad,
13:47
Speaker 1: look cut my dad. Being Nigerian, we got to Bob
13:50
Speaker 1: Marley of course and say line all of these you know, yeah,
14:00
Speaker 1: because we're gonna do it like a name that tune
14:05
Speaker 1: in a minute. You know what I'm saying, I might hurt,
14:08
Speaker 1: You might get yourself hurt. Don't don't hurt read um.
14:15
Speaker 1: But you know, I'm just truly stepping out of my
14:17
Speaker 1: comfort zone. Is how I got started at the Grammy Museum,
14:20
Speaker 1: from you know, stepping up to volunteering myself to curate
14:24
Speaker 1: my first exhibit, which is called hip Hop a Cultural Odyssey,
14:28
Speaker 1: and just to really launch out and reach and connect
14:30
Speaker 1: different artists and uh managers and public that this is
14:34
Speaker 1: a whole business. When you're working in a music museum,
14:37
Speaker 1: it's interesting because you know, your foot is in the
14:40
Speaker 1: music industry to an extent, in your foot is in
14:43
Speaker 1: the museum world. Um so. So I love that that
14:47
Speaker 1: makes things so interesting. Um So to grow in that
14:51
Speaker 1: and just learn and working with such a prominent organization
14:54
Speaker 1: like they're Recording Academy. Um definitely. You know now looking
14:58
Speaker 1: at it, I mean because I did write this script, um,
15:01
Speaker 1: but looking at it now, to be at the Rocket
15:03
Speaker 1: Roll Hall of Fame is such an honorable um progression
15:08
Speaker 1: in my career and I'm just look, I started out
15:11
Speaker 1: in the box topice, working part time okay, um, I okay,
15:16
Speaker 1: so that's the real you know, the real deal. And
15:18
Speaker 1: I was like, damn, okay, so I can. I can
15:21
Speaker 1: do this and love music as much as I do.
15:24
Speaker 1: Like so yes, I do think play a mean old tambourine.
15:27
Speaker 1: Don't have any come on you on your show and
15:30
Speaker 1: do that. You have to ruing me onside that ass, right,
15:38
Speaker 1: But you know, starting out just taking chances. I I
15:41
Speaker 1: had no idea what the Grammy Museum had to offer,
15:44
Speaker 1: but again put it in the work, starting from the bottom,
15:47
Speaker 1: hustling and growing and seeing how how the institution works,
15:51
Speaker 1: how it's built, UM, and seeing that from the doors. UM,
15:55
Speaker 1: I think I had the best of you in that
15:57
Speaker 1: institution from um from being a ticket takers so that
16:01
Speaker 1: was really interesting. Like I had the ticketmaster background and
16:05
Speaker 1: knew how to build shows and all of that. So
16:07
Speaker 1: again just utilizing all of my talents, then my passion
16:11
Speaker 1: for the music, passion for education, UM, all of those
16:14
Speaker 1: things were able to be UM used in one place.
16:18
Speaker 1: And that's why I was like, Wow, this is this
16:20
Speaker 1: is the thing, this is it for me. All of
16:22
Speaker 1: the other ideas that I thought I had for myself,
16:25
Speaker 1: UM kind of went up the window. You know, I
16:28
Speaker 1: wanted to be an attorney. I wanted to be an
16:30
Speaker 1: entertainment lawyer. And I'm like, I still get to deal
16:32
Speaker 1: with um lawyers and attorneys all the time, with the
16:35
Speaker 1: states and dealing with contracts. So I get to you know,
16:38
Speaker 1: scratch that itch, you know. UM. The music part again,
16:42
Speaker 1: that's daily. UM. But there's just so much that I
16:45
Speaker 1: get to do in this role, and I'm honored and
16:48
Speaker 1: really in the education component of it, was excited to
16:52
Speaker 1: share my path and my journey with youth to know that,
16:55
Speaker 1: you know, you don't have to know everything, you don't
16:58
Speaker 1: know need to know what you want to be leaving college,
17:01
Speaker 1: leaving right out of high school or whatever it is,
17:04
Speaker 1: and especially in today's climate, but to know that you
17:07
Speaker 1: can find a career in a museum or um. You know,
17:10
Speaker 1: in these odd odd places, in these unique jobs. There's
17:15
Speaker 1: there's work to be done. And now with COVID, we're
17:18
Speaker 1: learning that there's so much to be done. UM, we're
17:20
Speaker 1: just evolving the way we create at this point. So UM,
17:24
Speaker 1: you know, it's really amazing. UM when our when our
17:28
Speaker 1: interview people are I look at my life, you know,
17:31
Speaker 1: because it starts someplace why these people forces need to
17:34
Speaker 1: be heard. And my minor in college, my degree is
17:37
Speaker 1: in mathematics. My mind was in sociology, sociology, and I
17:46
Speaker 1: always tell people that sociology changed my life, you know,
17:49
Speaker 1: because of the fact that it made me realize what
17:53
Speaker 1: why we're all fighting right now, that so much was
17:56
Speaker 1: denied educationally in my high school, real my middle school
18:00
Speaker 1: with they just stopped, you know, they know when they
18:03
Speaker 1: brought us over his slave, they freed us and then
18:06
Speaker 1: he swung forward to Brown versus a board of education.
18:09
Speaker 1: Then they went to mar Luther King. He got assassinated.
18:12
Speaker 1: That was it. That was our black history. And that's
18:14
Speaker 1: how that was our black participation in this country according
18:18
Speaker 1: to the people who allowed that information to y'all because
18:21
Speaker 1: they didn't want to let anybody know how we were mistreated.
18:24
Speaker 1: Like and that's what the that's why I respect about
18:27
Speaker 1: the Jewish community. They got their story, told the Jewish people,
18:30
Speaker 1: they're telling their story that they letting everybody know what
18:33
Speaker 1: the Germans did. And with the Holocaust world, don't you
18:35
Speaker 1: don't you try to bask this. Y'all did this to us.
18:39
Speaker 1: And so when it's happening with the blacks in America.
18:42
Speaker 1: And when you when I took this tote, it brought
18:44
Speaker 1: me the tears. I realized I didn't know. I didn't
18:47
Speaker 1: know because nobody allowed that information to be shared with me.
18:53
Speaker 1: So whenever I meet a fellow sociology major minor person,
18:59
Speaker 1: it's a certain because guess what, you know what I know.
19:02
Speaker 1: You know the pain that I'm talking about, you know
19:04
Speaker 1: the anger. Then I'm talking about the disappointment I have
19:07
Speaker 1: to say in the American educational system denying information. Come
19:13
Speaker 1: on now, and that's true. And then and then when
19:15
Speaker 1: you look at it too, I'm like, the role that
19:17
Speaker 1: we play and what we do in society is really
19:21
Speaker 1: to just be truth tellers, to really break the truth
19:24
Speaker 1: and whatever it is I mean, I mean, it's the
19:26
Speaker 1: most quote to be, to be a reflection of the times.
19:30
Speaker 1: And that's why I love you. And we can break it.
19:36
Speaker 1: Let's do it. You can't have the wine with it,
19:39
Speaker 1: but you know, and and it's and it's so true.
19:41
Speaker 1: I mean, whatever your career path is, be be an
19:45
Speaker 1: activist in that. And that's where I's like, hey, we
19:48
Speaker 1: can change the narrator. We can share stories that have
19:51
Speaker 1: never been told, or highlight musicians whose stories aren't out there,
19:54
Speaker 1: the Laverne Bakers of the world. I mean, let's share
19:58
Speaker 1: those stories, let's talk about those stories. And to be
20:01
Speaker 1: able to do that, like you're doing through your show,
20:04
Speaker 1: to do that in a museum like the Rock and
20:06
Speaker 1: Roll Hall of Fame or the Grammy Museum or whoever,
20:09
Speaker 1: the Smithsonian, it's an honor to write that history that
20:13
Speaker 1: people can then go back and have another and a
20:16
Speaker 1: fresh perspective based on something that you were able to
20:20
Speaker 1: to introduce. I think that's powerful. Well, talking to you
20:23
Speaker 1: is powerful. We're talking to you. Know why why I
20:26
Speaker 1: started this show. Every interview I go, I get more relaxed,
20:30
Speaker 1: I get more honest about because you know, started an idea.
20:32
Speaker 1: Everything starts with that idea. You don't know if people
20:34
Speaker 1: are buying too and people and you know, I remember
20:37
Speaker 1: I first started the show. You know, I didn't know
20:39
Speaker 1: if they was calling me because they know I knew
20:41
Speaker 1: famous people like Steve Harvey. I was managing them, or
20:44
Speaker 1: the calling because Rushan McDonald. They wanted to hear if
20:47
Speaker 1: they want to buy into what I was trying to say.
20:50
Speaker 1: And so now there's changed that people are understanding my
20:53
Speaker 1: message is about them. You know, you're the star, you know,
20:56
Speaker 1: but you know, but it's a start in different lane
20:58
Speaker 1: because everybody used to stars and on television and the
21:01
Speaker 1: favor But the stars of the entrepreneurs stars are the
21:04
Speaker 1: people of the machines, the people who we call the movies,
21:08
Speaker 1: and the shakers of this business who sometimes imply private planes,
21:12
Speaker 1: and the people who you consider the star still on
21:15
Speaker 1: first class, you know. And that's how businesses. And I'm
21:18
Speaker 1: talking to Reset to Stay, I'm talking to the vice
21:21
Speaker 1: president and chief Career Curator I call u c C
21:25
Speaker 1: at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cleveland.
21:28
Speaker 1: You know, see, I will just tell you all this.
21:30
Speaker 1: I'm just catching that on the on the on the
21:34
Speaker 1: on the ride, on the ride, because you know, she
21:36
Speaker 1: was just she was. Cleveland just did a big spread
21:39
Speaker 1: on her a few days ago. She said, yes, you're right.
21:46
Speaker 1: How you know all that stuff? How you know that?
21:48
Speaker 1: Because Sai, I know we can see you all. I'm
21:51
Speaker 1: not the pertinent proclaiming you as the next big star
21:56
Speaker 1: in this, in this, in this what when I say
21:58
Speaker 1: a perfect time. She's black, she's beautiful, she's informative, she
22:05
Speaker 1: has a resume. You know, I always hear people you
22:07
Speaker 1: know the next step is president, face President. You're not
22:13
Speaker 1: down there, you know, You're not down there selling tickets
22:16
Speaker 1: no more, you know what I'm saying. And I like
22:17
Speaker 1: her because she got two titles. You know what I'm saying.
22:20
Speaker 1: She walked around just cause she get bored of being
22:22
Speaker 1: the VP. Can just be a chief creator? Right? Que
22:28
Speaker 1: what you doing over here? Chief creators in the room.
22:35
Speaker 1: So so let's let's tell everybody what her chief creator.
22:38
Speaker 1: It's not something some some contraption in your kitchen to
22:42
Speaker 1: make break. Okay, it's not a blender if you get
22:47
Speaker 1: buy on late night TV. Okay, what is a It's
22:51
Speaker 1: not a vita mix? Uh juicer? What is the chief creator?
22:57
Speaker 1: Oh my god? Yes? But essentially, the website dictionary term
23:10
Speaker 1: for curator is truly just the keeper of the collection
23:14
Speaker 1: or the custodian of the museum. So I'm overseeing the
23:19
Speaker 1: entire territorial Affairs division. And so that's from our library
23:24
Speaker 1: and archives UM into our collections, into our curators and preparators,
23:30
Speaker 1: and I mean it's a it's a team that makes
23:32
Speaker 1: all of this move and work. So UM I advantaging
23:36
Speaker 1: that team, overseer of that UM and making sure that
23:40
Speaker 1: you know the narratives and the stories the artifacts that
23:43
Speaker 1: we collect UM are relevant, are powerful UM and are
23:48
Speaker 1: making sure that we're keeping the museum UM moving forward,
23:52
Speaker 1: keeping the community moving forward, keeping our perspectives moving forward.
23:57
Speaker 1: So I'm again honored to be in the role, like
24:00
Speaker 1: to be a gatekeeper, even it's just an honor. So
24:04
Speaker 1: so yeah, that's that's my job as chief curators. How
24:08
Speaker 1: I would would it now that even came down You
24:12
Speaker 1: got me cackling over here. I need for water like water. Okay, Uh,
24:24
Speaker 1: your latest exhibit has been said all alone has been
24:27
Speaker 1: said along with voices of rage, hope, and empowerment. Share
24:31
Speaker 1: with us you know what that is about and what
24:34
Speaker 1: it's important because when when we we we started out
24:36
Speaker 1: talking about the importance of music, and and you was
24:39
Speaker 1: like you said, walking in, how do you get the information?
24:41
Speaker 1: How do you how does information come to you? Our
24:44
Speaker 1: records come to you, or guitars coming to you or
24:47
Speaker 1: jackets coming to you. Because all this is a part
24:50
Speaker 1: of the process of what should be in the in
24:53
Speaker 1: the museum and why it's important to put in the
24:55
Speaker 1: museum because aren't you kind of like limited on your
24:58
Speaker 1: space because the building is a in size and then
25:03
Speaker 1: what do I what I put it? I just put
25:05
Speaker 1: it on video. Now how do you continue to grow
25:08
Speaker 1: your brand? Right? UM, you're completely like thousand percent correct
25:13
Speaker 1: that we have a finite space of what we can
25:18
Speaker 1: you know, exhibit in the museum, UM, a finite number
25:21
Speaker 1: of galleries in the museum and a growing collection, which
25:26
Speaker 1: is absolutely beautiful to have a you know, a solid
25:30
Speaker 1: permanent collection that can help to tell tell a story
25:33
Speaker 1: like it's been set all along. UM. I was really
25:36
Speaker 1: grateful to be able to just pull artifacts from our
25:41
Speaker 1: collection that have either never been on display before UM
25:45
Speaker 1: or to you know, go out and look for a
25:48
Speaker 1: new artifacts to help UM further the conversation with newer
25:53
Speaker 1: artists who are making music now and who are are
25:56
Speaker 1: new UM cooners and culture shifters of today, UM, and
26:00
Speaker 1: to continue to tell that story. So, you know, in
26:04
Speaker 1: this world, in this pope, curating through COVID, as I
26:07
Speaker 1: call it UM, which is something that we're all doing.
26:10
Speaker 1: UM is recurating how we reach people. So to do
26:15
Speaker 1: things virtually now virtual exhibits, you know, was something that
26:20
Speaker 1: museums played with, but it's now something that we're having
26:23
Speaker 1: to rely more heavily on just because you know, tourism
26:27
Speaker 1: is down. Museums are closed UM permanently or you know, temporarily.
26:32
Speaker 1: So we have to find new ways of reaching our audience.
26:35
Speaker 1: So to go beyond the gallery space, to go beyond
26:39
Speaker 1: ten thousand square feet or seven thousand square feet UM
26:42
Speaker 1: and make it virtual where the globe can see the
26:46
Speaker 1: work and and learn from it and be inspired and
26:49
Speaker 1: moved by it. That's really powerful. So we are shipped
26:53
Speaker 1: into a more digital UM experience that we create for
26:56
Speaker 1: our visitors. UM. But you did ask me about It's
26:59
Speaker 1: been said all along voices of rage, hope and empowerment,
27:02
Speaker 1: and that really was birth out of I'm calling it
27:05
Speaker 1: is our civil rights of this new millennium, you know,
27:08
Speaker 1: with the civil rights movement of UM, where you know,
27:12
Speaker 1: the killing the murders of of you know, black bodies.
27:17
Speaker 1: Let's just call it what is UM, you know, the
27:19
Speaker 1: murders of black bodies. The musicians who have risen to
27:23
Speaker 1: the occasion to lend their voice and put their bodies
27:26
Speaker 1: on the line UM musically, UM, putting their careers on
27:30
Speaker 1: the line by speaking up and speaking out during such
27:34
Speaker 1: a critical time UM, and to continue to pass on
27:37
Speaker 1: those messages and narratives that inspired this new generation because
27:41
Speaker 1: when you look at it historically, in every war, going
27:45
Speaker 1: back to the Civil Wars, revolutionary, the musicians, the bands
27:48
Speaker 1: always went out first. Those trumpets and those horns were
27:52
Speaker 1: facing the soldiers, those people who are on the front line.
27:55
Speaker 1: The music was always a part of the narrative. It
27:58
Speaker 1: is a part of our cultural shifts, like every revolution
28:01
Speaker 1: has a soundtrack. So from Martin Luther King having marching
28:06
Speaker 1: arm and are with Navid Staples or the Staples singers
28:09
Speaker 1: or you know, either Caves being in the mix or
28:13
Speaker 1: whoever I mean from the music is gag wonder come on,
28:21
Speaker 1: I mean, the whole thing. Um music has always played
28:25
Speaker 1: a curst So to anyone who I say, who wants
28:28
Speaker 1: to diminish that, um, you gotta be blind and disillusions.
28:32
Speaker 1: I mean. So that's why this exhibit is called It's
28:35
Speaker 1: been Dead all along, highlighting black voices who have been
28:39
Speaker 1: speaking out about injustice and inequality and for equal rights.
28:44
Speaker 1: One of the things that I love about managing our
28:47
Speaker 1: collection and being so new to Cleveland into the Rock Hall,
28:50
Speaker 1: is that I'm discovering things maybe that um the staff
28:54
Speaker 1: may have forgotten about, or you know, they may have
28:57
Speaker 1: seen it, so it's fresh to me. UM. So that's
29:00
Speaker 1: really nice to pull out these things that are in
29:02
Speaker 1: our vault. UM. We have these beautiful lyrics written by
29:07
Speaker 1: James Brown. We always typically hear you know, say it
29:10
Speaker 1: lot on black and I'm proud. We don't hear the
29:12
Speaker 1: other anthem, don't open up the door for me, or
29:16
Speaker 1: you know, I don't need nobody to open up the door.
29:18
Speaker 1: I don't get it myself. You know, we have the lyrics,
29:22
Speaker 1: we have the I don't mean nobody, I don't need
29:30
Speaker 1: you to do this for me. So, I mean we
29:32
Speaker 1: have those lyrics that those are affirmations. Those are messages
29:35
Speaker 1: of of um, strength, of rage, of hope, empowerment, and
29:40
Speaker 1: so that's where I wanted us to. You know, we
29:43
Speaker 1: go through these transitions of rage, hope, and empowerment and
29:46
Speaker 1: still come out resilient. UM. The photos that are even
29:49
Speaker 1: on display in this exhibit are primarily from black photographers, UM,
29:53
Speaker 1: some who people may know, some who they may not,
29:56
Speaker 1: including Chuck Stewart UM, who is phenomenal, who shot the
30:02
Speaker 1: album cover for Gil Scott Hearing and for that single
30:06
Speaker 1: the Revolution will not be televised. I mean the girl
30:12
Speaker 1: come on now. Just you make me mad, girl, I
30:16
Speaker 1: wanted just follow your roses. Won't be like, oh, you're
30:19
Speaker 1: a little bit black man on your show. You're just
30:21
Speaker 1: walking about HRC. Turn right, turn right, girl, girl, who
30:28
Speaker 1: are you talking? Nobody's nobody don't. I can't let you
30:33
Speaker 1: in here. They find out you on my shoulder, They're
30:35
Speaker 1: gonna knock you off because every time you talk, I'm
30:39
Speaker 1: just oh that song, I'm just dropping the word a lyric.
30:42
Speaker 1: Oh year, because girl, that that's that is a beautiful
30:46
Speaker 1: thing to be part of history, living history and being
30:49
Speaker 1: able to history. Right, No, it's it's absolutely beautiful. So
30:55
Speaker 1: it is. It is, you know, a celebration of the past.
30:58
Speaker 1: But while we are off so looking at the musicians,
31:02
Speaker 1: the songwriters, the creators of the future UM to you know,
31:07
Speaker 1: be inspired by their work as well. So that's you know,
31:10
Speaker 1: essentially what that exhibit is. But it was it was
31:13
Speaker 1: such a powerful thing to do UM you know, during
31:17
Speaker 1: that time, and it's a great way again to to
31:21
Speaker 1: make sure that these artists are continued to be talked
31:24
Speaker 1: about in these institutions, in in the Rock and Roll
31:27
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame UM again, holding holding voices and holding
31:31
Speaker 1: leaders accountable. I mean, these stories and narratives should always exist,
31:35
Speaker 1: um within our institutions. So UM, I'm doing my due
31:39
Speaker 1: diligence as as CC people who don't know, the people
31:48
Speaker 1: who don't know, but to make sure that these stories
31:51
Speaker 1: are are always in the narrative. Because the important thing
31:54
Speaker 1: that you said, like as you said, not knowing about
31:58
Speaker 1: um these important moments in our history and learning about
32:01
Speaker 1: them at school and your undergrading your sociology and your
32:04
Speaker 1: acro studies and Marco, you know what we're talking about.
32:10
Speaker 1: When you started, you going for real for it was
32:13
Speaker 1: like it was like it was it was, it was.
32:15
Speaker 1: It was tragic information for me because I was one
32:19
Speaker 1: of these guys who were read smart, one of know
32:22
Speaker 1: at all guys. And I'm like, you kidding me. You
32:26
Speaker 1: got to be kidding. You just gotta be a lot
32:28
Speaker 1: just can't be. So it is so much information that
32:31
Speaker 1: is denied of everybody, White people, Hispanics, blacks especially that
32:37
Speaker 1: when you here being told to you go or this
32:39
Speaker 1: some black stuff, listen, some made up some faith news.
32:43
Speaker 1: Ain't know way black people did all this and you
32:47
Speaker 1: we did, we did, we did. And to see that
32:50
Speaker 1: I have a beautiful as they said Black Queen up there,
32:54
Speaker 1: the vice president a k a c. C. Creator at
32:59
Speaker 1: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If Cleveland, I
33:01
Speaker 1: know you've been to Slimmers. I gotta go to Slimmers
33:03
Speaker 1: and get you some sandwiches up there clean. That's what
33:10
Speaker 1: I mean. You gonna get low. See what I'm saying.
33:12
Speaker 1: That's what i mean. But as soon as this pandemic,
33:14
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get on. I'm apply Cleveland too much together
33:18
Speaker 1: to do with that, but I'm gonna get up there
33:19
Speaker 1: in the Cleveland. But now now the weather, now the
33:24
Speaker 1: weather is taking a turn. Follows up. But no, no, no, no,
33:28
Speaker 1: I love cold weather. I lived in Chicago five years.
33:31
Speaker 1: I got closed that I can't. I'm in Atlanta now
33:34
Speaker 1: I got closed. They just sit They're just sitting like
33:38
Speaker 1: they just sitting in my closet because I have no
33:40
Speaker 1: reason to put them on right now because the weather.
33:44
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, but to Cleveland. I stepped on the plane.
33:47
Speaker 1: People look at me like, I'm oh, he's just he's ready,
33:49
Speaker 1: he ready, he ready for everything, He ready for everything.
33:52
Speaker 1: But you know, the beauty of why I brought you
33:54
Speaker 1: on the show is to let the world know about
33:56
Speaker 1: you because you are a riding and star. You are
33:59
Speaker 1: a representative of what we need, people who are willing
34:02
Speaker 1: to share the information, but more importantly respected not because
34:06
Speaker 1: of the color your skin, but who you are. Because
34:08
Speaker 1: the color your stink would have stopped you. Who you
34:11
Speaker 1: are got you your job. And that's what that we
34:14
Speaker 1: need to understand. That's the narrative that's being discussed on
34:16
Speaker 1: money making conversation today. I want to thank you. You know,
34:19
Speaker 1: it's thirty more minutes. We got to stop talking. So
34:21
Speaker 1: I don't know why people come in to the show.
34:22
Speaker 1: I'll tell him. I'll tell him twenty man, they be
34:25
Speaker 1: said talking to your talking, just talking, and we can
34:27
Speaker 1: talking this thirty too. I ain't taking no blame for this, y'all.
34:30
Speaker 1: And can talk. That's when she got the job. But
34:33
Speaker 1: guy don't know how to stop talking. She'll not talk
34:35
Speaker 1: talking people. They're probably walking around with ear plugs on
34:37
Speaker 1: the pably probably probably you. Thank you so much for
34:45
Speaker 1: having me though, truly honored for you recognizing me and
34:49
Speaker 1: um and just for all those voices who are who
34:51
Speaker 1: are rooting for me as well. Thank you. I'm rooting
34:54
Speaker 1: and you stay safe. We talked soon. Bye bye. If
34:58
Speaker 1: you want to hear more money Man cover say interviews
35:00
Speaker 1: please go to Moneymaking Conversation dot com. I'm Rashan McDonald.
35:04
Speaker 1: I'm your host, H