I Never Knew I was Supposed to Only Do One Thing. . . with Arabian Prince

I Never Knew I was Supposed to Only Do One Thing. . . with Arabian Prince

by | Oct 27, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Arabian Prince

In this episode, Arabian Prince shares the rest of the story — both before and after working with NWA.  He shares how he got started with tech, entrepreneurship, and music creation at a young age.  He talks with Gigi about how he taught himself new gaming and creative technologies, and how he brings that energy to his many current adventures. 

Guest: Arabian Prince, Founder of iNov8 Next Open Labs and GGGOAT; Partner at Covitech; President, Next Careers

A songwriter, rapper, producer, DJ, technologist Pro Gamer and futurist, Arabian Prince is best known for being a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted rap group N.W.A., West Coast electro music pioneer, and producer of the Grammy-nominated #1 hit song Supersonic. Founder of iNov8 Next Open Labs, GGGOAT, and Partner at Covitech. He also is the President of Next Careers, a non-profit working with 1,500 FIRST Tech Challenge roboticists, grades 7-12, across Southern California.

His passion for technology led to him create a 3D animation and special effects studio in the ’90s working with companies like Saban Entertainment and Fox, including 100+ videogame, film, and TV  titles for Fox interactive and Vivendi Universal. As a consultant, Arabian has advised many companies on bridging the gap between technology and the youth, while bringing new product innovations to market. He is currently working with his tech partners to bring Open Labs to communities across the country in support of youth, women, diversity, veterans, and anyone else who wants to explore the future of technology.

Mentioned Links:

  • @OGArabianPrince
Composers of Tomorrow . . . with Akira Nakano

Composers of Tomorrow . . . with Akira Nakano

by | Oct 20, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Christopher Hope

In this episode, Akira Nakano takes us through his journeys in piano performance, music composition, video editing, and starting a non-profit.  These led to the launch of the LA Inception Orchestra, which works with youth and composers to launch Composers of Tomorrow.  He shares his experience in piloting a learning non-profit organization and how his diverse skills and relationships combined into its launch and now growth in this Learn-From-Home era.

Guest: Akira Nakano, President, CEO, and Artistic Director, Los Angeles Inception Orchestra

Akira Nakano studied at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in both piano and percussion, soloing with numerous orchestras throughout Southern California as a young performer. He studied with Dr. Heewon Kwon with masterclasses from Jeffrey Kahane, Leon Fleischer, Ilana Vered, John Perry, and Daniel Pollack. He was the winner of the 1st Annual Herbert Zipper Award in Music Composition amongst other piano competitions. Entering UCLA on a full-ride piano performance scholarship, he won the UCLA Concerto Competition and graduated with a B.A. in Film & Television production.

Mr. Nakano spent over twelve years working as a video editor, writer, producer, and live event director at TRW Space & Electronics and went on to have 20+ years of video marketing/communications and film producing experience which will dovetail into the LA Inception Orchestra’s Virtual Reality/360 music education program. 

Akira returned to the Zipper Hall stage in March 2012 with a solo recital accompanied by Michael Sushel. In September 2013, he paired with the Dream Orchestra in a concert of Liszt, Rachmaninov, and several original works. Since then, Akira has appeared as a performer/lecturer as part of the Great Speaker Series at the Beach Club in Santa Monica benefiting the California State Parks Foundation; soloed with the Southeast Symphony; and has played multiple engagements at the Huntington Library President’s house for their donor dinners.

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Inception Leadership Team:

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Trust Your Calling . . . with Christopher Hope

Trust Your Calling . . . with Christopher Hope

by | Oct 7, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Christopher Hope

In this episode, Christopher Hope shares his journey to found The Loop Lab in Cambridge, MA.  He learned through DJing, community service, religious studies, and partnering with local organizations to deliver a unique blend of higher education, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship training.  He has grown this nonprofit into a live and virtual training program for womxn and BIPOC youth to build jobs and creative companies in audiovisual industries.  He began locally in The Port neighborhood and now connects with community leaders around the world.  We discussed challenges in launching and growing The Loop Lab and its transformation during the current WFH challenges — including how they are helping other non-profits in their local communities.

Guest: Christopher Hope, Founder and Exec. Director, The Loop Lab

Christopher Hope, CTS is the founder and executive director of The Loop Lab, a non-profit dedicated to empowering young adults of color to enter careers in the media arts industry in Cambridge, MA.  Hope received his B.A. from Tufts University, and a Masters at Harvard Divinity School. He now serves on the board of advisors for the George Washingon University School of Business in D.C., for the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force in the Cambridge Mayors office, and on the community board of Lesley College of Art + Design. He is also an alumnus of the Creative Community Fellowship with the National Arts Strategies and has served on board of the South By Southwest festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas.

Hope is also an accomplished audio-video professional and on-air DJ with a podcast and radio broadcast called “Hip-Hope Radio,” having interviewed guests like Dr. Cornel West.

The Loop Lab:

The Loop Lab is a Cambridge-based non-profit social enterprise specializing in media arts internships and digital storytelling.  Their mission is to empower Womxn and People of Color in the media arts to develop careers in audio/video through job training and job placement. As an organization, they are committed to ending inequality and racism through digital storytelling.

Photo credit – Matt Malikowski/ The Loop Lab

 

Mentioned Links:
Solving Problems with Art, VR, and Software . . . with Sasha Samochina

Solving Problems with Art, VR, and Software . . . with Sasha Samochina

by | Sep 28, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Sasha Samochina

In this episode, Sasha Samochina shares her journey connecting art, VR, and science together — to her trio of roles at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).  She illustrates why she is “thankful for [her] boldness” in interning and pushing into each new job and new technology.  The Field Museum in Chicago became an opportunity to connect art, science, computing, and social storytelling.  By the end, you’ll see the arc that returned to her desire as a young student to be a teacher and librarian but on an inter/planetary scale.   

Guest: Sasha Samochina, Deputy Manager of the Ops Lab, Project Lead for ProtoSpace, and the Technical Group Supervisor for the User Interface Development Group (397M) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Sasha Samochina (sam-ocean-uh) is an Emmy award-winning creative technologist. She joined the team at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) after working in New York in the fields of video and web development and in Chicago, where she was a Media Producer at The Field Museum of Natural History. After dreaming up content for JPL’s Communications department, she began to explore the world of 360 videos and XR. Through Sasha’s visualization skills, she pioneered the very first 360° video release on social media for NASA. She is currently the Deputy Manager of the Ops Lab, Project Lead for ProtoSpace, and the Technical Group Supervisor for the User Interface Development Group (397M) at JPL. Sasha dedicated herself to helping create software that incorporates innovative forms of visualization that aid scientists, engineers, and astronauts in transforming their workflow, and she leverages that same experiential technology to educate and inspire the public to engage in STEAM. She loves all things digital, animal, sound-emitting, cosmic, and views the world through XR-colored glasses.

Mentioned Links:

 

Social Proof and Pushing Forward . . . with Ty Frankel

Social Proof and Pushing Forward . . . with Ty Frankel

by | Sep 21, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Ty Frankel

In this episode, Ty Frankel shares how as a young music creator and entrepreneur he pushed to create relationships to build Shut Down Media. His multi-country company creates hip hop music for integration into film and television. He talks about how he overcame obstacles, how he got distracted, and how he returned to his core business.  He talked about being inspired by Rich Dad, Poor Dad and other books on how to build his career.  Ty shares how his company has pivoted with film and television during this crisis, and how it has spurred him to launch even more adventures.  

Guest: Ty Frankel, Founder and CEO, Shut Down Media

Ty Frankel started making rap beats from his home in Israel at just 14 years old. Since inception in 2017, Shut Down Media has grown with divisions like Shut Down Production Music, Shut Down Art, and Shut Down Sync. In only three years, Shut Down Media has worked with clients such as UMPG, Warner, NBA 2K, Fortnite, The Ellen Show, Mercedes-Benz, and many more. 

Ty is a writer for UPMG and Warner and has secured placements on shows like Saturday Night Live. Not only has he built multiple companies at the age of 22, but he’s also created new in-house record labels with the likes of FirstCom and No Sheet Music.

Mentioned Links:

 

That Moment of Mojo . . . with Zack Zalon

That Moment of Mojo . . . with Zack Zalon

by | Sep 14, 2020 | Creative Innovators Podcast

Zack Zalon has shifted and grown along with a transforming music industry.  He began as (and still is) a musician, then blossomed at the Troubadour before launching into websites, marketing, Farm Club, Virgin, and through that Moment of Mojo into taking his background and the now-possible world of artificial intelligence into Super Hi-Fi.  We wrap up with advice to his younger self after this intriguing journey across music and digital transformation.

Guest: Zack Zalon, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer,
Super Hi-Fi

Zack Zalon is co-founder and CEO of Super Hi-Fi, a Los Angeles-based music technology company that is creating transformative listening experiences for the world’s largest music experience providers. Current partners include Peloton, iHeart, The Associated Press, Universal Music Group, Napster, and Target Spot.  Zack also is a musician, with a recent release in 2018 of “Into the Great Divide.”

Prior to Super Hi-Fi, Zalon served as co-founder and managing partner for We See Dragons, a “S.W.A.T.-style” digital agency that developed consumer platforms for brands including National Geographic, Johnson & Johnson, Ticketmaster, Comcast, Citibank, Experian, and Madison Square Garden.  Earlier, Zalon was Managing Partner at Wilshire Media Group; President of Virgin Digital, the global digital platform for the Virgin Group; President of The Factory Network;  and general manager of Doug Weston’s Troubadour.

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