Streaming, R&B, and more with Isaiah Diaz-Mays

Hi friends —

One of my favorite things about writing a newsletter on Substack, is the community that you cultivate on Substack. There are so many talented creatives and writers on the platform, and one of my favorites is Isaiah Diaz-Mays.

Isaiah writes one of my favorite newsletters, Echoes. In the newsletter, he writes about different topics around culture, literature, art, music, and even writes a short story series: “The Emancipation of Catalina De Valle,” which I love. I got a chance to speak with Isaiah about his newsletter, R&B music, the impact of streaming on the music industry and so much more.

You can listen to the interview above, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Pocket Casts. Additionally, you can watch the video below as well.

Subscribe + Read Isaiah’s newsletter, Echoes.

Also, I loved our conversation so much, I made a playlist with some of the music we mentioned during the conversation, which you can listen to here via Spotify.

Here are a few reading and listening recommendations for the week as well.

Last week was a mellow week in terms of reading. Instead of reading a book, I did read some pretty good articles which you should read: an interview with the Stud Budz, Tracee Ellis Ross and Anna Wintour.

There are a few books out today that I am excited to check out: All the Way to The River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Glibert, Hot Wax by M.L. Rio and Shot Ready by Stephen Curry.

In terms of music, there were some pretty good releases but I got stuck on Elmiene’s new mixtape, Heat the Streets. Elmiene is like the internet cousin. We saw him pop-up during the pandemic on social media doing different covers so seeing him blossom and get exposure warms my heart. I really enjoyed his new mixtape but have not stopped listening to “Different Too.” That song is a jam and truthfully, I felt like it was a song about me (lol, I don’t know why I feel that way).

Also, I went to see Love, Brooklyn, over the weekend and I suggest it. I’m still making my way through Highest 2 Lowest, but I got overly caught up watching Top Chef.

Anywho, that’s it for this week. Catch you next week!