Okay so…this is one of my favorite interviews of the year. I love watching interviews of artists, executives, entrepreneurs, etc and find them to be one of the best places to learn and develop additional perspectives.

I recently came across a new interview featuring Punch (the President of Top Dawg Entertainment) and the R&B Money Podcast. The podcast is hosted by legendary R&B artist Tank and his business partner J. Valentine.

Punch talked about the beginnings of Top Dawg Entertainment, artist development, discovering SZA, and of course Kendrick Lamar. I found it to be a valuable watch for anyone curious about or looking to learn more about the music industry.

This newsletter highlights:

• 5 takeaways from Punch’s interview with the R&B Money Podcast.

Let’s dive in ⬇️

Here were some of my most interesting takeaways:

1) Not skipping steps

One of my favorite takeaways from this interview is the importance of not skipping steps in the artist development journey.

Punch, Tank, and J. Valentine discuss the example of an artist not skipping small markets on tour (in favor of only big markets or cities) in order to truly develop the foundation for a fanbase. Many artists skip smaller markets and only play big markets like NYC, LA, etc but they miss out on the opportunity to build a stronger foundation and connection with their audience across the country.

Smaller markets help strengthen the foundation partly because you're performing in front of fans who don't normally get to see certain acts - when those acts come to town, it's even more impactful and can help build deeper connections.

Those shows also, in many cases, end up being the most energetic because of how excited the crowd is (because of how rare it is for certain artists or genres to come to town).

Punch talks about the early days of the TDE artists being on the road with Tech N9ne and learning about touring - they would hit A markets (big markets or cities), B markets (slightly smaller cities near the big ones), and C markets (smaller towns). Hitting all 3 would increase their reach and reinforce their foundation in those cities and states. Some shows would be less than 10 people in the crowd but those 10 people would become fans for life.

2) Discovering SZA

1 year before Kendrick Lamar dropped “good kid, m.A.A.d city”, he was performing at a show in Brooklyn. SZA happened to be working the show with her friend, selling merchandise. Punch was looking to get merch but they didn’t have his sizes at the venue so they agreed to meet up the next day with the proper fits.

The next day, while Punch was talking to SZA about the clothes, he noticed her friend was wearing headphones and deeply engrossed in whatever music she was listening to. After becoming curious, he asked who she was listening to and her friend shared that it was actually SZA’s music. Punch put the headphones on to listen and the rest is history.

Takeaway: I love artist discovery stories like this - whether the headphones were a play to catch his attention or completely natural, sometimes the universe rewards you for being in the right place at the right time!

3) SZA’s explosive rise

Punch shares the trajectory of SZA’s live performance and how she went from performing in 2,500 capacity venues straight to 17,000 capacity arenas. SZA hadn’t toured in a few years because of the COVID pandemic so they didn’t have an exact gauge on where her touring benchmark was at the time - after much discussion and taking into account feedback from fans and where SZA was career wise, they decided to play arenas and the bet paid off. Tickets sold out in almost a few days.

Takeaway: SZA took her time to make incredible and timeless music, develop herself, and continue building the foundation for her audience. Doing so over a few years allowed her to massively grow her fanbase and be able to take that leap.

4) The magic in making music

While talking about SZA’s gift of songwriting, Punch shares that SZA made “Kill Bill” and “Snooze” in about 20 minutes. I thought this was so dope lol.

Takeaway: Sometimes the magic just happens creatively and music that ends up becoming massively successful is created super quickly.

5) Mindset + attitude

Punch, Tank, and J. Valentine all discuss how important it is to have the right mindset while pursuing a career in music (and really any other career). So many people lose the perspective of remaining grateful and appreciative for the journey and being able to work in music.

Takeaway: Remain grateful and never lose the perspective that it’s a blessing to be able to earn a living doing something you love, especially something that so few people get a chance to succeed in.

Here’s the interview if you’d like to check it out:

Thanks for reading, until next time.