Guest Blogger X Jake

Greetings guys,

First off, I really want to thank you for all of your continued support!

Brooklyn Cloth makes the dopest threads on the streets, and I'm honored to be a part of the family!

So a little backstory: last year I engineered a session for iconic Chuck D of Public Enemy, in the studio I co-manage with my wife, singer-songwriter Donn T & her brother Questlove (drummer for The Roots and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon).  

After the session, Chuck asked what I was working on, I played him three songs, I’d produced for the forthcoming album, Ethel Bobcat by new band, &More (Chill Moody and Donn T). He was really feeling them. He also told me to let me know how he could be a part. Several months later, we approached him about doing the opening narrative to, “Whoa!”

To keep it exact, in between the time he first heard my productions and the time he lent his narrative, we submitted, “Whoa” to NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9WN-VpIpuU. We didn’t win but, we captured the attention of NPR’s Tiny Desk curator Bob Boilen. His enthusiasm about, “Whoa”, as well as, &More at large, got the band an invite to actually perform a coveted Tiny Desk Concert in DC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxIK19PQngA. What an extraordinary opportunity and experience that was on many levels!  

It's funny as I've watched quite a number of the past Tiny Desk concerts leading up to our show, and my only perspective was essentially the various artists performing in front of the iconic bookshelves, graced with the souvenirs past artists have left behind (I too left a few contributions).  The other perspective was the rare shot of the "crowd", the NPR employees who get up from their desks for a work-break, to become your audience.

Fast forward to actually going there, and I was amazed with how large NPR's office was, and where we performed was literally behind Bob Boilen's desk, which was wild!  The crowd was super hype all throughout the show, which made for an incredible experience from A-Z.

I was very thankful for the opportunity to play such an extraordinary event, and to do so rocking one of my favorite clothing lines, Brooklyn Cloth was super dope. I currently live in Philly, travel the world with music having played guitar for Ed Sheeran, Jonas Brothers, Bruno Mars, Queen Latifah, The Roots etc. Still, New York is home. I remember growing up in Brooklyn; visiting my great Grandma on the weekends. Hands down, my fondest childhood memories; from the bakeries, to slices on the Blvd, to the crazy fireworks and even the next level holiday lighting displays.  Brooklyn will always be a part of my story, and Brooklyn Cloth and I have a lot more of the world to explore together.

“Ethel Bobcat” by &More (Chill Moody & Donn T) now available on all online music platforms.

https://fanlink.to/EthelBobcat . Singles, “Whoa”, “My Own Light” and “4ever 1st Lady” are produced by Jake Morelli.