Rodney Blu

Multimedia. Creative. Storytelling.

Dallas, TX and the world, what’s really good?

If you’re here right now, you’ve found me and my ramblings on social media and are probably trying to figure out who I am and what I do. You probably have some idea based on what led you here, but the sum of my all passions is a little harder to explain.

What I can explain is what you’ll find here.

My works, across a curriculum of disciplines, all in one place and available for your critique and consumption.

Here you can find articles I’ve authored as a hired gun for a number of publications, podcasts and audio programming reflective of my creative tastes and interests, photo and video projects rooted in my personal history and advocacies, tweets and updates that resonate and attempt to define me – and so much more.

I hope you find something that speaks to you.

Reach out via email linked below, and enjoy.

HOLLER @ ME

About Me

A multi-disciplined, highly-vocal and impassioned advocate of culture, specializing in multimedia content with the purpose of elevating and advancing the voices, narratives and experiences of the underrepresented across digital media and in real-world spaces.

gone get this professional shit out the way first.

Get Social

Before getting straight to work, here are the sketchy dark alleys you can find me slinking around online.

My thoughtful but unfiltered opinions, perspectives and insights on everything from current events and modern culture, to glimpses into my creative process and personal life.

twitter

instagram

facebook

Already

Much of my work is published through my independent multimedia platform, alreadyDTX.

although alreadyDTX – as a platform, is not yet fully realized, its subsidiary ALREADYRADIO has made much progress providing an outlet for audio programming such as podcasts, mixes and interviews.

alreadyDTX.com coming soon

Interviews

The VOX of DTX and the art of conversation.

I’ve always loved a good dialogue and held pride in my ability to provide engaging conversation. It’s my cornerstone: communication. The compass leading my creativity.

When I found journalism, I discovered a way to create meaningful dialogue and invigorate my love of writing. But it wasn’t until I stumbled into podcasting that I found and leaned my true passion – the interview.

Since my public introduction to the platform of podcasting in 2014, I’ve had a number of what I consider immensely revealing and fulfilling conversations with a roster of distinguished counterparts, particularly with some connection to Dallas.

Liv.e for Okayplayer

Burning Bridges with The D.O.C.

In House with So-So Topic

Nelson Bandela for Central Track

DTXSelects

The sounds of the Dallas, TX underground.

DTXSelects is alreadyRADIO’s recurring mixtape anthology delivering audio dope straight from the Dallas, TX underground, featuring always new music and the latest in news and culture – handpicked and discussed by its hosts, three of the DTX music community’s biggest stans: Rodney Blu, Bry Chanel and Narco.

Every installment features a playlist of exclusively DFW-based artists, a compilation of the metroplex’s most exciting and emergent musicians. Between blocks of music Blu, Bry and Narco take individual and group deep dives into our communities’ most pertinent news and topics.

The COVID-19 global outbreak caused DTXSelects’ unfortunate interruption but the sounds of city grow stronger every day. Follow @alreadyRADIO on soundcloud and twitter for and in support of the latest local drops.

DTXSelects 206

DTXSelects 205

DTXSelects 204

Great Weather

In response fo the COVID-19 pandemic and its enforced (lol) social distancing measures, I recently began a series of digital broadcasts called Great Weather. This program on alreadyRADIO features a playlist of audio selections that reflect the theme and sonic aesthetics of slow cruising down the boulevard on a carelessly pleasant day. I intervene only intermittently to offer some anectdotal game, insight, and cultural and historical context for the various songs, but a podcast this is not. Great Weather is all about the music and the feeling.

Great Weather 001

Playlists

Did I mention how much I LOVE music?

If there is a root from which all my passions spring, a convincing argument can be made for music being that core element. Whether I’m writing about, discussing or imparting with an artist – music remains central. My deep appreciation for sound has led to a curatorial obsession. Here you can find a number of playlists I’ve put together over time and continue to refine. My only ask is that you hit shuffle and enjoy.

How Cool? (the quintessential Rodney Blu playlist)

Inner City Blu’s (60’s/70’s Soul and R&B)

Morning Breath (designed for A.M. activation)

Journalism

At my core, I’m a storyteller.

I’ve always had a passion for writing – more specifically, telling stories. I remember the exact feeling the first time I presented an original work to a captive audience, and how malleable their emotions and reactions were; how they clung to the edges of my words with excitement and anticipation. It was a sensation I instantly became obsessed with, and I’ve since searched for that same feeling every time I touch the page.

You can find my most recent writings threaded on Twitter, here.

Arts & Culture

I’ve spent many years covering music, art and creators for local publications.

Below are articles I’ve written that cover a range of artists and disciplines. It is always a pleasure to unpack the mind and perspectives of creators. What inspires them, what is moving to them, what separates them from the pack. It is always my intention that the profiles I author are as entertaining to read as they are to create.

Backstage With Saul Williams

“A documentary, semi-biographical feature film, five studio albums, several appearances and collaborations across genus and genre, a broadway production, national and international tours as both a supporting and headlining act, and myriad writings later, he greets us with a certain still humility reserved for a studied master – morseling his powers between digestible bits of cool, thoughtful reserve and raw mouthfuls of artistic possession.”

Read on D Magazine Here

David Jeremiah’s Uncompromising Vision

“Call it skepticism. Call it satire. Whatever it is, it’s free game for Jeremiah and he’s aware enough to be simultaneously enraged and tongue-in-cheek about the social inequities and racial inconsistencies that inspire his art. He has a history of confrontational artwork. His previous piece, “The Lookout,” involved him locking himself in a makeshift cell for three weeks. Attendees were allowed in one at a time, asked to put on a KKK mask, and to stick-and-poke tattoo white tattoo ink into a KKK mask he had previously tattooed on his ribcage. The goal was to push the viewer into an intimate conversation with the artist.”

Read on D Magazine Here

Dallas’ Terence Nance: From HBO TO THE TOON SQUAD.

“Random Acts of Flyness‘s first six episodes purposefully defragments dated and narrow perspectives of blackness in an age where the growth and advancement of expressive freedoms are at war with the rigidity and ignorance of convention and tradition.”

Read on Central Track Here

News

As a journalist, current events are extremely important to me. And as a writer, I find inspiration in things that affect the world around me.

Below are articles I’ve written that cover a range of stories and current events. Although news writing gets a bad rap as the brass tacks, black and white, sandwiched between art and opinion – the unabridged news is necessary for an informed population.

In Dallas Convicted Killer Cops Get Hugs

“Since the conviction, less has been said about the sentencing than the spectacle that surrounded it. As with everything nowadays, there remains a binary of perspectives regarding the suspect circumstances that comprised the events leading up to the trial. But most speculation has been set on the two hugs — quite possibly the first double-hug in the history of murder trials.”

Read on Central Track Here

Two Dallas Radio Stations Switched to Old-School Hip Stations Over the Weekend

“Thanks to the weekend developments, Dallas puts itself in a historical position as one of the first markets to embrace the need for adult contemporary hip hop radio. Before Boom, there existed no radio frequency where one could find Rakim, the Notorious B.I.G and Dr. Dre on an uninterrupted basis. So how long before the few kids who actually listen radio return to their beloved millennial favorites?”

Read on Dallas Observer Here

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