How to reinvent your career while you’re on top, plus lessons from Ice Cube, LL Cool J, and Tupac

Our guest, Quincy Jones III aka QDIII - Producer and digital/tech entrepreneur. You might not exactly say he came from humble beginnings, as the son of perhaps the greatest music producer the world has known. Young Quincy got to sit in on recording sessions for Michael Jackson's Thriller and tag along with big Quincy backstage with jazz and r&b greats. But, as he puts it, "I had the luxury in my opinion of growing up rich and poor,” spending most of his childhood with his mother in a working class home in Sweden. There, he learned to hustle on his own, as well as to take his talents to the streets, literally, as a champion breakdancer. Before moving back to the States, Quincy had released his first hit song and had already embraced the idea of reinvention, pivoting from dancing to making music. From there, the story just gets more interesting. From being immersed among the pioneers of hip hop to becoming a close friend and collaborator to 2Pac before his death, Quincy found himself at the epicenter of the culture. Next pivot: He leaves production behind and becomes a filmmaker, having tremendous success as one of the genre’s leading documentarians, most notably with the Beef DVD series that chronicled hip hop conflicts from LL and Ice-T to Biggie and 2Pac. And now he’s embarking on a new career developing technologies that leverage his vast experience in entertainment. His first app Wemes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wemes-create-share-video-memes/id1023485444?mt=8) launched last month. Listen to learn how he’s done all of that, what he learned from mentors like LL Cool J and Ice Cube, and what motivates him to keep going. Leave us a comment about how you liked this episode, your favorite QDIII or QDII song, or just to wish us a happy birthday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices