Say It Skillfully® – Alonzo Brown, Pioneer of Rap

Say It Skillfully® is a show that helps you to benefit from Molly Tschang’s expert guidance on the best possible ways to speak your mind at work in a positive and productive manner. Episode 172 features rapper, record executive, film & television producer, screenwriter and author Alonzo Brown. Growing up in Harlem during a time when New York was in turmoil, with a Father who died when he was 12, Alonzo shares the story of his early days. The poor conditions, crime, and pain of Harlem were hard for most to cope with. Alonzo opens up that the only things getting him by were the love and sternness of his mother, the escape he found in music, and his aspirations for the future. He would gaze out at the skyscrapers he could see from Harlem, dreaming of “living up there one day.” Alonzo gives us the full origin story of his pioneer rap group, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, skipping class to write songs, rehearsing in his Mother’s living room and performing at local community centers. Don’t miss stories from his later days as a rapper and from some of his other ventures in what seems like every corner of the entertainment industry. The show wraps up with Alonzo sharing a piece summarizing his thoughts on overcoming, not stowing, “the black experience” of growing up facing struggle and violence, living in the ghetto, and what it means to find a way out without losing who you truly are. Alonzo inspires us all to know no boundaries and to commit to taking action so that all can be safe, seen and heard, and our true best selves. Molly’s thought for the week: “I don’t know what success is, I’m too busy working at it.”