In this episode, I hosted my very first live SoundCentric podcast out of a secret New York City location with none other than Baton Rouge’s own Quadry. We dove deep into his project Ask A Magnolia and the new “Complete Series” expansion, unpacking how the leftover tracks still help tell the full story. We talked about album length, cover art, and what it means to compete for people’s attention in today’s music landscape.

From there, the conversation expanded into creativity and taste—why confidence and quick decision-making separate great artists, how interpolation pays homage to hip-hop’s roots, and the responsibility of passing down culture to the next generation. Quadry also broke down his use of symbolism, like painting the American flag on his face, and shared his perspective on making political statements through art.

We explored everything from fan bases and industry narratives, to J. Cole vs. Kendrick debates, to whether rappers should need a “license” to make music. Quadry even told a wild story about meeting Frank Ocean and the advice he got on performing. Toward the end, we swapped our personal “Mount Rushmore” of first-listen album experiences, celebrated the humor that makes the best MCs stand out, and teased what’s next from Quadry as he gears up for season two of his series.

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00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:00 - The release of new tape “A Magnolia: The Complete Series” and inspiration to drop unreleased music from “Ask A Magnolia”

00:04:00 - Competing for attention on social media timelines and our ideal album run times

00:06:00 - The importance of artists being confident in their taste

00:08:40 - The importance of sampling and interpolating in hip-hop and how it educates the youth

00:15:00 - Quadry’s use of the American flag throughout his visuals and lyrics

00:18:50 - Artists who have mastered songs that have deeper meanings that are catchy

00:20:20 - The difference between surface level artists and one’s with a real point of view

00:21:50 - Quadry’s love for storytelling in rap

00:24:40 - Artitsts who are mad about who their fanbases are

00:30:00 - Excitement that the Drake and Kendrick beef actually happened

00:31:20 - What it means to really love hip-hop

00:36:50 - Quadry’s story of meeting Frank Ocean and getting performance advice

00:42:20 - Our favorite first listening experiences ever?

00:46:00 - Closing thoughts

00:47:30 - Why the best rappers are funny