Waajeed on Dilla, Slum Village and Detroit's Music Future | Living for the City FULL Interview

Waajeed on Dilla, Slum Village and Detroit's Music Future | Living for the City FULL Interview

Waajeed is a Detroit producer and DJ who came up with J Dilla and Slum Village, co-founded the Underground Music Academy in the old NAACP building on the north end of Detroit, and hosts a weekly show on WDET. This is his full conversation with host Hanif Abdurraqib. In this interview, Waajeed traces his origin story from rolling dice in Pershing High School's parking lot to landing in Amp Fiddler's basement, where a generation of Detroit artists learned how to make music and how to move through the world. He talks about his years with Slum Village, keeping the trains on the tracks, designing the album covers, filming the footage and why he eventually walked away from hip hop entirely. He breaks down the Platinum Pied Pipers record, his collaboration with Dwele, and the genre-defying freedom behind Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz. Waajeed also opens up about why he came back to Detroit after nine years in New York, what it means to own the things you pour yourself into, and how the Underground Music Academy became a space where every skillset he has — design, music, building, mentorship — finally came together in one place. This one is about legacy, lineage, and what it means to be a conduit. CHAPTERS 00:28 - The Underground Music Academy and the NAACP Building 03:08 - What Mentorship Actually Means: Lessons from Amp Fiddler 08:13 - Growing Up Next to a Prison: Urgency, Survival, and Detroit 12:29 - Funky Drummer, Dilla's Basement, and the Birth of a Sound 14:41 - Slum Village: Keeping the Trains on the Tracks 19:22 - Platinum Pied Pipers and Breaking Away from Hip Hop 29:07 - The Shelter, Genre Freedom, and Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz 36:35 - Nine Years in New York and Why He Came Back 40:48 - Gentrification, Culture Drain, and What Detroit Owes Itself 48:46 - The Future of the Underground Music Academy LINKS YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267 Stay connected! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/ TAGS / KEYWORDS Waajeed, Waajeed interview, Underground Music Academy Detroit, Slum Village, J Dilla, Platinum Pied Pipers, Amp Fiddler, Dwele Detroit, Detroit hip hop history, Detroit music producer, Detroit techno, Memoirs of Hi-Tech Jazz, Detroit gentrification, WDET radio Detroit, Detroit mentorship, Living for the City podcast, Hanif Abdurraqib, Detroit music culture, Detroit music history, Side Stage Network, Live Nation podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

DJ Minx on Building Detroit's Techno Scene from the Ground Up | Living for the City FULL Interview

DJ Minx is one of the founding architects of Detroit's techno and house scene, the creator of Women on Wax, and one of the most important DJs the city has ever produced. This is her full conversation with host Hanif Abdurraqib. In this extended interview, Minx traces her origin story from discovering techno through Electrifying Mojo on the radio to walking into her first gig with a bag of records and getting laughed at by the women at the door. She breaks down the difference between house and techno, the short-lived clubs that kept Black dance culture alive in Detroit, and what the Music Institute meant to an entire generation of dancers and DJs. She talks about Moodymann showing up at three of her parties before finally telling her she was starting a label in two weeks whether she felt ready or not, and how that conversation led to the Airborne EP and the birth of Women on Wax. Minx also reflects on the responsibility of preservation — why Detroit techno needs to be in history books, why playing vinyl is a skill that not everyone has, and what it felt like to be on stage with K-Hand the last night she ever performed. CHAPTERS 00:00 - The Shelter, the Music Institute, and Early Black Dance Culture in Detroit 03:56 - House vs Techno and the DJ Culture That Grew from the Dance Floor 08:00 - Radio, Electrifying Mojo, and Keeping Detroit Techno Alive 12:00 - How Minx Got Into DJing as a Woman in Detroit 18:59 - Moodymann, the Label Conversation, and the Birth of Airborne 23:03 - Women on Wax: From Mentorship to Movement 33:34 - The DJ's Role, Vinyl as a Craft, and Preserving Detroit Techno 41:00 - K-Hand: The Last Night LINKS YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267 Stay connected! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/ TAGS / KEYWORDS DJ Minx, DJ Minx interview, Women on Wax Detroit, Detroit techno history, Detroit house music, Music Institute Detroit, Detroit DJ culture, Electrifying Mojo, Moodymann, K-Hand Detroit, Detroit women DJs, vinyl DJing, Detroit techno pioneer, Airborne EP, Living for the City podcast, Hanif Abdurraqib, Detroit music culture, techno history, house music history, Detroit underground music, Side Stage Network, Live Nation podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Teachers and Students Carrying Detroit's Sound Forward | Living for the City Ep. 8

Detroit has never been a city that lives in its past. Its greatest tradition has always been inventing the future. In the season finale of Living for the City, host Hanif Abdurraqib looks beyond Detroit's musical legacy to the people who will define its next chapter. At the Detroit School of Arts, teacher Maritza turned a hallway conversation with Waajeed and Cornelius Harris into a techno program where students are learning not just the history of Detroit music, but how to shape its future. Some had never heard of Detroit techno before. Now they're creating original tracks on Roland machines and preparing to perform during Movement weekend. Kevin Saunderson reflects on what it means to watch a new generation inherit the sound he helped create and why every generation has a responsibility to leave the door open for the next one. StanWill, one of Detroit's rising voices, shares how he's building a career on his own terms, making music relentlessly, cultivating community online, and refusing to wait for permission. Throughout the season, Hanif has asked what makes a music city. Here, he arrives at his answer. It's not just the records, the venues, or even the artists. It's a culture that believes knowledge should be shared, opportunities should be created, and every generation deserves the chance to surprise the one before it. What moved Hanif most wasn't simply the music these students were making. It was the faith their teachers and mentors had placed in them – the belief that the future isn't something to protect from young people, but something to build with them. This one is about hope. About handing over the tools. And about believing the next great Detroit sound hasn't been heard yet. CHAPTERS 00:00 - The Future Detroit Is Already Making 02:00 - Detroit School of Arts: Where Techno Gets Passed Down 06:48 - The Lineage: Gospel, Motown, Techno, and What Comes Next 09:43 - Brian McCollum on Independent Artists in the Digital Age 11:01 - Stanwill: Building Worlds and Kicking Down Doors 21:00 - Kevin Saunderson: One of the Original Architects Looks Ahead 25:00 - Complete Faith in the Process LINKS YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod [https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod] Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5 [https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5]Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267] Stay connected! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/ [https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/] TAGS / KEYWORDS Living for the City, Living for the City podcast, Hanif Abdurraqib, Detroit music history, Detroit School of Arts, Detroit techno future, Kevin Saunderson, Belleville Three, Stanwill Detroit, Nasan Detroit, Brian McCollum, Waajeed, Detroit techno education, Detroit hip hop future, Movement Festival Detroit, Roland Detroit, Detroit young artists, Detroit music next generation, techno education, Detroit independent artists, TikTok music, Detroit music 2026, Detroit music culture, Side Stage Network, Live Nation podcast, music podcast, Detroit culture, music history podcast, 2026 podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

How Detroit's Crate Diggers Kept the City's Music Alive | Living for the City Ep. 7

In Detroit, records were never just records. They were history, community, memory, and proof that you cared enough to go looking. In Episode 7 of Living for the City, host Hanif Abdurraqib explores Detroit's enduring vinyl culture and the people who have dedicated their lives to preserving music one record at a time. This is a story about collectors, DJs, store owners, and believers — people who see a record not as a product, but as a relationship. Ben Blackwell walks through the Third Man pressing plant in the Cass Corridor and explains why DIY was never a trend in Detroit. It was a necessity. Andrey Douthard reflects on building Paramita Sound in the aftermath of losing J Dilla and Proof, and how records became a way to process grief, build community, and connect generations through music. Mary Cobra arrives with an armful of 45s and traces the Detroit Cobras' history back to a simple reality: if no one else was going to preserve the music they loved, they would do it themselves. House Shoes made the decision to pull his catalog from streaming. If you want the music, you have to seek it out. DJ Minx still prefers vinyl because collecting records and truly knowing how to play them are two different things. Together, they make a case for something increasingly rare: intention. Beneath every story is a larger question about what gets lost when music becomes frictionless. In Detroit, records remain a way of slowing down, paying attention, and honoring the people who came before. This one is about preservation, intention, and a city that still believes discovery should take work. CHAPTERS 00:31 - The First Record You Buy With Your Own Money 02:05 - Third Man Records and the DIY Philosophy of Vinyl 05:54 - Paramita Sound: Records as a Vehicle for Grief and Community 11:27 - Gatekeeping as Quality Control 14:05 - Mary Cobra and the 45 18:09 - House Shoes Pulled His Catalog. DJ Minx Won't Give Up the Needle. 21:44 - Digging for Records Is Relational LINKS YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod [https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod] Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5 [https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5] Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267] Stay connected! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/ [https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/] TAGS / KEYWORDS Living for the City, Living for the City podcast, Hanif Abdurraqib, Detroit music history, Detroit vinyl culture, crate digging Detroit, record stores Detroit, Third Man Records Detroit, Third Man Pressing, Ben Blackwell, Jack White, Paramita Sound, Andre Duhart, House Shoes, DJ Minx, Mary Cobra, Detroit Cobras, vinyl renaissance, record collecting, Detroit techno vinyl, Detroit hip hop, crate digging, vinyl vs streaming, physical music, record pressing, Archer Records Detroit, Detroit DIY music, Side Stage Network, Live Nation podcast, music podcast, Detroit culture, music history podcast, 2025 podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The Artists Who Left Detroit and the Pull That Brought Them Home | Living for the City Ep. 6

Every artist Detroit has ever made has had to decide at some point whether to stay or go. The ones who left never fully left. In Episode 6 of Living for the City, host Hanif Abdurraqib follows the migration patterns of Detroit's musicians — where they went, why they left, and what brought some of them back. Berry Gordy IV, son of the Motown founder, speaks from Los Angeles about what it meant when Motown moved west and what that departure did to the city it left behind. House Shoes, the DJ who spent a decade as the keeper of Detroit hip hop culture, opens up about leaving after losing Dilla and Proof in the same year and why Detroit felt like a coffin he had to grieve somewhere else. Waajeed spent nine years in New York trying to make an ambitious plan come to life before coming back to a Detroit that had changed, but still needed him. And Ben Blackwell, who moved to Nashville to help build Third Man Records with Jack White, talks about the karmic weight of leaving a city that shaped everything he became. Not everyone left. Some stayed because they couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Some came back because the stamp Detroit left on them was stronger than the distance. Hanif traces all of this through the lens of the Great Migration — what it costs to leave a place, and what it costs to stay. This one is about the pull of home, and everyone who has ever felt it. CHAPTERS 00:30 - The Episode Detroit Couldn't Contain 01:37 - The Great Migration and What It Costs to Leave 02:00 - Berry Gordy IV: Growing Up at Motown and the Move to LA 09:16 - House Shoes: Detroit Felt Like a Coffin 10:36 - Waajeed: Nine Years Away and Why He Came Back 16:47 - Ben Blackwell, Jack White, and the Nashville Decision 21:44 - Detroit's Stamp Never Fades LINKS YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@LivingfortheCityPod Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5KYTveuTY4nydCKG8yTxjJ?si=c184740e2d9f43b5 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-for-the-city/id1895831267 Stay connected! Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecitypod/ TAGS / KEYWORDS Living for the City, Living for the City podcast, Hanif Abdurraqib, Detroit music history, Detroit musicians, leaving Detroit, Berry Gordy, Motown history, Motown Los Angeles, House Shoes, Waajeed, Ben Blackwell, Third Man Records, Jack White, Nashville, J Dilla, Proof D12, Nasan, Detroit hip hop, Detroit Great Migration, Detroit migration, Detroit vs everybody, Bob Seger, Aretha Franklin, Eminem, Detroit music scene, Detroit culture, Detroit identity, music and place, artists and home, Side Stage Network, Live Nation podcast, music podcast, Detroit culture, music history podcast, 2025 podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]