Critically Acclaimed, Clinically Insane | Dillon McCluskey x OddPod

Critically Acclaimed, Clinically Insane | Dillon McCluskey x OddPod

Louisville rapper, engineer, and Hxndsxght co-founder Dillon McCluskey pulls up to the OddPod with Marc and Pod Rashid for a two-hour deep dive into one of the most fascinating creative journeys in the city's underground hip hop scene. Dillon grew up moving around — Louisville, Bowling Green, Bardstown, Lexington, and even a stretch in Tucson, Arizona during sixth grade. Through all of it, music was the one constant that never changed. Back in Louisville at Eastern High School, Dillon didn't just make music — he helped build the program. Together with a small group of students, he essentially created Eastern High School's digital music studio out of a classroom elective, turning a basic keyboard class into a full recording setup with a Tascam hard disk recorder, a mic, and an Oxygen keyboard. That studio still exists in the school's library today. His legacy is literally in the walls. Before Hxndsxght, there was Young Squad, then Apex (Above People's Expectations), and a 2011 collective debut called Cloud Nine — the first project that made people from other schools start paying attention. From those early roots grew the critically acclaimed Hxndsxght collective, which now includes Dillon, June DeWayne, Boss Marino, Mac Don, 7eventray and Reckless — all dropping projects this year on what Dillon calls the Hxndsxght train. His latest solo project New Renaissance dropped in February and still has people talking. Dillon calls it dated because the songs had been sitting for a while, but he admits it's still having its moment — and Marc and Rashid credit the closer "Renaissance Man" as one of the most vulnerable tracks he's ever put out. "Nocturnal" is the song he spent the most time crafting over the past three years — the most refined, most intentional piece in his catalog. The conversation gets into his writing philosophy (sparring with collaborator Trap King Kai transformed his craft), the organic chemistry of the Hxndsxght collective, a hilarious story about why  @Junedewayne  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC1VZvNQeLBnPAcOhljD8tIg] hates one of his own best verses, and what it means to be a true renaissance man in 2026 — multifaceted, multidisciplined, wearing every hat. A new solo project is in the works. The  @hxndsxght  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC4r5eiEYFCrjmx8OW64xOLQ] album is coming. And Dillon McCluskey is just getting started. Follow  @dillonmccluskey  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCiLQEHEIO95VDgN__5aKh-w] and stream New Renaissance now on all platforms.

The Hood Herbalist: Teas, Gardens & Growth | Fruitease x OddPod

Louisville herbalist, gardener, tea crafter, custom jean jacket artist, and all-around renaissance man Tim Slim — better known as Mr. Fruitease himself — pulls up to the OddPod with Marc and Pod Rashid for a two-hour-plus conversation that goes way deeper than a drink. Tim started Fruitease back in January of last year after realizing he was spending nearly $380 a month on coffee while already having a full garden at home. What started as glass jars of dehydrated leaves carried in his pocket to Play Cousins Collective turned into a fully LLC'd business — built entirely on word of mouth, a farmers market grind, and an obsessive passion for knowing the benefits of everything he grows. Nine years managing Papa John's gave him the inventory and profit-and-loss knowledge to run it right. His garden gave him everything else. The process is as intentional as the product. Tim breaks down exactly how he crafts each tea — dehydrating fresh fruit overnight, grinding it into powder, selecting leaves based on the specific health needs of each customer (libido, sleep, immunity, pH balance, blood pressure), and sweetening with sugar or locally sourced honey. No two teas are the same because no two people are the same. He's building toward tea talks this summer — community gatherings for Louisville's growing herbalist scene to connect without competition. The conversation takes a sharp turn into food sovereignty, self-sufficiency, and why growing your own is no longer optional — it's necessary. Tim talks candidly about farmland acquisitions, microplastics in produce, vaccinated livestock, and why depending on grocery stores in a grid-down scenario is a plan that doesn't hold up. His vision? A community compound model where each person learns one crop, grows it, brings it to the farmers market together, and builds real independent wealth while feeding the neighborhood. On top of all that — Tim makes custom jean jackets (Spider-Man, Tokyo Ghoul, Sesame Street, Mario), does epoxy art, keeps a seed vault stocked for whatever comes next, and is raising two musically gifted sons who between them play piano, guitar, saxophone, and trumpet. Bigger than teas. Go follow Tim at @_fruitease and tap into everything he's building. Also go follow Ruqaviews & Big & Lazy Podcast for more Interviews of Mr. Fruitease

We Took the Pod to the People | West End Farmers Market x OddPod

This one is different. OddPod takes it outside. Marc and Rashid pull up to the West End Farmers Market at California Park for a live, off-the-cuff episode that captures exactly what the show is about at its core — community, conversation, and the people making Louisville move. No studio, no script, just whoever walks up to the tent. And a lot of people walked up. First to pull up is Danny from No Data Center 502 — a grassroots community organization organizing against a proposed hyperscale data center set to be built near Lake Dreamland in the Southwest End. Danny breaks it all down: 24/7 noise pollution loud as a jet engine, light pollution so intense neighbors need blackout curtains, water pressure and quality issues, and a pattern of these facilities being placed exclusively in poor Black and brown neighborhoods. She makes it plain — it's not a coincidence, it's a choice. The group isn't petitioning politicians. They're boots on the ground, holding community meetings and building real strategy. Next meeting: check their socials for updates. Next up is Nyah Stewart, a 13-year-old entrepreneur selling handmade crystal bracelets who came up through the ACE Project — a Louisville youth program that combines gun violence prevention with real entrepreneurship training. She made $100 at her first graduation showcase and never looked back. Then her little sister, 10-year-old "Crochet and Knots", stops by to rep her own crocheted earrings and purses business — two years in and already a certified craftswoman. Generational entrepreneurship in real time. Throughout the episode Marc and Rashid chop it up with vendors, artists, and community members — including conversations around the dark side of football culture, CTE, toxic masculinity, identity, and what it means to sacrifice your body for a sport that discards you by 30. They also get into manifestation, the power of speaking things into existence, staying intentional about what energy you put out, and why they consciously avoid amplifying what they don't want to see in the world. All while the music plays, the food vendors sell out, and California Park does exactly what Dom Haley and the community envisioned — bringing back that OG Black culture energy on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. This is the OddPod in its purest form. Pull up next time.

Something More Than Love: Kay Lorrin's Debut Story | OddPod

The OddPod switches gears from music to literature as Marc sits down with Kay Lorrin — debut novelist, lifelong reader, University of Florida alum, and someone who kept a major secret for months before the world found out. Oh, and she's Marc's cousin. Nepotism has never sounded this good. Kay grew up in Boston for the first ten years of her life before moving to Florida, where she stayed — attending the University of Florida for undergrad and UCF for her master's degree. She describes herself as a lifelong reader and introvert who never imagined she'd be a published author, let alone one sitting in front of a camera talking about it. The book — Something More Than Love — came to life after a casual comment from a friend last summer: "You know what they say about people who read a lot? They usually write books." Kay shrugged it off, sat down at work during some downtime, typed ten words, then fifty, then two hundred, and never really stopped. Six months later, her first draft was done. All while working full time and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of creating something from scratch — excitement, doubt, "I'm sick of these characters," and everything in between. Something More Than Love follows Logan, a 31-year-old mental health tech rep who moves to a new city for a fresh start and has a chance encounter that throws everything off course. Then there's Grant — a chief architect who decides Logan is exactly who he wants and isn't taking no for an answer. Kay describes it as fiction grounded in realism, written for grown people, and packed with plot twists she thought up by deliberately pushing outside her comfort zone. 260 pages of adventure with a curated soundtrack featuring Bryson Tiller, Cardi B, and Kehlani to match the mood. Kay wrote under a pen name intentionally — keeping her professional world and her creative world as two separate things. She's also connected with the BLK Shelf, an online platform for Black independent authors across all genres, and has built a mailing list offering a free prologue preview for anyone who signs up at www.authorkaylorrin.com [http://www.authorkaylorrin.com]. The book is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Order directly through her website for a signed copy shipped to your door. Follow Kay Lorrin at @kaylorrin on Instagram and TikTok. D Michelle - This Song Is For You www.dmichellewrites.com [http://www.dmichellewrites.com]

Work Hard, Play Harder & The Hardest Artist | MarcSoFly x OddPod

Louisville producer, engineer, rapper, and all-around creative MarcSoFly pulls up to the OddPod for a two-Marc special — a full-circle conversation between two Louisville natives who, it turns out, have been living parallel lives the whole time. Both went to rival high schools, both had their whole families going to the other school, both played football. Two Marcs in a mirror. MarcSoFly grew up in Louisville with a strong support system and a wide range of role models — barbers, business owners, handymen, office workers. He played football, basketball, and track at Male High, graduating in 2016 on an undefeated, nationally ranked team. His teammate Nate Hobbs went on to the NFL. MarcSoFly went on to make beats. His music journey started in sixth grade rapping over a Wiz Khalifa beat with no bass in his voice, and never stopped. He eventually became an intern at 400 Recording Studios — clocking enough hours in less than a month to earn a full engineering position — and has been at it ever since. Tay Beats, a Louisville legend in his own right, was a key mentor who taught him the craft side by side. MarcSoFly describes his projects as fully curated storybooks — no skips, everything intentional, built like an audio movie in your head. His biggest musical inspiration? Kanye's Late Registration showed him what a project with skits and sequencing could feel like. His new collaborative tape Work Hard Play Harder with multi-time Impact Wrestling world champion Myron Reed is out now — a project built over four to five months, featuring singles like "Like Me," "See Me," and "Spoiled," with more videos and a possible bonus drop still on the way. MarcSoFly produces the majority of Myron's music, so the collaboration was a natural fit from every angle. He also has a solo single "Mike Bibby" out and solo projects in the tuck ready to go. The conversation also covers his philosophy on engineering — treating every client like family, pushing everyone toward their best, and never letting someone walk out the door with something subpar — his deep catalog of SoundCloud exclusives, gaming deep dives from Cyberpunk to Red Dead Redemption, and a full wrestling breakdown featuring Myron Reed's recent title shot at Okada's international championship. Follow MarcSoFly on all platforms and go tap in with Work Hard Play Harder now. 🎙️