Of Music and Men Kayona Ebony Brown

Of Music and Men is a scripted drama-comedy series presented to you in a weekly storytelling podcast format.

You thought it was a book, or a short film, or a TV show?

Well, all of that is true. Somewhat. Let me explain. Back in 2012, I set out to create a TV show about my life as a single young entrepreneur trying to establish an indie record company in Wash DC. I developed it, wrote the pilot, then made a short film...

The thing is, tv shows, even those no budget YouTube ones, still require lots of resources and people. I know exactly what I want the tv show to be, but I believe that timing is everything, and trying to move forward before it's time would be a disservice to what I know will be a great series someday.

So I went another route. The pilot script was recognized in a few reputable industry contests, so knowing that it's a more than solid story worth telling, I made a short film, then I turned that full season I wrote, 12 episodes of tv scripts, into novellas (little booklets).

This podcast is a production, a reading (sometimes dramatic or comedic), of those episodes, sectioned out into easily digestible weekly stories.

We follow a 20-something named Kenya Shaw as she works to build a record label while also (as a bachelorette) navigating perhaps the worst city in the country for single women (and not exactly the place you'd expect when it comes to entertainment) -- Washington, DC.

Tune in every single week for these stories of music... and men.

Music: "Keep on Going" X Khalil Ismail

Jazz Club by Kriss (Italy) - No.mad EP - copyright 2008 - Licensed by Undercut Records for official use to Of Music and Men

Trail by Nobara Hayakawa (Japan) - copyright 2009 - Licensed by Nobara and Intervall-Audio for official use to Of Music and Men

Determined to get her artist to perform at 9:30 Club, Kenya gives it one more try. But with this new plan, even if she strikes out, she'll still win the game.

Kenya and Tk show up for their big radio break, but things go differently than planned. And we finally meet Lucas, a 20-year-old singer-songwriter, the other artist on Kenya’s burgeoning record label, and evidence that youth—and talent—is wasted on the young.

Demoralized, with just two days left to find a way to get her artist on the card at 9:30 Club, Kenya goes back to the drawing board but finds inspiration for her next move in an unexpected place.

Kenya gets a chance to redeem herself with the folks over at 9:30 Club. She has everything planned out--what she's going to say and how she's going to say it. She wants to get her artist, Lucas, on that stage, opening for Gavin DeGraw. But there's just one thing that maybe she didn't think of.

As we prepare for more, let's rewind, shall we?
Taj Kamal is an enigmatic, soft spoken, lyrical genius... and she's the reason Kenya started her record company in the first place.
Not only is this a story of music, but it's also a music experience. So sit back, put on your headphones, and enjoy the show...
For full credits and sources on this episode, go to:
https://ofmusicandmen.com/episode1-4-take-taj-kamal
CREDITS
Narration
Episode narrated by Kayona Ebony Brown
Episode
Written, recorded, and produced by Kayona Ebony Brown at Siingle Studios in Washington, DC
MUSIC LISTED IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE IN THE EPISODE
All music provided by Filmstro; arranged and designed for this episode by Kayona.
Additional music: 7s Club by Jeff Lopez
Word of inspiration
Scars by Khalil Ismail - Licensed by KI Creatives
To have your music considered for placement in the show, send us a link where it can be streamed and downloaded. Soundcloud and Bandcamp are two great sites to do so. Click here for more info.