Duff Radio Podcast

Ty McDuffey

The Duff Radio Podcast focuses on music, current events, and the unique experiences of our guests. 

  1. 13h ago

    STBtheDON: Shades of Red, New Fatherhood, and Crossing Over From Rap to Singing | Duff Radio Podcast

    STBtheDON, a Kansas City rapper, talks with Ty McDuffey on the Duff Radio Podcast about Shades of Red, his new 4-track EP, in a 42-minute interview: his first year as a dad, crossing over from rap to singing, the 70s and 80s music behind the songs, working with Jace on the mix, and the three releases he has planned after it. This is STB's third time on the podcast, after June 2023 and February 2025. We recorded it over Google Meet on November 9, 2026, the day before Shades of Red's release, and he shared his plans for the next three projects here first. We both became dads in the last year, so we start there. He talks about sleep regressions, a son who bangs on everything like a drummer, and why being a parent makes you sharper. Having his son made him double down on music so his family can live a certain way. The idea for Shades of Red started after Chasing Ghost came out and the video for his single W.O.T.G fell through. He was angry and started a rap project called War. Then the guys told him people want more singing. He heard a lot of artists crossing over, some of them with AI, and decided to do it his own way. He picked beats that felt free and made the four songs with a 70s dance floor in mind, music anybody can move to. Jace engineered and mixed it, and Mighty Casual's advice shows up in the lyrics, like the Hot Country Nights line Kansas City people will catch. He wants this EP to set him apart talent-wise and open a door to a new audience. Shades of Red is the first of four: an EP called Ecstasy is next, then two full projects with live instruments, and he wants to play them with a band and maybe an orchestra. He also talks about Michael Jackson, the Gap Band and Chaka Khan, why this was his hardest project to put together, and the night-before nerves of dropping something this different. STBtheDON on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stbthedon STBtheDON on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7bdJw57CdsYpdQaySNJdWZ STBtheDON on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/stbthedon/1523030466 STBtheDON on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/stbthedon His earlier Duff Radio episodes: https://youtu.be/jcvh_fhIBAI and https://youtu.be/NSwcMABFe4s Duff Radio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/duffradio In this episode: New fatherhood: sleep regressions, staying sharp, no days offBuilding a music career for his son's futureHow Shades of Red started: Chasing Ghost, W.O.T.G and a project called WarCrossing over from rap to singing, with no AIPicking beats that feel free: a 70s dance floorHot Country Nights and lyrics Kansas City will feelJace's mix, the Cherry Crush outro and Mighty Casual's adviceFour releases planned: Shades of Red, Ecstasy and two live albums70s and 80s influences: Michael Jackson, the Gap Band, Chaka KhanRelease day nerves and why he wants feedbackEvery episode of the Duff Radio Podcast: duffradio.com

  2. 5d ago

    Wyd Benny: Kansas City to Minnesota, Skating, Writing Every Day, and No Idols | Duff Radio Podcast

    Wyd Benny, a Kansas City rapper who moved to Minnesota this summer, talks with Ty McDuffey on the Duff Radio Podcast for a 97-minute interview: skateboarding as meditation, writing music every day, marketing a rap career with business cards and stickers, having no idols, Mozart dying broke, aliens, consciousness, and how he wants to be remembered. Benny is on the Duff Radio tracks Nun' to Say and Duff Freestyle and twice on Vol. 2, and he was on the podcast with Jace Camden and Gittyman in 2023. We recorded this one over Google Meet on November 4, 2026, seven months after our last session together. He spent the summer skateboarding again and explains why it works like meditation, and why a new skate park, a new town and a new routine make you better at adapting. He wrote his last album to Gittyman's beat catalog and recorded it with Jace before the move. He writes every day, like a journal with a beat on it, and he leaves a lot of songs unrecorded on purpose. In high school he printed a thousand business cards, made wristbands, baseball cards and hoodies, and put his face on every site he could. He explains why he is more careful about the internet now. He does not have an idol. The people he supports most are the homies. He saw his first bald eagle in Minnesota and has wild turkeys in his parking spot. He works at Chipotle, a dispensary has reached out, and for the first time he has no game plan. From there it goes wide: screen fatigue, Mozart dying broke, cameras and Bluetooth, Augustus Caesar never taking a hot shower, Idiocracy, evolution, consciousness, aliens, three knocks on a door in Georgia, and how he wants to be remembered. He is back in Kansas City around Thanksgiving, and he is finishing a Duff hoodie in his basement. Wyd Benny on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wydbenny Wyd Benny on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6gGiTWSmzArvaIRboQntNm Duff Radio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/duffradio In this episode: Seven months since the Nun' to Say session, and a summer of skateboardingMoving from Kansas City to Minnesota, near his mom's side of the familyWriting to Gittyman's beats and recording with Jace Camden before the moveWriting music every day, songs he never records, and why he writesMarketing a rap career in high school: business cards, wristbands, baseball cardsInternet safety for artists, copyright strikes, and what the screens are forNo idols, the drive through Iowa, bald eagles and wild turkeys in MinnesotaHow he wants to be remembered, Chipotle, and having no game planMozart died broke, cameras and Bluetooth, Augustus Caesar's cold showersIdiocracy, evolution, consciousness, aliens, and life in the universeEvery episode of the Duff Radio Podcast: duffradio.com

  3. 6d ago

    Bump Jonas: From Houston to KC, SprinkleSumSalt, and Throwing The Mecca | Duff Radio Podcast

    Bump Jonas hosts the SprinkleSumSalt Podcast and throws The Mecca, a showcase for Kansas City creatives on the last Friday of every month. We recorded this one over Google Meet on November 3, 2026. He grew up in Houston's Third Ward and spent his twenties in California. His first gig was at 8, passing out flyers with his dad in club parking lots, and that is where he heard Pink Floyd play Rice University. He was writing rhymes at 9. He got to Kansas City about 20 years ago to start over, didn't like it at first, and then found the graffiti, the jazz history, 18th and Vine, and Damo and Jiggy of Party House. The podcast started about 6 years ago as a family panel recorded on his phone into Pro Tools. He talks about self-sufficiency, why the Midwest pushes influence out as much as it takes in, and why he calls KC the new Mecca. Three years into The Mecca, his DJ told him that if the goal is money, don't throw the event. He also covers his stream-of-consciousness writing process, the questions he writes 24 to 48 hours before an interview, what basketball taught him about people, and the six chickens his daughter brought home from Tractor Supply. Find Bump at @bump.jonas and @sprinklesumsalt.podcast on Instagram, and The Mecca at @themeccakc. In this episode: Growing up in Houston's Third Ward, then California from 18 to 28Passing out flyers at 8 and hearing Pink Floyd at Rice UniversityPublic Enemy, Wu-Tang, The Roots and the politics in the musicArriving in Kansas City 20 years ago: graffiti, jazz, 18th and Vine, Party HouseStarting SprinkleSumSalt 6 years ago with a phone and Pro ToolsWhy the Midwest pushes influence out and KC is the new MeccaThree years of throwing The Mecca: protection, venues, divas and artistsStream-of-consciousness writing, skits with Unk, questions 24 to 48 hours outBasketball as chess on a court, Michael Jordan, competing with DuffSix chickens from Tractor Supply and what they taught himEvery episode of the Duff Radio Podcast: duffradio.com

  4. Sep 27

    Savanna on the Porch: Lake Life, Leaving New Mexico, and Baby Number Two

    "The Luckiest Kids on the Planet": My Wife Savanna on Small-Town Lake Life, Our Cabin Near Chama, and Getting Ready for a Little Girl My wife, Savanna, joins me on our porch at the Lake of the Ozarks. Back in Lawrence, Kansas, she pictured the lake as big towns and big cities. Now we hit Dierbergs, the Camdenton library and Ha Ha Tonka, and she follows every holiday festival in the local Facebook groups. We talk about the mornings at our cabin at the foot of the Brazos Cliffs outside Chama, New Mexico, why leaving that quiet was the hardest part, driving across the country with a six-week-old, a fall on the farm in Lecompton, Kansas, with her mom close by, what changes now that our second baby is a girl, and what she wants to give our kids. Recorded on our porch at the Lake of the Ozarks on September 26, 2026. Chapters 0:00 Welcome to the Duff Radio Podcast: Meet My Wife, Savanna 0:11 From Lawrence, Kansas to the Lake of the Ozarks: Big Lake, Small-Town Vibes 1:11 Our Lake Routine: Dierbergs, the Camdenton Library and Ha Ha Tonka 1:59 Becoming Locals: Lake Festivals and Small-Town Facebook Pages 3:00 Best Mornings at Our Cabin Below the Brazos Cliffs Near Chama, New Mexico 5:16 The Hardest Part: Leaving Our Sanctuary in Northern New Mexico 6:44 Driving Across the Country With a Six-Week-Old 8:24 A Fall on the Farm in Lecompton, Kansas, With a Newborn 9:42 Baby Number Two Is a Girl: What Changes Now 11:53 What We Want to Give Our Kids

  5. Sep 20

    Grandpa McDuffey: 50 Years at the Lake of the Ozarks

    "It Was My Lake": Grandpa McDuffey on Shorecrest, the Flood of '86, and Opening a Water & Sewer Company My grandpa, Mike McDuffey, turns 83 in October. He came to the Lake of the Ozarks in 1976 and ran Shorecrest Resort on Bridal Cave Road for 13 years. In 1990, he started Lake of the Ozarks Water and Sewer after a man with a dissolved oxygen meter took him out in a boat and showed him the lake was dying. We sat down at his kitchen table on his farm and went through his life: working-class St. Louis in the fifties, the Navy in Newfoundland on the day Kennedy was shot, building artillery shells during Vietnam, the Christmas Eve party where he met my grandma, boating during Octobers on the lake in the 70s, the flood of 1986 where they had to sandbag cottages and worry about Truman Reservoir overflowing as Camden County residents and football players showed up to help, and winters where you could walk across the frozen water. He's also the Democratic candidate for Camden County presiding commissioner this November. Recorded September 16, 2026, in Camden County, Missouri, with my grandma, Savanna, and Torin in the next room. Chapters 0:00 "It Was My Lake": Fishing an Empty Lake of the Ozarks in October 0:18 Meet Mike McDuffey, Candidate for Camden County Presiding Commissioner 0:59 Born in 1943 During World War II, and the 115-Acre Family Farm 1:55 Growing Up in 1950s St. Louis: Sacred Heart, Central High, the Pool Hall 3:11 In the Navy in Newfoundland the Day JFK Was Shot (November 1963) 3:59 The Vietnam Years: Making 105mm Artillery Shells in St. Louis 4:44 Watching the 1969 Moon Landing on a Neighbor's Color TV 5:24 Christmas Eve 1964: How He Met Grandma 6:25 His First Job: Sweeping Up a St. Louis Silk-Screen Shop at 12 or 13 6:53 Why They Moved to the Lake of the Ozarks in the 1970s 8:12 Buying Shorecrest Resort in 1976 and the Lake's Tourism Boom 9:31 Running a Lake Resort: "We Can Guarantee Two Things" 10:26 A 1970s Saturday at Shorecrest: Turning Over 11 Cottages 11:08 The Bagnell Dam Strip in the 1970s and Now 11:36 Why He Started a Water and Sewer Company in 1990 12:20 Union Electric (Ameren), Diesel Fuel and the Mosquito Fight 13:28 The Dissolved Oxygen Meter That Showed the Lake Was Dying 14:21 How Grandma Ran Shorecrest Resort for 13 Years 15:28 Landing the First Wastewater Contracts Around the Lake 16:15 The Longtime Employees He'll Never Forget 16:55 The Flood of 1986: Sandbags, Truman Dam and Neighbors Who Showed Up 18:13 The Winter of 1976-77: Walking Across the Frozen Lake 18:45 Roads at the Lake: "Almost Every Road Here Is Older Than I Am" 19:25 What He Wants His Great-Grandkids to Know About Him 20:09 The Smartest Thing He Ever Did: "Marry My Wife" 20:23 A Message for Someone Watching 50 Years From Now

  6. Sep 18

    Making Beats Is Only 15% of the Job | Gittyman (Full Interview)

    Part two with Nick, aka Gittyman, a 24-year-old producer and engineer out of Kansas City who's been doing music full-time for about a year and a half. He talks about the artists he works with most, including Boogie Corleone, Jace Camden, Benny, Crix Taylor and Toast, and what's coming on the next projects with the same bounce as Bennington Avenue but more experimental. He also gets into Jace's upcoming project and its 2012 swag music feel. He breaks down why sitting there making beats is only 15 to 20 percent of the job, why he decided at the start of the year to put his face in front of people every day, and how trial reels on Instagram let him repost one video into the algorithm over and over for millions of views. He gets into Kansas City producers he rates, why he won't put Conductor Williams on a KC Mount Rushmore, the Philly drill sound he doesn't like, reproducing and resampling a full 10 or 11 song project of Boogie's covers, and plans to relocate to Texas or Atlanta and get pickier about who he works with. Note: Ty's microphone did not record on this call, so this is Gittyman's side of the conversation. In this episode: Going full-time as a producer and engineer in KCWorking with Boogie Corleone, Jace Camden, Benny, Crix Taylor and ToastLearning to make beats and finding a career pathWhy the music is only 15-20% of the jobKansas City producers and the Conductor Williams questionReproducing and resampling a full project of classic beatsTrial reels on Instagram and brand buildingRelocating South and getting pickier in five yearsEvery episode of the Duff Radio Podcast: duffradio.com

  7. Feb 10

    PK Waves (Part 2) - Duff Radio Podcast

    PK Waves returns to the podcast to talk about current events, his new album, and gaming. PK Waves is an artist residing in San Luis Obispo California, originally from Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. His new album is called For Loaded Shells Only. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro; PK Waves returns to the Duff Radio Podcast 0:16 - Growing up in the Camdenton, Missouri school system 1:34 - What happened to the Scary Movie series? 2:02 - PK's SP-404 and home studio setup 2:40 - Video games 5:21 - Recording sounds with vintage microphones 6:39 - Creating beats with loop banks on SP-404 8:37 - Styles on PK Waves new album For Loaded Shells Only 10:09 - Lake of the Ozarks culture 16:44 - The 40-hour workweek; Mewgenics game; The Binding of Isaac video game 19:50 - Are LLMs demonic?; OpenAI whistleblowers 24:44 - Unseen forces of the universe in an information-based reality 26:55 - AI chatbots are like Ouija Boards; warnings against negative aspects of AI; Google DeepMind 30:15 - Using AI to create assets; Aseprite pixel art tool 32:03 - Game development program at Camdenton LCTC; Gamemaker Studio; RPG Maker 35:17 - Exploring RPG Maker; Riley Macc Discord 36:28 - Megabonk game 37:23 - ARC Raiders robot killing game 37:58 - Alienware computer 39:48 - Civilization 3, 4, 5, and 6 40:36 - Volcano vaporizers 43:02 - Rebuilding life one step at a time 43:47 - Impact of California transfers + St. Louisans and Kansas Citians on the rental market at Lake of the Ozarks 45:01 - Lake restaurant parking lot story 47:36 - Growing up in a small town 48:54 - Love is beautiful 49:18 - Thoughts on the Epstein files 1:13:49 - Future of the American Empire 1:31:33 - Importance of community in the digital age 1:34:08 - Earthship homes 1:36:35 - Building a creative community; New Mexico unrestricted land; Uncle Roy's Organic Cannabis in Milan, New Mexico 1:43:29 - PK Waves Drum Kit 1:45:25 - Moving to the East Coast; Chinese medicine; working & living in California 1:55:14 - Finding happiness in the face of modern lifestyle demands 1:58:56 - Message to music producers in 2026 2:01:12 - OG Da Sleep Dealer, BugleBoy, and PK Waves YouTube Channels 2:11:40 - Outro Links to everything we talked about: Uncle Roy's Organic Cannabis - https://uncleroygrows.com/ PK's Drum Kit - https://marketplace.ectocorp.net/ PK Waves YouTube: -  @pkwaves420 Bugle Boy: -  @bugleboy3k   Aseprite - https://www.aseprite.org/ #duffradio #pkwaves #undergroundhiphop #sp404mk2

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The Duff Radio Podcast focuses on music, current events, and the unique experiences of our guests.