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PODCAST

Mixed and Mastered

Mixed and Mastered is where the music industry tells the stories you never hear.Hosted by Jeffrey Sledge, veteran music executive and former VP of A&R at Atlantic Records and Jive Records, the podcast goes behind the scenes of the people shaping today’s sound. Not the headlines—the real journeys, hard lessons, and pivotal moments that define careers.From executives and producers to artists, songwriters, and managers, Mixed and Mastered centers the voices that actually build the culture. These

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All Episodes

65:25

April Walker on Brooklyn Roots, Streetwear, and...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2026/02/06

Send us a textThis week on Mixed and Mastered, Jeffrey Sledge sits down with April Walker — fashion pioneer, cultural architect, and the founder of Walker Wear, one of the brands that helped define modern streetwear before it had a name.April traces her journey from Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill to the clubs, studios, and streets of ’80s New York, where hip-hop, style, and entrepreneurship collided. She breaks down how Walker Wear was built from the culture outward, the story behind her iconic WW logo,

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62:53

Steve Carless on Relationships, Risk, and Turning...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2026/01/26

Send us a textThis week on Mixed and Mastered, Jeffrey Sledge sits down with Steve Carless, a senior creative executive whose 20+ year career spans Def Jam, Atlantic Records, and the front lines of modern artist development. From studying liner notes as a kid in New Jersey to shaping careers for artists like YG, Jeezy, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Nipsey Hussle, Steve breaks down how relationships, risk-taking, and cultural intuition drive longevity in the music business.Steve shares never-told

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60:32

James McMillan, Esq. on Artist Leverage, Deal...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2026/01/15

Send us a textJeffrey Sledge sits down with James McMillan, Esq. — entertainment attorney, label executive, and CEO of Art @ War Records (in partnership with Warner Records) — for a real conversation about power, ownership, and how leverage actually works in music.James breaks down the mindset behind creative dealmaking, why chasing fees isn’t the same as building equity, and how his path evolved from entertainment law into management and label ownership. Along the way, he shares stories from the

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75:08

RE-RELEASE: Sean C

Mixed and Mastered ·

2026/01/09

Send us a textOriginally released March 31, 2025"My man. Always an inspiration!!"- A-TrakStep into the extraordinary world of Sean C — legendary DJ, producer, A&R, and true architect of hip-hop. From Harlem block parties to Grammy nominations, Sean’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and cultural impact.In this powerful episode, Sean shares how a cancer diagnosis became the unlikely spark that launched him from the mailroom at LOUD Records to producing era-defining

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59:17

RE-RELEASE: Dante Ross

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/12/31

Send us a textOriginally released on July 10, 2025.Jeffrey Sledge sits down with legendary music executive, producer, and A&R Dante Ross for Part 1 of a deep dive into his extraordinary journey.From growing up on New York’s gritty Lower East Side to immersing himself in punk rock, graffiti, and skateboarding, Dante shares how music became his first true escape. He talks about the artists who shaped his taste – from Chuck Berry to The Beatles to The Jackson 5 – and how the cultural collision of

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64:19

Mickey Factz on Lyricism, Longevity, and Building Hip...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/12/19

Send us a textThis year-end episode of Mixed and Mastered is something special. Jeffrey Sledge sits down with Mickey Factz for a deep, unfiltered conversation that goes far beyond music. From growing up between Harlem and the Bronx to battling in schoolyards, interning at Def Jam and Loud, navigating the blog era, major-label deals, viral moments, and hard industry lessons—this is the full arc.Mickey breaks down the mindset of a true craftsman: lyricism, independence, evolution, and longevity. The

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37:59

Rocky Bucano on Legacy, Longevity & Building...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/12/11

Send us a textFrom DJing the Stardust Ballroom at 15 to shaping Strong City Records, from Rowdy to Blackstreet, and ultimately to founding the world’s premier Hip-Hop Museum, Rocky Bucano’s journey is a masterclass in vision, grit, and cultural stewardship.In this episode, he sits down with us inside the soon-to-open, $100M+ museum rising on the Harlem River—where he breaks down his Bronx roots, the early record-pool grind, Teddy Riley’s first sessions, the MCA rollercoaster, his years shaping

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74:05

Dyana Williams on Breaking Barriers, Building...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/11/26

Send us a textIn this powerhouse episode of Mixed and Mastered, Jeffrey sits down with the incomparable Dyana Williams — radio icon, cultural architect, co-founder of Black Music Month, longtime Philly International insider, and the heartbeat behind some of the most important stories in Black American music.From her Harlem and Bronx roots to her early days as “Ebony Moonbeams,” Dyana walks us through a five-decade career that includes:Breaking into radio at CCNY and WHURLearning under the legendary

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74:59

Rene McLean on Community, Creativity & the Art of the...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/11/21

Send us a textRene McLean’s journey reads like a blueprint for reinvention in the music industry. From growing up on the Lower East Side during the crack era—surrounded by jazz legends, culture-shifters, and downtown chaos—to interning his way into radio promo, becoming a 21-year-old regional rep, getting fired, re-entering the game through pure hustle, and eventually creating the Mixshow Power Summit… Rene’s story is a masterclass in evolution.Jeff and Rene dive into hip-hop’s club era, the rise of

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72:28

Dr. Jason King on Music, Meaning & Movement

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/11/12

Send us a textThis week on Mixed and Mastered, Jeffrey sits down with Dr. Jason King — Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, founding faculty at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, and one of the most forward-thinking voices in music education and criticism. From growing up Trini in Canada to shaping the next generation of music innovators, Jason takes us on a journey through hip-hop’s 90s New York heyday, global music-making in Abu Dhabi and Berlin, his deep dives into icons like Sylvester, D’Angelo,

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59:55

DJ Enuff on Protecting the Legacy From Biggie to the...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/11/05

Send us a textThis week on Mixed and Mastered, Jeffrey Sledge sits down with a true New York legend — DJ Enuff, the man who helped bring hip-hop from the block to the world stage.From growing up between Harlem, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn, Enuff breaks down how New York’s diverse sounds shaped his ear and his journey from neighborhood park jams to radio royalty at Hot 97. He shares early stories of club life in the Red Zone and the Tunnel, building the Heavy Hitters DJ crew, and his time as

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62:25

Paul Stewart on Delicious Vinyl, Warren G Saving Def...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/10/22

Send us a textOn this week's Mixed and Mastered Jeff chops it up with Paul “DJ P” Stewart—Crenshaw-raised connector, A&R whisperer, and music-supervision ace. We hit his come-up at Delicious Vinyl (Tone Lōc, Young MC), managing The Pharcyde, and the day Coolio cut the bones of “Gangsta’s Paradise” in Paul’s living room. Then the Def Jam era: bringing in Warren G (triple-platinum lifeline), plus Domino and Montell Jordan (“This Is How We Do It”). Paul breaks down the Singleton years—Poetic

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68:33

Yvette Love Dávila on Def Jam, Rick Ross, and Turning...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/10/09

Send us a textJeff chops it up with Yvette Love Dávila—yes, DÁ-vi-la, accent and all—about a life that runs from East New York block parties to the executive suites and back to the heart. We trace her come-up through Violator with Chris Lighty, road-managing Angie Martinez, a pit stop in politics with Sen. David Paterson (featuring the recurring villain/hero, Lenny the Barber), then into the Arista/Def Jam blast furnace under L.A. Reid. Yvette drops the inside story on rebuilding bridges for Nas at

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70:00

Rob “Reef” Tewlow on The Source, Biggie, and Building...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/10/01

Send us a textFrom graffiti tags to global playlists, Rob “Reef” Tewlow has been at the center of hip-hop’s evolution for 30+ years—and this episode maps the whole arc. Reef walks us through NYC in the late ’70s/’80s, bounces from BU to NYU, and lands at The Source where he helps build the legendary mic-rating system and champions era-defining records. He then pivots to A&R at Atlantic/Big Beat (Artifacts, Lil’ Kim, Junior M.A.F.I.A.), slides behind the boards (an early Eminem cut; 50 Cent’s

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61:15

Datwon Thomas: Part 2

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/09/10

Send us a textIn Part 2 of our conversation with Datwon Thomas, we trace his path from creating King Magazine to producing some of the biggest shows on television. He shares how his vision for a lifestyle publication—once rejected—became a cultural force that gave us iconic covers with stars like Tyra Banks, expanded into Rides Magazine, and helped launch XXL’s legendary Freshman List.Datwon opens up about his leap from print to digital at Global Grind, to live television with Dick Clark

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45:23

Datwon Thomas: Part 1

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/09/04

Send us a textFrom Brooklyn to Tokyo and back again, Datwon Thomas’ story is as global as it is deeply rooted in hip-hop. In Part 1, he shares how growing up during the crack era, moving to Japan in the mid-’80s, and facing both culture shock and racism shaped his worldview long before he became an architect of music media.Datwon walks us through his early hustle—interning at VIBE, boldly cold-calling XXL’s Reginald Dennis, and turning deep knowledge of the culture into paid opportunities that

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69:32

Lisa Cambridge-Mitchell: Part 2

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/08/27

Send us a textIn Part 2 of our conversation with Lisa Cambridge-Mitchell, we follow her journey from LaFace Records—where she went from publicity to marketing and helped launch Usher’s My Way—through the politics of Arista, HBO’s digital experiment, and Jive Records. She shares raw stories of industry clashes, the reality of being paid not to work during her most lucrative years, and the constant challenges of being a Black woman executive in a business built on loyalty and power plays. Along the

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64:45

Lisa Cambridge-Mitchell: Part 1

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/08/20

Send us a text In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Jeffrey Sledge welcomes industry vet Lisa Cambridge-Mitchell for a deep dive into her early life and rise in music. From growing up in New York and navigating a volatile home, to founding We Three Marketing and landing at Uptown and LaFace, Lisa shares candid stories of resilience, risk-taking, and working with icons like Andre Harrell, Mary J. Blige, and TLC. A raw and inspiring look at how she carved her path in a business that wasn’t...

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65:00

Caron Veazey

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/08/14

Send us a text This week, Jeffrey sits down with the incomparable Caron Veazey — a music industry force whose career has spanned MCA, Epic, RCA, Island Def Jam, global marketing at Sony, and nearly a decade managing Pharrell Williams. Caron shares her journey from growing up in the DMV to discovering the music business at NBC’s Saturday Night Live, championing artists across genres, and helping shape landmark moments like Rage Against the Machine x Wu-Tang Clan, Christina Aguilera’s Stripped ...

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40:26

Best Of...

Mixed and Mastered ·

2025/08/06

Send us a text In this special Best Of episode, Jeffrey Sledge celebrates the first 25 episodes of Mixed and Mastered by revisiting three unforgettable moments that capture the soul of the series. From Faith Newman’s raw, hilarious, and inspiring stories of being one of the first five employees at Def Jam, to Joseph Patel’s emotional journey from Sundance to Oscar night (yes, that Oscars), to Grace Harry’s behind-the-scenes insight into managing Usher during a pivotal career transformation—th...

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