Episode #19: Whitey 🇺🇸

Who in the World

In this episode, I chat with my old homie, Stephen White.

Stephen (or just "Whitey" as his friends and coworkers call him) came from the East Coast like me but made his way out west, finding his way to San Francisco, California post-college.

I moved out to San Francisco around 1995-98 as well, and together with our incredibly eclectic but tight-knit crew, we ripped up the city.

But more than just partying and experiencing the music and culture the city had to offer, Stephen was like a big brother to me, guiding me socially, artistically, and professionally.

(In fact, I think it was Whitey who gave me my first chance at a writing gig for his e-zine, Lifted, and I was shocked when one of my articles - Deep Drying the American Dream - went viral and made it to the front page of Yahoo.)

He always looked out, gave me wise counsel, and rarely would let me pay for a thing (since I was so broke I'd be lucky just to make rent money every month!). To this day, when I hook so many people up and don't ask for anything in return, I'm passing on the good karma and mentorship that Whitey extended to me.

I haven't lived in San Francisco for a long time, but Whitey is still ripping it up, mostly through his career in the music industry.

He's long been the CEO of music tech companies and startups, and currently works with Empire, a record label that focuses on empowering their artists - something very rare in the record business. Empire features many notable hip hop artists but is also active with growing Afro Beats and many other genres.

So, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this podcast interview with Whitey as we take a trip down memory lane, talk about how San Francisco has changed, his career and life in the music industry, and still finding that artistic outlet and passion in life.

Let's gooooooo!

-Norm Schriever