Banking on KC – Joe "Jo Blaq" Macklin of DistrKCt: Investing in Youth
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Kelly Scanlon:
Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us.
With us on this episode is Joseph Macklin, also known as Jo Blaq in the music world. He's a Grammy nominated music producer and songwriter who left Los Angeles after working with top name performers like Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, and several others, but returned to Kansas City and established the district record label. He's mentoring area students and creating entertainment venues.
Welcome, Joe.
Joe Macklin:
Thank you. I'm more than honored to be here.
Kelly Scanlon:
Well, we're so happy to have you here in the studio today.
You grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and very early on you developed an interest in music and you had a talent as well. So tell us about how you developed that talent and how it eventually led you to LA.
Joe Macklin:
Growing up, I'm a preacher's kid, so everybody in my family's kind of musical, but nobody really knew I could sing or do anything because I was kind of hidden and thinking basketball was the way and had some success with that. But I realized early on young ladies like people who can sing and so I would spend my time singing to ladies in the choir and stuff like that, and kind of develop a real love and interest for the music and wanted to see more about it as I progressed and grew older.
Kelly Scanlon:
Why did you think you had a shot in LA? Did you know somebody there? What took you there?
Joe Macklin:
Well, my mentor, his name 's Craig Lindsay, he took his time with me and showed me really the ropes of really how recording was, and so I kind of developed, and then I was like, let me take my shot at it. He knew somebody in LA and I went and met with this guy, and they felt like I had something, but of course I had a lot of growing to do. But going out there just kind of opened my eyes that there was a opportunity and there was access to the industry.
Kelly Scanlon:
You were working with some of the really big names out there. How did you get connected with those folks?
Joe Macklin:
It was really about connections and people I knew. My cousins were already out there and they were like, "Man, come out and hang out and just see and get the wave of the land." I was in LA in 2008 and really nothing was happening. A friend by the name of Earl Watson, and I grew up with Baron Davis as well, and introduced me to Barron Davis a long time ago, and Barron lives in LA. Barron was like, "Man, you got something special. Come out and help you out and to introduce you to who you need to know." And that kind of opened up the door, and I ended up meeting a guy named Harmony at church. He invited me to work on this project with this young lady. He told me, "This is going to be a big project." He was like, "Trust me, it's going to change our lives." And I was like, "Okay." I was new and I was just my really first big thing, I would say. And that young lady just happened to be Ariana Grande.
Kelly Scanlon:
Wow.
And from there it just took off.
Joe Macklin:
From there, it was just the waterfall happened at that point. So everybody wanted to work at that point. We were able to kind of break Ariana's career. We did her first and second album. That's where we would be Grammy nominated. And it just opened up the door to Justin Bieber, to Jill Scott, to Diana Ross, Evan Ross, Stevie Wonder, and such and so on.
Kelly Scanlon:
So when you say you worked with her on her first two albums, what were you doing?
Joe Macklin:
I was the vocal producer for that album. So literally when Ariana would record, she didn't want to record with anybody but me. So me and Ariana were in for at least seven, well, I'll say about eight to 10 months, just me and her in the studio, Monday through Friday or Monday through Sunday working and recording her album.
Kelly Scanlon:
You get nominated for a Grammy Award.
Joe Macklin:
It was for Ariana's album. It was for the best pop vocal, which meant a lot because I was the guy recording all the vocals. And so it was one of the first times that I realized I was getting calls from people in the Grammy U. Someone came to me like, vocal production should be a Grammy that is presented, because they felt like I did so good on the vocals on her album. I mean, Arianna is a great singer and I just was able to get the best out of her, I think. But she is phenomenal regardless.
Kelly Scanlon:
So you have all this going for you. You're highly in demand and you decide to come back to Kansas City. What brought you back here?
Joe Macklin:
One, family. My father was having some complications, and I always had said to myself, if it was about my family or this industry, I would always choose my family first. I was just coming back more often just to check up on my father and my mom. Growing up family was everything for us. So I would come back and I would just realize that there was no resources. Even after I graduated in '99, I'm like, man, there's still no resources. There's no accessibility for students or kids to really want to hone in on their craft, and being in LA you get to see everyone have those resources. Being with Ariana, she's like, "Oh, I don't go to school. I got a tutor." I'm like, "A tutor. That's crazy." But LA had the resources and they had the opportunity.
Kelly Scanlon:
Even within the regular curriculum in the public schools?
Joe Macklin:
Yeah, yeah.
Kelly Scanlon:
These were courses they could take?
Joe Macklin:
They could take. And so opened up my eyes. I'm like, man, the kids back home were like me, and my mom, it was kind of taboo. My parents didn't know anything about the music industry, the music business. That was something that was just we were detached from. My mom didn't know how to get me into these sectors, and so I just was like, I got to do something to give back to kids that want to do and make this a nine to five. So my thought process was how can I create a ecosystem for students and kids to understand that they can be making $50 an hour recording music, doing something that they love doing?
Kelly Scanlon:
So you're creating an ecosystem. You have a studio, you found a district recording studio and label. Tell us about what you're doing to create that ecosystem. What does it consist of?
Joe Macklin:
It just consists of we're learning and I think we're seeing more often that not everyone is going to college, but there are trades that are out there where our kids can get into and get a trade and take that trade and be right into the system. What I was seeing was a lot of these students were coming from these big audio engineering schools, and they were maybe $60,000, $70,000 in debt, just to come see me and the studio and want to intern and have no idea where to begin or what the process was really like being in the field or what they call real world learning now.
So I was in awe because now you have a learning curve. You're in debt as a student, then you come to me and now you're trying to figure it out. So that's another year that goes by that you're trying to figure things out. So my mindset was how can I teach them from being in the field or in real, real learning, where they're able to enter into the workforce or workplace and not have a learning curve and they can directly go into a radio station, they can directly go to work in any studio in the world. They can work at T-Mobile Center if they wanted to, knowing how to run equipment and get in and out of the system.
Kelly Scanlon:
Right. There's other applications besides the music industry.
Joe Macklin:
So many other applications, and a lot of people don't understand that it's just not making music. It's so many other avenues for our kids to be able to work in and get resources for themselves if we provide it to them.
Kelly Scanlon:
Where do the students come from? You obviously don't have a separate school, so tell us how they find what you're doing and participate in what you're offering.
Joe Macklin:
Mr. Stalin at DeLasalle, he was the principal at the time. He saw me speak about my program and we sat down. I went over to DeLasalle and he wanted to have my program into his school. And so the last two years, the kids are bused to me in their seventh hour. I teach them seventh hour and my audio engineering class is what they take, and it applies towards their grades for their school. So I was able to integrate myself in DeLasalle by the door being opened by Mr. Stalin. So our kids, they leave with audio engineering, they hit their certification through Pro Tools and they leave with college credits as well after taking the course.
Kelly Scanlon:
Are there any other efforts to include other schools? Talk to us about the possible expansion.
Joe Macklin:
Yes, that's what we're doing now. We've been expanding. I've been really in close contact with Liberty School District. They've been bringing the kids over just to see, because they want to see the interest and we are seeing that it's not only affecting the kids and just them wanting to be cool and record, but their attendance as well. So the kids at DeLasalle, some of them were for 68%, 67% attendance rate went to 98%.
Kelly Scanlon:
Well, if I remember right, they don't get to attend your class unless they meet certain attendance goals.
Joe Macklin:
That's right. They have to. They have to.
At the same time, this is a beautiful thing, this thing we call music, but I do want to continue to have those core values and just, hey, you can't be rewarded if you're not putting in the work. I think we have this false perception that everything just falls in our lap, but that's not real life. It's not the real world. My kids, I want them to know that we work together. This is not me being just a teacher. I want to give you something that you're going to be able to take into, be able to provide for yourself and hopefully your family as well.
Kelly Scanlon:
Walk us through the program. You've given us some high level overview of it, but when the kids come in, tell us what their hour that seventh hour looks like.
Joe Macklin:
So their seventh hour looks like, we come in, we teach from the Pro Tools book. So we're in chapters. We go through our chapters. We're learning, and I like them to be hands-on. So as I'm going through the process with them and teaching them through, whether it be how to record or learning about busing or learning about how to wire a whole system together, we're testing through that time as well. And then I give them the last maybe 30, 40 minutes of the class where they can record and kind of take what they've learned in the class at that day and apply it to what they're doing in their projects.
So at the end of the semester, they have a project that they do of writing and producing their own music. They have to mix it and master it themselves. That's how I've been applying that and just showing them, because I believe being hands-on and being in the field or real world learning is super important because now it gives them real life experience. So when they do walk away from me, it's just not something that has fallen to the ground. They can take that and they can go exactly to another studio and say, oh, I know how to get in. I know how to plug in the microphone. I know how to plug in the preamps, plug in the compressors if they're not plugged in, and I know how to get in the system and get out of the system.
Kelly Scanlon:
So in addition to the technical skills that they're learning from you, are you teaching them the business side of this as well?
Joe Macklin:
To me, my students know that's the most important side. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have the business part, and I think in this industry, that's the part that a lot of people miss. We come in with the love of and expectations of, I just want to do amazing music. But the other side of it, which I always tell them, is 97%, 98% business, and the other 2% is your creativity. Without knowing the business, they're not going to be successful. I've had to learn that the hard way.
And whether it means contracts, I'm teaching them about looking at contracts, what that means. I'm bringing in attorneys to help them walk through contracts. I'm telling them about, hey, you may not be the music producer. You may not be the artist, but you can be the manager.
One of my students, she's taken a liking to say, I want to learn the business side. So now I pair her with people that are in that business, that are managers, that are executives, that she can talk to and learn about what does it look like to manage an artist.
So those pieces for me are super important. Like I said, I like to be really hands-on, be transparent with them so they know, hey, there's more to this than just making music. We have the other flip side of it, which is the business.
Kelly Scanlon:
You've been doing this for how long now?
Joe Macklin:
I'd say I signed my first publishing deal in 2007. I've been doing music before that, but professionally, I'd say in 2007 is when I signed my first publishing deal.
Kelly Scanlon:
So you have quite a bit of experience to share with them. And how long have you been working with the students?
Joe Macklin:
This will be my second year. This will been my second year. Well, I've had students, I partnered with Full Employment, the FEC, and so I've been doing this since 2015. We did audio engineering classes through FEC, with Central Missouri University, where they were certified through Central Missouri. As we progressed, FEC, they moved forward doing other things. I wanted to keep the program going because I saw how much energy and how much these students and these people wanted to really engage in this. So I didn't want to just stop.
Kelly Scanlon:
What kind of changes are you seeing in your students? I know it hasn't been a long time yet. It's been a couple of years, but surely you're seeing from when they walk in the door at the beginning of the semester to when they leave at the end of the semester. What difference do you see?
Joe Macklin:
It's crazy. If you were to walk into my building right now and my students were there, they're going to introduce themselves. I always tell them, hey, my mom always used to say, you never know who the angel is. Right? And so I always tell them, whenever people come into the studio, you greet them, you let them know your name, you tell them who you are and what you do. You don't know who's going to be a blessing to you or who's going to open up a door for you. Right?
Kelly Scanlon:
Right.
Joe Macklin:
My biggest thing is character. I'm big on that. And to see their character and how they grow as a human being, that for me, it means more than anything. So when people are coming in my building and they're engaging with my students, they're like, these kids, they can't believe what they're experiencing and the level of respect and just professionalism that my students are showing.
We know we have a lot of students that may never been downtown. And to be able to introduce them to something like the Crossroads. I took them down the Crossroads, we ate. We went to... What's the pizza place down there? And so I just wanted to show them and give them something, a different outlook and let them know, hey, these are real life experiences. And to be able to give those to them. It's life changing for me.
Kelly Scanlon:
Well, they always say that whatever you give you get back much more in return.
You've talked about the impact on the kids, on the students. What impact do you see your work having on Kansas City music scene, the arts here locally in general?
Joe Macklin:
I've been told that I've been a blessing to the city, just coming back, and just my biggest thing was bringing a little bit of LA to Kansas City. And what I mean by that, Kansas City already has the talent. Just being someone who can show them, hey, that this is accessible for you to do. My biggest saying is we do the impossible. So things that people tell us can't be done, we try to show them that it can be done.
So doing events through the city, and I think the first event I started was on a Tuesday, which is a unconventional day for people to show up to an event. But we had a packed house every week, that let's open up the doors for people to know there's more days in this week than Friday, Saturday, and Sunday that people would like to get out or need a getaway.
I hope and I'm praying that the impact that we're having is life changing, and it is something that I believe that it will be sustainable through the city. And we'll see more people from Los Angeles to New York to Atlanta to Texas come to Kansas City and say, hey, this is the place to be.
Kelly Scanlon:
What would you like your legacy to be?
Joe Macklin:
My legacy really is about giving back. And my legacy really is to change a life that's going to change a life. If I can impact somebody's life and give them hope, I know that they're going to give somebody else hope. Right? And that just is a chain reaction.
When my mentor took me on his only requirement of me was, hey, when I'm teaching you, you pave it forward and teach the next person so we can keep this thing going. So I believe if I can continue to just implement and just give the love. Everything I do is built off love. So I want to make sure I'm showing love, giving love, and letting the art students know, and just people in Kansas City know to dream, it's okay to dream, and it's also okay to be a visionary and not just be a visionary, but carry out your visions. Act on it. Act on it. It's possible. It's possible.
Kelly Scanlon:
In addition to all that you're already doing, you've also established a foundation.
Joe Macklin:
Yes. It's the Distrkct IS Foundation. Distrkct IS is stands for, my mom. Her name is Ilene Sims, and the Distrkct IS Foundation embodies everything she is. It's loving, caring, giving, education, devotion, and just the love that she has given out to the many people, the masses. So we've built that and it's something that is a part of the legacy piece, and we want it to be the gift that keeps on giving.
Kelly Scanlon:
Do you ever see yourself going back to LA or are you here for good?
Joe Macklin:
Yeah, I see myself... Right now, my friends are calling me every day, and yeah.
Kelly Scanlon:
Of course, they miss you.
Joe Macklin:
They miss me. I miss them too. I think we still have our place there. So I'm back and forth. This is home. Kansas City is home, but LA is where a lot of the work is. So I want to make sure that I continue to nurture my connections out there so I can bring it back to the hometown.
Kelly Scanlon:
Of course. Of course.
And we're so appreciative, so grateful that you are sharing your talents here with the students, and you're doing lots of things to enhance the profile of Kansas City. Thank you so much.
Joe Macklin:
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Joe Close:
This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Joe Macklin for being our guest on this episode of Banking on KC. Joe demonstrates the profound impact of investing in our youth and cultivating opportunities for their future. By unlocking their untapped talent and encouraging them to defy what others may deem the impossible, he also instills in them the importance of believing in themselves and their dreams.
Investment in our youth isn't just an investment in individuals, it's an investment in our communities. Just as the students discover the talents that live within themselves, Kansas City must seek out the nascent potential that already resides here.
Under Joe's tutelage, these students are helping to shape Kansas City into a hub of innovation, drawing the attention of other cities and talented artists across the country.
Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on you, Kansas City. Country Club Bank, member FDIC.