00:00 Our last guest of 2025 is Joseph Patel. He is Bay Area bred journalist, writer, and producer who has won awards for documentary film work on 'Summer of Soul' and 'Sly Lives! (AKA the Burden of Black Genius)

01:16 Musical Influences growing up in the Bay Area with immigrant parents

06:33 The music and moments that made him fall in love with hip-hop, leading to interest in music journalism

13:50 Thoughts on the value of experiential learning, especially when pursuing careers in sports and entertainment

16:19 Getting advance copies of albums as a perk of being a music journalist in the 90s

17:45 Transition from writing to film making is still about storytelling

22:41 Why storytelling in music is important to preserving history for future generations

23:38 The themes of 'Sly Lives! (AKA the Burden of Black Genius)' and connection to Virginia legend, D'Angelo

31:20 Writing the bios for N.E.R.D. Albums

37:05 N.E.R.D. 'In Search Of...': Electronic vs. Live Spymob version and advance copy exclusives

42:31 Creating MTV news and docs show 'My Block' to showcase regional music scenes and sounds

47:15 'My Block' Virginia Episode behind the scenes stories

53:16 The importance of 'My Block' during the peak of regional sounds in hip-hop

56:58 Best/Favorite Neptunes Frequent Collaborator?

58:53: Favorite Neptunes R&B Song?

59:24 Favorite underrated Neptunes song?

1:03:07 Favorite N.E.R.D. Album?

1:04:31 Thoughts on Clipse return, 'Let God Sort Em Out' Album, and Grammy predictions

1:07:41 Upcoming projects for Joseph

#JosephPatel #documentary #theneptunes #Questlove, #slystone #dangelo #blackmusic