Terrace Martin: Do’s & Don’ts for Musicians | Kendrick Lamar, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, Interview

Episode 96: Terrace Martin joins me for one of the deepest conversations we have ever had about musicianship, professionalism, creativity, community, and what it truly takes to build a lasting career in music. We break down the do’s and don’ts every musician needs to know. Showing up early, respecting the room, keeping the gig, getting hired, reading the temperature, avoiding the gigging mentality, how to negotiate, emotional maturity, and how to think long term in an industry that can appear to reward short term wins. We also dive into the people who shaped Terrace and his main collaborators: Snoop Dogg. Kendrick Lamar. Herbie Hancock. Kamasi Washington. Thundercat. Robert Glasper. and more. Terrace shares stories from his early days with Snoop, his evolution with Kendrick through Section.80, good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN., and the collaborations that changed him forever. We go deep on Herbie Hancock. His mentorship. His spiritual guidance. His approach to curiosity, humility, listening, and paying attention to the moment. Terrace talks about the conversations that shifted his life and the principles he carries into every studio session. We talk mentorship, jazz, hip hop, emotional intelligence, studio culture, the art of listening, vulnerability, protecting your spirit, community, and what it means to serve the music first. This episode is a masterclass for musicians, producers, artists, and anyone who wants to grow. We hope you enjoy it. Lets go! 0:00:00 - TRAILER 0:07:01 - GRAMMY NOMINATIONS 0:08:27 - THE CRAFT, PROFESSIONALISM, MINDSET, LONGEVITY, GIGGING MENTALITY 0:09:58 - UPBRINGING, PLAY MUSIC TO PAY BILLS, CURLY MARTIN 0:17:59 - BE ON TIME 0:20:45 - LIFE LESSONS FROM REGGIE ANDREWS 0:26:17 - BAD HABITS 0:28:56 - HIRING MUSICIANS 0:33:15 - YOUNG ARTISTS 0:36:17 - EGO, KEEPING THE GIG 0:38:36 - BRING SOMETHING TO THE TABLE 0:40:18 - READ THE ROOM 0:41:18 - NEGOTIATING 0:48:41 - STAY DOWN, SNOOP DOGG, KENDRICK, TOP DAWG 0:54:43 - NEGOTIATING CONTINUED, MARK RONSON STORY 0:58:38 - THE GIGGING MENTALITY 1:00:29 - DR. DRE STORY 1:05:37 - BE A GIVER 1:06:43 - CLEAR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION 1:07:30 - SHORT TERM THINKERS STAY BROKE 1:09:27 - FLAKY 1:10:38 - SNOOP DOGG 1:12:56 - BUILDING COMMUNITY 1:16:17 - MONEY ADVICE 1:18:40 - MEETING SNOOP DOGG 1:25:48 - SNOOP AND PROFESSIONALISM 1:28:42 - SIDE MAN, FRONT MAN 1:31:00 - GREATEST LESSON FROM SNOOP DOGG 1:32:37 - KENDRICK LAMAR 1:33:27 - MEETING KENDRICK 1:34:12 - "AB-SOULS OUTRO” 1:35:05 - KENDRICK'S EARLY TRAITS 1:38:02 - “GOOD KID, M.A.A.D CITY” DR. DRE, “REAL” 1:40:23 - MARY MARY 1:41:18 - "TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY" "FOR FREE?" 1:49:15 - ROBERT GLASPER, "TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY" SESSIONS 1:50:21 - "THESE WALLS" RANCE DOPSON, JAMES FAUNTLEROY 1:52:36 - "HOW MUCH A DOLLAR COST" 1:56:54 - "LOYALTY" 2:00:14 - HERBIE HANCOCK 2:03:43 - WISDOM FROM HERBIE HANCOCK 2:06:00 - EGO, LESSONS FROM CURLY MARTIN 2:11:41 - DRESS CODE 2:18:21 - THE FUTURE OF MUSIC 2:23:30 - KNOW THE MUSIC 2:26:02 - TERRACE'S MISSION NOW 2:27:46 - JAM BAND DRESS CODE STORY Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights. Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated! Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, Zoom hangs, invite only events, and discussions about music and music careers. Patreon: gowithelmo Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/ Follow Terrace: Instagram: terracemartin Follow Go With Elmo: Instagram: gowithelmo TikTok: gowithelmo https://x.com/gowithelmopod Follow Elmo Lovano: Instagram: elmolovano https://x.com/elmolovano Follow Jammcard: @jammcard Instagram: jammcard jammcard.com