​​Robert Glasper: The Career-Defining Interview (Black Radio, J Dilla, Kendrick, Miles, Chappelle)

Episode 97: Robert Glasper. The career-defining, three hour deep dive with one of the most influential musicians of our time. In this conversation, Robert Glasper walks through his entire journey, from his upbringing and early musical foundations to becoming a Grammy-winning pianist, producer, composer, and cultural architect who reshaped the relationship between jazz, hip hop, and R&B. This is the most expansive interview Robert has ever done. He breaks down how he became the Robert Glasper we know and love, how he developed his voice, how to get gigs (and how to keep them), and how he built a meaningful career in music. He speaks openly about his philosophies on collaboration, artistry, leadership, and longevity, offering invaluable lessons for us all. The conversation includes rare stories about him with J Dilla, behind the scenes stories about working with Kendrick Lamar and Terrace Martin on To Pimp a Butterfly, including the creation of These Walls and the collaborative environment that defined that era. He reflects on his vision for Black Radio and how working with Erykah Badu led to their version of Afro Blue, one of the most iconic recordings of his career. Robert also discusses scoring the Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead and getting to go through the Miles vault! He shares stories and lessons involving Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Garrett, Terrace Martin, Bilal, Chris Daddy Dave, Lalah Hathaway, Thundercat, and many others. We talk about life lessons, fatherhood and integrity, He shares messages directly to singers and musicians about preparation, confidence, and showing up fully in every room. We also touch on the future of music and AI. This conversation is a complete document of a modern master artist reflecting on his life, career, and legacy in real time. And we have 100 laughing attacks while doing it. Here’s my conversation with the great, Robert Glasper! 0:00:00 - TRAILER 0:04:48 - INTERVIEW STARTS 0:06:08 - BLUE NOTE LA 0:08:10 - GRAMMY NOMINATION 0:10:18 - QUINCY JONES, GREG PHILLINGANES, HEROES 0:12:00 - EARLY EARS, PAUL & PHIL CORNISH 0:16:10 - PLAYING KEYS, DRUMS 0:18:29 - INFLUENCE IN MUSIC 0:19:22 - GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH BEYONCÉ AND OTHERS, PASSIONS VS GIFTS 0:23:52 - BEYONCÉ, DESTINEY’S CHILD 0:26:07 - COLLEGE, CASEY BENJAMIN, BILAL 0:28:17 - BILAL, PHILLY SCENE, THE ROOTS, JAZMINE SULLIVAN 0:29:16 - JAMES POYSNER, QUESTLOVE, ROY HARGROVE, KENNY GARRETT, CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE 0:32:13 - KENNY GARRETT 0:38:56 - “MOOD” ALBUM, TRIO 0:43:44 - NORAH JONES 0:44:33 - “I REMEMBER,” BLUE NOTE RECORDS DEBUT, “CANVAS” 0:45:53 - “IN MY ELEMENT” ALBUM, J DILLA 0:51:44 - “DOUBLE BOOKED,” THE ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT 0:56:32 - ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIENCE, BLACK RADIO 1:00:24 - MAXWELL, HERBIE, ROY HARGROVE, D’ANGELO, COMMON 1:03:01 - BLUE NOTE RECORDS, DON WAS, ANITA BAKER, CHAKA KHAN 1:04:59 - CASEY BENJAMIN, ERIKA BADU, MUSIC IS RELATIONSHIPS 1:10:15 - TERRACE MARTIN, KENDRICK LAMAR 1:12:35 - GETTING A CALL BACK 1:15:01 - “BLACK RADIO” CHANGED ROB’S LIFE 1:21:54 - “AFRO BLUE” 1:24:16 - “BLACK RADIO RECOVERED” 1:25:26 - ADVICE FOR SINGERS 1:29:20 - CHRIS “DADDY” DAVE 1:38:16 - BLACK RADIO II, PATRICK STUMP 1:41:14 - “CALLS,” JILL SCOTT 1:42:29 - BRANDY, FAITH EVANS, GETTING COLLABS 1:44:58 - SNOOP DOGG 1:45:32 - GRAMMY WIN, MALCOLM JAMAL WARNER, LALAH HATHAWAY 1:47:55 - ROBERT GLASPER TRIO, APPROACH TO MUSIC COVERS 1:49:52 - LALAH HATHAWAY, “TEEN SPIRIT” 1:51:55 - KENDRICK LAMAR, “TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY” 1:54:35 - “THESE WALLS” 1:56:34 - TERRACE MARTIN 2:02:47 - “MILES AHEAD,” MILES DAVIS VAULT, “EVERYTHING’S AHEAD” 2:08:28 - STEVIE WONDER 2:09:19 - AUGUST GREEN, COMMON, KARRIEM RIGGINS 2:11:29 - BLACK POWER LIVE EVENT 2:14:22 - ROBTOBER 2:17:09 - MOST DEF, DAVE CHAPPELLE, CHRIS ROCK 2:19:13 - BLUE NOTE LA, ARI LENNOX 2:20:11 - DAVE CHAPPELLE, THE ROOTS, POP-UP SHOWS 2:27:52 - “DINNER PARTY,” MANNY MARROQUIN 2:29:43 - MAKING SUPER GROUPS WORK WITHOUT EGO 2:31:40 - BLACK RADIO 3, H.E.R. “BETTER THAN I IMAGINED” 2:35:36 - KEYS TO THE CITY VOL. 1 2:37:17 - ARTISTS SHOULD REFLECT TO THE TIMES 2:39:33 - WHAT INSPIRES ROBERT GLASPER 2:42:06 - HERBIE HANCOCK 2:46:51 - FATHERHOOD 2:48:28 - THE NEXT SHIFT IN MUSIC, AI 2:55:19 - AI TOOLS, JAHI LAKE 2:57:57 - ADVICE FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS 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. Big thanks to our friends Moises for supporting the show! If you need stems, they’re the best in the game. Check them out! https://moises.ai/ Please SUBSCRIBE to catch new episodes when they drop! 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 Instagram: gowithelmo