On today’s episode of Creative Space, we have the pleasure of chatting with The Bul Bey aka Amir “The Bul Bey” Richardson.

By day, he’s the community conversation curator for Philadelphia’s PBS and NPR affiliate newsroom at WHYY as well as the music careers coordinator at The Digilogue. But by night, he’s a beloved hip hop wordsmith whose bouncy bars elevate the bright side of working class life.

Since emerging in 2015 with his LP, ‘Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies,’ he’s worked with Grammy-winning producer Illmind and even shared the stage with celebrated rap veterans like Lupe Fiasco.

He currently co-hosts a podcast with the Franklin Institute called “So Curious” and recently got a song placed in the hit television show, ‘Abbott Elementary.’

In our conversation, we talk about how he got his music on the show, his creative process as a hip hop artist,  balancing his music career with a day job, and much much more.

For more on The Bul Bey, follow him on social media @thebulbey.

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SHOW NOTES:

0:00—Introduction

2:00—The meaning of his stage name

4:11—Bey’s first creative outlet

6:05—How financial lack forces you to be creative

9:00—This is when Bey knew he wanted to be a hip hop artist

10:20—Getting his start in films and working on set

11:40—”I’m going to make music regardless.”

12:50—The influence of Digable Planets, the Fugees, Method Man and Black Thought

14:30—The steps Bey took to make a career in music

17:50—Bey’s definition of creativity

23:00—Creative process of a hip hop artist

31:00—Balancing his music with a day job

35:00—Getting his music in ‘Abbott Elementary’

41:00—”My entire career is a risk.”

43:00—What’s next for Bey?