Oct 15, 2026 · 1h 27m
Mez turns an unconventional path into a creative career
Episode 558 | Mez
Mez’s story connects major hip-hop recording sessions, self-taught directing, and the challenge of finally putting his own album first.
- 1Mez describes reaching Los Angeles unexpectedly and learning from Dr. Dre’s precision and Kanye West’s improvisational studio methods.
- 2J. Cole’s encouragement pushed Mez into directing “Middle Child,” despite having no prior experience behind the camera.
- 3Electric Future Gangsta marks Mez’s shift from influential behind-the-scenes collaborator to artist defining his own concise, visual world.
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Mez recounts how J. Cole pushed him to direct “Middle Child,” leading to a first shoot that put a Bentley in the mud.
The brief
The hosts open with a debate over Grammy omissions, asking whether the absence of major competitors changes the meaning of a potential Don Toliver win.
Mez recounts arriving in Los Angeles on a buddy pass with nowhere firm to stay, then finding a path into Dr. Dre’s orbit and the Compton sessions.
He contrasts Dr. Dre’s technical precision with Kanye West’s improvisational freedom, treating both environments as lessons in how artists build under pressure.
J. Cole’s invitation to direct “Middle Child” pushed Mez into filmmaking; his debut included a Bentley in the mud and proved his instincts could travel across mediums.
Mez now turns that same independence toward Electric Future Gangsta, an intentionally concise album shaped by collaborators, visual thinking, and meticulous work on “B-Mind.”