“I’d always been a big fan of the written word, from childhood, in different mediums,” says Maurice Williams. “Whether it be youthful song writing or my undergraduate degree in journalism. There’s just beauty in the creation, the alchemy of having nothing and then you have something, about writing.”

In this case, the something from nothing is Entergalactic, an animated series about Jabari, a streetwear-clad artist on the cusp of success. The story is based on a location as much as it is a person, inspired by Kid Cudi, along with Williams, Kenya Barris, and Ian Edelman.

“If I go all the way back, Maurice and I share this, which is why we make great partners, I think growing up as a TV kid, watching movies with my brother while our parents worked, I think even beyond that, it was growing up in New York City, going to public school and writing a bus and subway at a young age, you realize the greatest characters studies are in your backyard,” says Edelman. 

Edelman packed many of these stories in his 2010 series How to Make It in America. The HBO series followed a group of 20-somethings living in New York City, and featured Bryan Greenberg, Lake Bell, Luis Guzmán, and Kid Cudi. “I wanted to tell stories about kids I knew who were leading interesting lives that were not the conventional movie, movie. We had a different way of looking at the world.”

Listen to my interview with Kenya Barris in Episode 227 of the podcast.

Want more? Steal my first book, Ink by the Barrel - Secrets From Prolific Writers right now for free. Simply head over to www.brockswinson.com to get your free digital download and audiobook. If you find value in the book, please share it with a friend as we’re giving away 100,000 copies this year. It’s based on over 400 interviews here at Creative Principles. Enjoy!

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!