The first decision I made was to do this. The second decision I made was to take you along with me. Why have you on my journey of self- discovery? Because I wanted to inspire. I wanted others to take their own journey into their family’s past and discover who they are. One of the great things about this particular journey was that it dispels the myth about black intelligence and capability. It allows you to be in the passenger seat into my personal past through science and culture but in a way that society, at one point, didn’t even think was possible.If you’re listening to this in the United States, then you know my birth month, February is Black History Month. Every year during this month, I look back at all of the trials and accomplishments of black people in America. As a country, we have had horrible atrocities inflicted on us through our time, but we have always persevered. I’ve wondered for years, where would I have lived if my people hadn’t been stolen from the continent of Africa?Well, now we find out together.I sat down with Dr. Gina Paige, the co-founder of African Ancestry. Dr. Paige pioneered a new way of tracing African lineage using genetics, Paige travels the world, helping people demystify their roots. People gain a better understanding of who they are by knowing where they’re from. Dr. Paige has provided ancestry results to some of the most well-known entertainers in the world. People like Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, Chadwick Boseman, Spike Lee, Condoleezza Rice, and even the entire King family. And now she’s going to do the same for me.If you are interested in tracing your African heritage, head over to AfricanAncestry.com.

The song “Queen of Paisley” has an old school vibe that may make it hard to believe it was written by a 24 year old artist. Silas Short, from Milwaukee, is that guy.Silas is the latest phenomenon to come out of our city. Short’s career began one night on Christmas eve when he DM’d one of his favorite artists. That DM landed him at Stones Throw Records, the same label that has worked with J.Dilla, MF Doom and currently represents artist like Knowledge and Nx Worries.I caught him fresh off of an appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Kimmel with his labelmate Sudan Archives. Silas performed as a member of her backing band for the night. His conversation with HYFIN's Element Everest-Blanks was so relaxed and conformable that by the end he offered me an exclusive on the new direction of his next album.

Music is a bridge and a connector that can bind us all – regardless of where we come from or what we like. In the 414, there’s a free program for Milwaukee-area high schoolers giving them opportunities to be creative and to learn from those in the industry. Powered by Radio Milwaukee, and supported by various sponsors, Grace Weber’s Music Lab is that place. Whether you’ve heard of the Lab or not, here’s your chance to know more and maybe pass along the info to an interested teen. Music Lab Coordinator, and artist, B-Free sits down to talk about the program and what’s coming up for the rest of this season.

Yuna is a multi-faceted singer, songwriter and creative. The past few years have been a whirlwind of travel, bonding with family and *almost* moving back home to Malaysia. You might know Yuna from her hit song “Crush” featuring Usher, or as an artist who proudly wears her hijab when she performs. Honest and gracious in our conversation, Yuna talked about her faith, and how her Muslim heritage influences her daily life. She also reminisced about collaborating with other artists and performing in one of Milwaukee’s popular live concert venues. All of Yuna’s worlds collide and live together, beautifully, on her latest album, Y5, which is out now.

Spider Creek is a music collective based out of Milwaukee consisting of as many as 30 contributors, ranging from musicians and producers to visual artists. The group prides itself on being a “genre fluid” force in the music scene. They have no interest in being confined to any certain genre because their sound bends and blends with the moment. In their current work, you can hear a mix of hip-hop, alternative, R&B, rock, blues, indie and so much more. What I loved so much about this interview is that you could hear their urgency and understanding that the music they create is about spreading love and positivity. Spider Creek will be the opening performers this Saturday, Jan. 21, at Cactus Club for a fresh rapper out of North Carolina called Mavi. Take a listen to HYFIN's interview with three of the collective’s members — Lizzie Kay, Saintrè and Ian James — who talk about how this whole thing got started and where it’s going in 2023.

The quality management system consists of three parts: quality planning, quality assurance and, most importantly, quality control. The first known use of the words quality control was back in 1935. Quality control is a system that companies use to measure that their systems are intact.The record label, Quality Control, is almost 10 years old. But you wouldn’t know that by their global impact. They’ve turned out industry-changing artists such as Lil Baby, Migos, City Girls, Lil Yachty and Milwaukee’s own, Lakeyah. Dazayah Walker, the company’s 24-year-old investment manager talked with HYFIN’s Element Everest-Blanks about her background in economics, how she connected with QC, venture capitalism and how it works.The following HYFIN interview was conducted before the tragic incident involving Migos member, Takeoff. Our condolences to all who knew and loved him. This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.