66. From Hip-Hop Superfan to 11 Years of Podcasting, with Cesar Rodriguez

I can't even begin to understand the doing a live podcast with an audience of like, I think Madison Square Garden holds like 20,000 people.

Like, what are we even doing?

No, we couldn't do it.

Even podcasts that I enjoy and I go see them live, I'm like, I think I like it better when I'm listening to them at home instead of being here live.

Yeah.

Who is that for?

Yeah.

Today on Loves Music, I speak with Cesar Rodriguez. Cesar Rodriguez is the host of The Rodriguez Show and he's been podcasting for 11 years. I had a great time having this conversation and I learned a lot too. So, all the way from Southern California, we have Cesar Rodriguez. Cesar, welcome to the show, man.

Hey, thanks for having me, man. Thank you, Julian.

Yeah, man. You got a nice little podcast of your own.

It's a hip hop flavored podcast.

You do an interview style.

But I really dig what you're putting out there, man.

I like it a lot.

Thanks, man. Yeah, yeah. It's good to hear that, man.

Yeah, 11 years into doing it.

It's still good for other new people to discover it

and just hear people's opinion on it, you know?

Absolutely, man. Awesome variety of guests.

And it's not limited to just rappers and performers.

I mean, you have other creators on there.

You got a tattoo artist on there.

Some decent looking girls on there too, along with some movies.

So a lot to see.

And it's a video too.

So it's available on YouTube and on, I think, Spotify and Apple too, right?

Yeah, anywhere you can get audio podcasts and then obviously YouTube.

A lot of the DJ mixes we do for the show are only on YouTube.

So we feature a lot of DJs as well.

Really cool stuff, man.

Is it safe to assume that you started out as a hip hop fan?

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, initially the show was just a hip hop show where we play hip hop music and discuss

hip hop news.

And then I started interviewing rappers and then it became bands and then bands became

like singer songwriters.

So it just evolved from being a hip hop themed show.

Now, like you said, it's hip hop flavored, but it's just, it goes, it expands to just

me talking to whoever I feel like, you know?

Yeah.

Right.

Whoever, whoever keeps your interest.

Right.

Mm hmm.

So it's, it's an interesting trajectory, right?

Like if you would have told my, cause I started out as a big hip hop.

hip-hop fan trying to make music albums or whatever and if you would have told my 12 year old self

like yeah you're gonna go from doing you know from trying to be a rapper to like do an interview

style podcast I'd like you're out of your mind so it's a strange trajectory to be a hip-hop fan and

then go to podcasting can you take me through your journey like from really being into like rap and

hip-hop to decide to have a show yeah yeah so um I mean I've always loved music I think my my dad

he raised me in a way that he was just there was always music in my household uh the first

song i ever heard that like made an impact on me that was hip-hop was uh nothing but a g thing by

dr dre um that song i was like oh my god this is amazing and so it was always in the back of my

mind like this is my style of music i really like how hip-hop makes me feel um i've never made music

i've always just been like a big fan of it and so podcasting for me started when i was in high

school as like a hobby. And then my cousin, he was on an online radio station here in Southern

California called hits one-on-one radio. He invited me to be a guest on his electronic music show.

And I was like, well, I don't really know anything about EDM, but like, if we did it like hip hop

team just for that night, like let's, let's do it that way. And he's like, okay. And then,

so that just kind of started my whole career in podcasting there. And it's just, it just became a

thing where it's like well i'm passionate about this kind of music so i really want to discuss it

and share it and the early stages of the show was always like hey let me feature somebody we had a

few other members of the show now it's just me and mondo but we had like four people on the show

and there'd be other we always try to feature new artists to like it just starts with the passion

of like okay i want people to know that there's other cool music than what they you would normally

hear and like hip-hop was a big genre that there's so many people that are like it's like underground

there's like mid-level fame and there's like obviously the big mainstream ones are so much

to discover even even now like even so many years into being a fan of it absolutely um you couldn't

have said it better um dirt i mean there's obviously superstars but then there's like people coming up

like i stumble upon incredible artists and it doesn't even dawn on me that like they'll like

i'll hear something incredible i'll reach out in the off chance they'll do my show and they'll return

a dm and i'm like oh my god i thought you were like already famous doing like thousand seaters

and here you are coming to do it you know it's wild like the talent you just find underground you know

yeah it's about taking that chance too and it's a lot of my just because the show's been going on

for so long now it's like a lot of people that just started out as local people have been

now like they're hitting the mainstream like i interviewed uh this guy named jay taj and at the

beginning like it was i would say seven years ago he he was just uh pretty well known in southern

california in la and now he's on the netflix show where they're trying to find the next big rapper

and so he's like blowing up so it's cool to see somebody start very local and then just grow as

has the show's been in history, you know?

And that's what I try to do.

It's like, I do try to look for artists

that are big and established already.

And I try to take that chance to interview them

to see if they have the time to do that.

But I'm like, I'm investing in people

when they're first starting in their hip hop careers.

And then hopefully down the line,

like they're like, oh, they remember that I interviewed them

and, you know, they'll give me another interview.

But that's kind of, I like to look at it.

I like to interview people at the very beginning.

Absolutely.

Talk to me a little bit about your community.

I mean, after 10, 11 years, I mean, you start to accrue,

you know, a certain group of people

that are starting to, you know, watch every show with a degree of consistency. What is your kind

of your, your circle kind of feel like, I mean, obviously you have a lot of different listeners,

but like, what is like the typical Rodriguez show fan? I would say it's a lot of creative,

like people that make music themselves. I feel like a lot of musicians, they use my show to be

like, Oh, who can I collaborate with in the area? I've heard a lot of people go, Oh, I started

working with that producer because I saw them interviewed on your show. So, and those are the

people that I kind of hang out with. There's a lot of people like rappers and a lot of DJs,

like basically all my friends are DJs and I'm trying to be one as well, but it's just, it's

just people that are creative in the safe light wavelengths. So I think that's the people that

connect with the show is to hear other people's stories. Cause when I hear like, I like, uh,

one of my favorite podcasts is a Mark Maron's podcast where he interviews just people that

are creative. And I'm like, I like to hear how they did it. So then I can kind of, I'm creating

my story, my version of that, but also kind of being inspired by that. And so here there's the

people that listen to my show, they kind of are motivated by other creatives like that. And

it's cool because it's like a networking tool in a way, because a lot of my events, people just come

and meet each other and work together, you know? What do you say to people that believe that this

medium is oversaturated? They say, oh, everybody has a podcast, the medium is dead or dying, or,

you know, it's played out or whatever. Oh my God. Yeah. No, I mean, at the very beginning,

nobody that I started doing it, nobody knew what it was. And now it's, it is, everybody has a

podcast yeah i feel like at the end of the day the way the reason i do the rodriguez show is more to

get my creative ideas out there or or just because it's just stuff that i'd like to see so i'm not

really doing it for the views and that's what i tell people even that join and help me in the

rodriguez show it's just about the love of creating and putting it out there and if you're doing that

for your podcast and you're not expecting to like hey i want to go viral with this or hey i want to

do this to get attention you're just doing it because you feel like what you're doing it's worth

doing yourself creatively, that's what's going to guide you. And so when people tell me like,

oh, it's everybody has a podcast. I'm like, yeah, it's true. But like, they're not doing it like me

or they're, or for the person that's like, oh man, I'm overwhelmed by the fact that there's so many

podcasts. Like, yeah, but you're, you're a person. Like, as long as you have your perspective and

you're being authentic, it, it, everything else shouldn't matter, you know? Absolutely. So if

you're, if you're, you're really embracing the journey, right. And you're, and you're trying,

you're trying to meet cool people, build a community, put out things that you like with

being so focused on the process, right? How do you then still define success?

It's true because every, every, every victory that I have, I'm like, okay,

like when's the next one? Like, what, what am I working towards the next thing?

But I think success is just being, I think now this far into it,

I think success is just being satisfied creatively,

creatively with what you released. Uh, so, uh, last year I did after,

cause we had done the show for 10 years straight every week on the radio.

We recorded Tuesdays.

We released it Fridays.

Last April 2025, we decided to stop doing that and just release more intention.

And so that's when I knew I was like, okay, we're going to start releasing the stuff slower,

not just to get it out there every week.

And it's just about, hey, I have an idea and I want to execute that idea.

So we talked about it for years, about going into a forest in LA and just recording a DJ

mix in the middle of the woods.

And we did that for, yeah, we did it for like three hours straight over there.

We recorded it and put it out.

And I was like, that was one of the biggest successes for me in my podcast career because

I got to accomplish that, you know?

And then years ago, same thing.

I rented out a venue, small venue, and I recorded a few of my favorite artists, like full performances

of them.

And then I made like a little documentary about who they are and how they got to this point.

And to me, that's success.

Like, I'm not looking for anything.

I mean, even now, like we're about to hit a thousand subscribers on YouTube.

And I'm like, that's great.

But I was doing it just for the fact that I wanted to see that.

I wanted to put it out there, you know?

Isn't it funny that's how that works?

Like whenever you hear, you watch like the VH1 behind the musics or whatever, right?

And you see like the gradual progression of an artist.

But when you really listen to like the message beneath the message, it's always a bunch of

dudes who just love doing music.

And then like one day a song popped.

You know what I mean?

People that just like really embrace the process, you know?

Obviously, it takes a lot of different skills to put together a good show, especially one

yours. What is a skill that you think you do particularly well? And then the flip side of

that coin, what is a skill you would like to refine or get better at? At this point now,

I feel like I feel really prepared. I'm really great at preparing for a conversation that I'm

going to have with somebody. I feel like that's the only way I'm comfortable now is just being in

a situation where I have the questions written down, ready to go for the person. And people do

get impressed sometimes by the idea of like, oh, wow, I didn't know that you did that much research

when you're going to talk to me.

So I feel like that's my greatest strength.

I feel like just pushing the idea afterwards,

like marketing is where I'm the weakest at.

I really am good about,

okay, I'm done with this project.

I finished it.

It's out there.

Now I'm going to move on

as opposed to celebrating,

hey, look, I did this

even though it was a year ago.

This is still great.

You should check it out.

I just forget and move on.

And I feel like I need to be better

at celebrating those wins.

I love that too.

Nobody ever answers that question that way.

Like, look, back at your work again.

Like, look, before I move forward, let me take a beat and be like, yo, what I made is actually

pretty dope.

Like, that was fat.

Yeah.

And when you talk about marketing, that's important, too, because I think that's a big barrier

for a lot of people, especially I know a lot of creatives that I talk to wouldn't want nothing

more than to just sit in a room with a keyboard, a guitar, a microphone, and a laptop and just

make songs.

But they also want to be commercially viable, which means they have to market.

What is your, do you think if you could pinpoint one specific barrier to marketing or like one part, like, oh, this is the hardest part or this is what I have the most trouble with.

Could you kind of whittle that down to like the specific thing that gives you trouble?

Because I think our listeners will do that.

I think the hardest part about that as a creative person is like the social media part of it.

Like I'm trying to keep up with that and I'm trying to make content that will engage people in that way.

But to me, like I live in like, hey, here's a two hour video.

great at this great two-hour video it doesn't really translate well to like hey here's 30

seconds of it you're gonna be you're gonna love it to go check out the two two hours of it and so

that's that's my my biggest problem is like i i just don't know how to push it on the on the

algorithm as opposed i just know how to make great long form content and i'm working on it i mean

that's my job too i freelance record for people and i try to create great marketing for them but

And that's really tough.

Yeah, yeah.

Trying to take these complex ideas

and these massive works of art

into these small, digestible,

accessible pieces in bit.

I don't feel like chopping up my idea

into 30 parts and putting it on a...

Exactly.

Absolutely, man.

What is one of the most valuable lessons

you learn from 11 years of podcasting?

I think patience is something that...

If it's your idea, if you started that idea or if you started it with somebody else, you too are going to be the founding people that are going to be passionate about that idea.

And people are going to join your team, but it might be a different level of passion.

And you just have to accept what they're going to give you or just understand that.

I think it's been tough along these few years.

I have lost friends because of how I handled a creative situation.

And now I learn from all those experiences.

Like, hey, maybe I didn't give you enough credit for this, or maybe I was too tunnel vision on what I was doing.

I didn't thank the person for even helping me get there.

And just so it is about, I think the biggest lesson is slowing down and appreciating everything around you and the people around you that are helping you.

Because if you don't, they wouldn't be here.

You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for those people.

So why, you have to make sure they're appreciated.

Yeah, I mean, that's a real sign of maturity too, that you can be that reflective.

The idea of patience is also huge.

It's indicative of very solid, almost like the same way that a company has values.

We have internal values.

I mean, at the end of the day, these are little companies that we have, even if we're not making

a ton of bread.

You know what I mean?

These are podcasts, they're little companies, and they have to have values.

And the ones that succeed are the ones that stick to their values.

With that regard, what are some of your non-negotiables before working with somebody?

Like, okay, they have to have these three things no matter what.

I'm not going to put up with these three things, you know, and it doesn't have to be three, but.

I would say when I'm working with somebody, they have to have the creative drive.

Even when I'm working with, I would say, the people that I freelance for that are my clients, they have to be there for the passion of creating.

And some people, I've worked with people that are just like, I don't care.

I just want to be online and you're going to help me be online.

And I'm like, that's not what I'm trying to do.

Even artists that I've interviewed, like there's been situations where you feel kind of used for it.

You're not like the interview itself.

You feel like they're just using you because they want the clips on the Internet as opposed to like, hey, let's have a great conversation.

Let's make something cool.

They're just kind of you're being used in a way.

And so when you can feel that about somebody where it's not authentic creative drive, that's I can't work with that person.

And I think that's like that's my biggest red flag is they just have to have a passion for art.

They don't have to be super knowledgeable about any kind of music thing.

Anybody that loves music, and even if they don't know the most underground artists, it's fine.

You just have to have a passion and have to be able to see that.

Yeah, yeah.

There's a certain humility that's evident in what I believe to be my best guest.

And I can never put my finger on it, but it's always the people that show up with the attitude,

like I'm here to contribute, always have the best interviews.

And the people that are like, yeah, I got something coming out.

And I'm all for using my show to promote your stuff.

Don't hear what I'm saying.

But like if you, but it's like the people that are here like, yo, yeah, let's make something

good together.

Like I'm here to contribute.

You know, it's like this weird symbiotic relationship where you bring your questions and I bring

my answers and it becomes this other thing that's bigger than the two of us alone, you

know, but something that's cool.

And I think those make the best interviews, you know?

Exactly.

Yeah.

So you're in an interesting spot with having a decade of, of podcasts.

You actually got to see multiple generations.

You got to see the people in, you know, 2015 and 16 starting out.

And then you got to see the next crop of creators and you kind of got to explore that dichotomy.

Do you think it's easier to dream when you're, when you were younger, like in 2015, was it

easier to be more optimistic and have like a big dream?

Or is it easier to dream now with, you know, more technology, more options, or do you think

it's more stifling?

Like which era created or birthed more dreamers, do you think?

i feel like in that and i've been in the situation now because i when i started it was like okay the

technology is so limited you have to really push yourself to want to do this and so i feel like

maybe at that time that was the harder time to dream because it was such an impossible dream

because there's so many hurdles you have to jump to be able to make content like when i first started

podcasting i had to use uh like music recording equipment because there was no such thing as like

oh this is just a mixer for podcasting like it was like oh this is a mixer to record instruments

but you can also plug a microphone in and that's what I'm using it for and so you have to and that's

what a lot of the things where I had to kind of think about these even back then like 10 years ago

I think it's like I wish there was this device that would allow me to do this and it didn't exist

and now now 11 years later there is a specific device that does all that like there's a device

you plug your cameras in and your microphones and you can all records into one box and that's that's

amazing like yeah before it was I was plugging in USB microphones to a laptop and then it wouldn't

and I'm wondering why.

So now it's just so easy.

But at the same time,

now because it's so easy,

I feel like I have a digital blank cam

that's in front of me

that I could just start feeling,

but it's like,

but now what do I put on it?

Because it's so easy to create

all the stuff that I had.

So it's a little bit of both.

Yeah, right.

So you,

and I'm sure you've seen other people

like other contemporaries

break through,

surpass you,

you've surpassed them,

you know.

How much of success do you think

is based on luck

and how much on merit,

like actual quality?

I think the quality of work, because I've always tried to make quality of work and it hasn't gotten the attention of just the person that has a more clickbait headline or it's more that kind of stuff.

I feel like that's where there's that luck involved or it's what gets picked up by what like the algorithm now is that kind of stuff.

I do have the belief that good work will eventually get the attention of the right person.

I have a lot of people that I've interviewed over the years that I'm like, this guy has a talent and he's making quality music. And I know that maybe he's not getting the attention right now, but if he continues on this path, he will make it. And I do believe that for people that are creating as well, like as long as you're putting in the work and you're creating quality work to you, to your best, to the best of your abilities, like that will be seen. It might take a long time, but it will be seen by somebody and it will grow from there.

And I mean, it is about luck too.

It is about, hey, it'll happen sooner rather than later if you're lucky.

And that's how I think of it.

I teeter back and forth between still needing the luck, but still having to have the quality.

I think the better quality stuff you have, the better chance you have of getting lucky.

But you still have to get lucky a little bit.

The stars still have to align a little bit for like second tiers and third tiers of success.

You can still make cool stuff.

You know what I mean?

But if you want to be, you know, you want to get picked up by a major label, I think you still need like a degree of luck, you know?

Yeah.

But like quality just gets you in the game.

At least now you can at least play, you know?

And then to work.

Yeah.

And once you get your foot in the door and you have that quality work, that's what's going to keep you inside, you know?

Yeah.

A hundred percent.

A hundred percent.

What is your version of a bad day?

What I mean is, I mean, obviously when you have a production of your magnitude, you have to wake up some days and you feel like you just don't have it.

What does your version of I don't have it look like?

Yeah, it happens every once in a while.

Because I set up interviews way ahead of time.

And you're like, okay, next month I'm going to interview this person.

And someday I'll wake up and I'm like, can I do this?

Even though I've done it for so long, I'm like, can I do this?

And that self-doubt sometimes creeps in.

And that's always going to be there.

But it's days where you let it take over.

And that's when I'm telling myself in the shower, you got this.

You know, you have to give yourself that pep talk to be able to get out of that zone.

But that's, that's now, now that's my career.

That's my worst.

I would say my worst day is I know it's ready and I have, I've been thinking about it for

weeks and now I have to go execute that idea.

There's always that little bit of nervousness right before you have to go do it.

But the ones that like, I would say once I start an interview or once that's even a big

one, I'm like, I asked the first question, we start talking a little bit and then it's,

oh, I know how to do this.

And you get into it.

You're locked in, you know?

How important do you think energy is and chemistry is with a guest?

We've all had the guests, it's down, and it feels like sandpaper for whatever reason.

You know what I mean?

You're just not vibing.

How important is that chemistry, or do you think it doesn't really matter?

The questions will just kind of speak for themselves.

I think it is.

It's a lot of, I can't have the questions written down, but it's more of in the moment where

the conversation goes with the person.

And I had had a lot of people that there hasn't been much chemistry bouncing back, and that's

one it's like okay maybe this will be a shorter one but i'm i don't want to push it because when

you try to ask somebody maybe a deeper question than what they're used to and they don't give you

what you're looking for kind of you can tell they're deflecting you're like okay you're not

trying to go there that i'm going to respect that boundary and we're going to move on yeah and it can

only be as good as the chemistry you're creating with the person so i don't give up per se but i

create i respect those boundaries and i try to make the best of what's left after i realize okay

this is what I'm getting, you know? Okay. Rank these three things in the order that you enjoy

the most interviewing somebody being interviewed or doing like a first person, like solo podcast or

solo episode. I'd say my favorite thing. Number one is interviewing people. This, my second favorite

thing is being interviewed. And the third, my least favorite thing I would say is solo. Like

I've tried so many times to do full solo and I just can't, I can't, it's, it's too, I guess if

wanted to add a fourth one i hate live podcasting even more doing a podcast in front of an audience

it's the worst thing i can think of you've done that before like in front of a lot i've tried

yeah tried and it didn't go well well now they got podcasters that'll sell out like madison square

garden i can't even begin to understand the doing a live podcast with an audience of like i think

madison square garden holds like 20 000 people like what are we what are we even doing like

no you're gonna do it yeah even even podcasts that i enjoy and i go see them live i'm like

i think i like it better what i'm listening to them at home instead of being here live

yeah who is that for yeah it is it is a weird form of and i and i get it like certain like for

instance chris williamson has like a really cool production jay shetty is such a good order it makes

sense to go see him live but like the ones where it's just the podcast with like two chairs like

on the stage and there's like i don't know 1500 people standing around watching it yeah never

landed for me you know what i mean hats off to anybody i think eating at doing it but just never

just never really connected even from hearing from people that have done live podcasts like there's

more of a like i'm going to perform for the audience as opposed to just let's have a genuine

conversation yeah and so that makes it such a different kind of podcast right now where with

the i guess the exception that rule was like the stand-up comedians that like have a podcast

you know and then they go on and do their set and their set has like elements of their podcast like

in it but at the end of the day they're professional comedians like they've been performing before they

were podcasting so it makes sense you know yeah and i feel like those kind of shows like they can

do both they can have a conversation that's but also make the audience laugh at the same time

because they're just naturally funny you know in that sense yeah which is which is like which is

gold i think people that are naturally funny is a gift yeah yeah i wish i could do stand-up

me too dude i would love it every once in a while i think i can write jokes and then i see somebody

do stand up and i'm like yeah i'll never be able to do that where do you see the future of the

medium going you know like in 10 years what are podcasts going to look like i don't even know

because now it's ai like i don't even know where that's that's that's going to go because

now ai is creating podcasts for you they can just listen on your own

and i feel like that's scary because that's going to replace me and you

right i do see it as more of a niche education like the more as time progresses there's going

to be more niche podcasting so like even further like single subject things that you would only

you would never want you would never think that could be a podcast it's going to be like that

i see that because the more more format like the more people they're doing that the more specific

it's going to get yeah and i and i see that i see like maybe a podcast that's just hey this is my

school and this is my 10 10 people in my classes this podcast is just for them you know

I think you nailed it.

Like I've answered the question.

I've worded it differently,

but I think it's going to happen just like that.

I think it's going to be an antidote for AI.

They'll be like, okay, everything's fabricated.

There's ads on everything.

I just want to hear somebody talk,

but I also don't want to hear a podcast with ads.

So like little underground podcasts

will kind of be like the wave

and people will have these very niche topics.

You'll see a podcast for like moms who do yoga,

but also do mountain climbing and make cookies.

And there'll be a podcast for like just that.

And I'll have like a million views.

And I'll be able to listen to this.

Now there's a school of thought that says that podcasting is actually an antidote for loneliness.

Right.

Especially around quarantine time, like the pandemic.

You know, you could you have equipment.

It would be weird if you just called somebody like, hey, you want to talk for an hour?

But you have a show and you can invite people on and people can invite you on, you know,

And you have these long form interviews where you can feel like you really get to know somebody.

And statistics say that men are generally lonely.

Something like one in seven men don't have close friends.

One in four don't have a best friend.

All kinds of crazy stats like that.

What do you feel about?

Do you see podcasting as an antidote for loneliness?

Not you personally.

You see one of the reasons for the success.

No, I agree actually with that.

Even for myself, I feel like the reason I started listening to podcasts when I was in college

was because I would have had an hour and a half commute to go on the bus to go to college when I

was in college. And I, it just, and I was, it was a very lonely time for me. So to just put on a

two hour podcast where you felt like the people that were like, as if it's one podcast and you

get to know them after a while, you kind of feel like you're connected to them, even though you're

not. And it just feels like a less lonely situation. Even now, like, even when I'm like,

oh, I'm home alone, I will listen to a podcast just so I just don't feel like I'm the only person,

like there's just quiet at home, you know? And so even creating podcasts, I do feel like there was,

during the pandemic, especially, I created another podcast where I would have just hour-long

conversations with my friends. So I would have an excuse to talk to my friends for an hour during

that time because we were so isolated at that. I mean, even, yeah, like during that time. So

I do feel like that. I've never heard it put that way, but it is true. It's an end up for loneliness.

It got me out of some really dark times in my life as well.

Do you care to elaborate on that or is that too personal?

Like what was going on?

How would you categorize a dark time?

Yeah, it was twice.

It was during college.

It was a jump from being in high school and having a lot of friends in high school to going to college, to a very specific college that not a lot of my friends went to.

Even though it was Cal State Fullerton.

Shout out to Cal State Fullerton.

It's not like a niche college or anything, but I didn't know as many people.

And I was kind of struggling with identity of who I am, what am I doing, where am I going?

And at the time it was, there was two podcasts.

It was Kevin Smith.

He's a filmmaker and he had podcasts.

It was one of the first podcasts to ever be popular.

The guy that did Clerks, right?

Yes, exactly.

He had one of the first podcasts that was popular.

So I listened to him a lot and it was good.

Like I said, I'd be on the bus and I would just be laughing.

And it was better than, you know, sitting in silence or listening to music.

And sometimes as much as I enjoy music, the negative thoughts are like sometimes depression can really overpower anything else you're listening to.

But like with podcasts, it's a fun distraction.

And eventually you're laughing and you're not really thinking about it.

And so that was college.

And then during the pandemic, it was another really all the anxiety I had that I had worked through in terms of like therapy throughout my life.

I guess because I guess I'll get deep.

I lost my dad when I was in junior year of high school.

And I think that kind of set off like, um, uh, you know, a big wave of grief that I didn't

know how to deal with for a very long time.

And it did manifest in like really dark, a really dark place in college when I was really

depressed and had suicidal thoughts.

And, um, I worked through therapy and stuff and all that anxiety that I worked through

during that time years later, during the pandemic kind of came back because it was a whole different

what like fear of like even leaving the house and so uh at first it was creating um that got me

i mean listening to podcasts that got me through it and then during the pandemic was when i started

making podcasts again with my friends and just talking to them on facetime that really got me

through that time as well so uh yeah i mean i feel like podcasts has always have always been

like a thing in my life that i've gone back to whether now it's a career for me but like

hobby, career, as just a form of entertainment. That's, that's why I'm so into what I do because

it's made such a big impact in my life, you know? Yeah. And, and obviously, well, first off,

my condolences too. I actually didn't know that. And, uh, so much of our, especially when you're

younger of our identity is wrapped up in being our parents' kid. So when you, so the younger you are,

when you lose a parent, it's, it's even doubly traumatic. It's traumatic at any age, but the

younger you are it just it just shakes you man and a lot of you see a lot of people that never get

over it so my condolences um thanks man yeah and it's it was like at the time i was just in high

school so i never really dealt with the grief the right way i would say or the well i guess i've

dealt with it on the only way i knew how at the time but years after years later with therapy

like it's i'm in a better place and now like i do try to i do try to honor my dad and a lot of things

i do i mean he introduced me to hip-hop so like the fact that i even started this hip-hop thing

he never got to see me do it like and that's that's the thing is like i wish that i would

have been able to interview him you know yeah right yeah that's so crazy too like as soon as i started

podcasting like i was like all right let me get a few interviews under my belt the first person i

want to interview is my dad too just so i have for no other reason to have an interview online

for perpetuity you know just so i have it on the internet somewhere i can always go back to it man

So I totally relate to you, man.

It's like, I wouldn't even, I can't, I can't begin to know what you experienced, but I

know that I probably wouldn't handle it as well as you did.

And I'm a lot older, you know?

Yeah.

So, um, yeah.

And I'm trying to get my mom to do an interview.

She's still for years and she's still too shy.

I'm like, come on, we got to do it.

Yeah.

Right.

Even if you don't post it, like you at least, you at least got to record one just so you

have it for yourself.

Yeah.

Yeah, man.

So the same way that podcasting helped you, what kind of impact do you want to have on your listeners as you're making content and making art?

I think a lot of the things I do are just to show people that it's possible, that you don't have to wait for anybody to give you permission to do it.

So like, hey, I wanted to make a documentary.

I went out and did it.

And you might like if you might watch it and you're I hope that you're inspired by the fact that, you know, somebody that can make something like that.

Or that they know that me with the limited resources that I have, because I've always been independent with this stuff, I can just go out and create something.

And so I just want people to be like, hey, if you can do that, I can definitely do what I'm thinking in my head that I can execute, you know?

And that's what I hope people take away.

It's just some kind of motivation to know that you might see it online and be like, oh, wow, where do I even begin?

But you can just start and do it.

And I'm the testament to that.

I did it and I never stopped.

It's so funny, too, because you always hear like believe in yourself.

And I thought it was like the most corny cliche thing.

I was like, well, if you don't have natural ability, then you can't like you're believing

in nothing.

You know what I mean?

You can't, you're just lying to yourself.

Like there has to be some evidence that you can do what you're doing.

And then as I got older, I started to like kind of build my beliefs around that.

And it's like, oh, it doesn't just mean blindly believing in yourself.

And then it became my own.

I kind of adopted my own version of what that means.

When I say just believe in yourself broad, what does it actually mean to you?

Like in your more nuanced version of it?

I mean, believing in myself just means having the confidence to execute it, you know, and it's, yeah, that's why. And that's one of the big things I talk about in my podcast. I always ask people like, when's the first time you felt cool or confident? And it's because that's, if you get to that point where you're comfortable with yourself, then you're able to do it. And so I think believing in myself is being comfortable with the person I am and just achieving whatever that is, you know, and just being, just being proud of who you are in that sense.

Brilliant. I was just watching a Jimmy Carr interview the other day and he was like,

the game of life isn't rich or poor, happy or sad, good looking, not good looking. The game of life

is really self-esteem versus insecurity. And how well can you establish? Because there's really no

I've seen poor people that are happy. I've seen rich people that are miserable. The goal is being

super happy with who you are, knowing what you want and having the guts and instincts to just go

after with some degree of confidence and surety about yourself you know and everything yeah yeah

i was working uh up until like this year this year i was working at a retail job and i was like

i really want to make podcasting my life i want to really want to go for it and i'm sure it's not

some like a quote that this guy came up with but i was just talking to somebody's acquaintance that

i knew and he was like everything that you want is on the other side of fear and i was like i i i

needed to hear that in that moment because i quit like a month later and i just went for it yeah

And that's kind of where it is.

It's like, it's just believe in it.

It's like all that confidence that I knew I had in me.

I was like, it's already there.

Just do it.

Like you believe in yourself.

You just got to take that step and you're just scared.

And that made me, that changed my life.

Yeah, absolutely, man.

Yeah.

Like you said, like how many times have we done something?

You just kind of like not waited for verbal permission, but like waited for either proof

or evidence or some kind of validation.

Like, okay, we can move forward.

You know what I mean?

And just get there.

And it's like, no one's good.

Like there's not going to be a big flashing sign that says, go forward.

You can go ahead now and do the thing.

You know, it's like.

Yeah.

The only sign you're going to see is like within yourself.

Yeah.

That's the only.

Yeah.

A hundred percent.

One of the things that Rick Rubin was talking about this, too.

And a lot of the things that we do as creatives can be taught, you know, but obviously being a creative is a gift.

I see it as a gift.

And the gift isn't the ability alone, but the gift is actually taste.

It's we have we have instinct.

We kind of can see around the corner.

We can see what they're going to be wearing in six months.

We can see what sound is going to be cool.

My friend that plays football and me, who's a creative,

I can put together sound and I have an ear for taste

while he's like, I guess Billy Joel's good.

And I don't, you know, he just knows what he's told is good.

Do you believe that when they say creativity is a gift,

is there evidences in your life

that you can point at to be like, oh yeah, I'm different. This is what separates me from say

the academics, the athletes, the creativity is a gift, but it's also something you can learn.

Cause there's for me in my life, when I was in second grade, I took a test that was supposed to

be like, supposed to determine your strengths and weaknesses. This was second grade. And I got,

I got the lowest score on creativity on that test. And, and so ever since that moment, I was like,

wait, is this telling me that I'm not creative? And so then I was like, you know what, I'm going

to prove this wrong. And I feel like ever since that happened to me, I've wanted to be a creative

person. And it just dawned that all these ideas that I had came to me naturally. And then I started

paying attention to more stuff that was creative. And that's how I kind of honed that skill. So

maybe it was in me all along, but maybe I did learn, hey, this is something I really am passionate

about them for something to tell me that I'm not.

Yeah.

I mean, it wasn't like a specific person,

but like a test to tell me that I'm not

is what pushed me to the other side.

Yeah.

But so I don't know.

I mean, maybe if I wouldn't have taken that test,

I would have found another way to my creativity.

But that was like the moment for me.

So I can't really answer if it's a gift.

Well, I mean, I think what it would have manifested eventually,

you know, it's kind of like taking a test for creativity

is like going on American Idol to see if you're a good artist.

Like, you don't go on American Idol to see if you're a good artist.

You go in there to win a contest.

to get judged.

Yeah, exactly.

If you want to see

if you're a good artist,

go to it like Dave Grohl said.

If you want to see

if you're a good artist,

you and your best friends

go buy shitty instruments

from a yard sale,

play them loud,

and play them

and have a great time

and don't stop

and eventually you become

the biggest band in the world.

You know?

It's true.

Yeah, like you said,

it's about the process, you know?

Be bad.

Be bad for a long time

and eventually you get good, you know?

Yeah.

No, I was really bad

at podcasting for a very long time.

Me too.

I was actually telling the story

one of the things that like made me want to do it is because I would always nerd out on music

and I had then and I heard maybe five or six people on different occasions different people

be like this is one of the best conversations I've ever had about music ever and that's a very

specific compliment right so I'm like oh I'll just have a podcast and so like as soon as I hit record

I'm expecting all this charm and wit humor to come out and need to be all super clever and I'm like

oh no i'm really bad at that you know where's that charming guy from the barbecue that was

good at talking about indie bands where's that guy i'm just like frozen in front of the camera

and that's i mean that still happens to me sometimes too i'm like okay i'm ready i'm ready

and then you're like oh yeah what where did i go where did i go yeah right seriously man what are

something like when you first start out podcast i'm sure you had to have all kinds of like dreams

and goals and things you wanted to experience.

What's one thing that when you first start,

you'll be like, oh, I can't wait till I do this.

And then that thing actually happened.

That's been a series of my life

since I started dreaming about podcasting,

since I started, you know,

this Rodriguez show thing is always like,

okay, what's next?

Where can I do this?

And there was, before we could do a video on the show,

before the technology was that advanced

where I could have cameras that record

for like however long at a time,

it was like, I really need to figure out

what I want from this.

Like if I'm going to do a video show, I have to figure out what it's going to look like.

So I literally sat there and I drew a diagram of like, okay, if I'm going to do this, when

I get to this point, I'm going to put a camera here, a camera there.

And I drew it out of what it would look like.

And then like, I would say within six months, we had all those cameras and we had it going.

That's cool.

And it was just a matter of like writing it down and visualizing it and then just executing

it.

You know?

Dude, I would, I would never have the guts to do that.

Even now.

Like if I was like, okay, I really want to do like a bigger production and then go like

swipe the credit card get the equipment learn how to do it like i somewhere around somewhere around

the second or third purchase i'd be like i'm a grown-up i need to just get a big boy job not

focus on this you know yeah i would never have to do that and i and i would have so much fun if i

took the risk and did it yeah yeah man yeah i mean it's just about because even me like it did take

a few months like even upgrading to like the cameras i have now to record it's like it took

me six months to buy each camera. And I was like, I know I have one right now and we're working with

this one. Maybe it doesn't record the whole hour, but I know that I'm building towards something.

And then six months later, I have two now. And it's just about being patient with yourself and

trusting that it's, like you said, like one purchase at a time, you're doing the right thing.

Right. That's actually a commonality with a lot of really successful people,

hundred millionaires, billionaires. Obviously people come from different backgrounds of success.

And when they tried to trace the commonalities, it was all different. It was like, it wasn't,

you know, you would think everybody wakes up. Well, some people wake up early, some wake up late,

some are from humble beginnings, some are from Ivy league schools. And the, one of the commonalities

is one, they can do, they can, they can pick a goal and they can do it for an inordinate amount

of time without seeing the reward, you know, just, just know that, all right, it's going to come and

they don't need to get, cause most people need to get the payoff real fast. You know, they're like,

all right, I went to the gym. I don't, I don't see abs yet. I quit. You know, it's like, they don't,

They can't stay focused on the goal.

So the fact that you can do that is huge.

The other two commonalities with very successful people is one, they were loved unconditionally,

which taught them that they can make a mistake and without sacrificing, you know, love and

care.

And two, they were betrayed, which taught them that no one's coming to save them.

They need to take care of the things themselves.

When I say loved unconditionally, who's the first person that pops into your mind?

I would say my mom.

Speaker 3 00:40:40

My mom.

My mom and of course my wife, my life partner, Carla.

But I would say it has to start from when you're young.

I would say to know that being loved unconditionally is to feel that throughout my whole life has been a privilege.

And I don't take that for granted.

And, you know, yeah, my mom has always been my number one fan.

And she's always helped me when I needed.

Like, oh, I can't I can't afford this equipment.

She's like, oh, it's OK. I'll buy it for you.

Somebody that just is somebody that's on my corner and on my side.

And now I'm lucky that I have my wife, who's also that person for me as well.

But just to feel that throughout my whole life, I just feel so lucky.

You're right.

I feel like that really made me who I am today is just knowing that no matter what, there's somebody that cares for me.

Absolutely.

And the other one, obviously, you're not going to have to name somebody.

But give me a chance that you were either – hear a story where you were maybe either betrayed or you just had a massive disappointment,

which taught like okay i i really can't rely on like other people like i gotta like dig in and do

this myself yeah and like you said i'm not gonna name people but like working alongside people for

a long time um and and it just it's disappointing when like you and you and that person like it's it's

it's about i think it taught me a lesson like i said about being patient with myself and other

people it's just going through the trouble of creating something and then having a falling out

and having an argument that leads to, you know, people leaving.

And it sucks because it destroys not only your friendship,

it destroys not only what you're working on, but also the friendship.

And so throughout the history of the radio show,

I've had people that have come on and, you know,

and now like years later you see it as like,

well, it wasn't like they were completely wrong.

It wasn't like I was completely wrong.

There was both of us were kind of in the middle having issues.

And so that stuff really taught me like the lesson of like

appreciating the people around me and just working well with, with others. And it's,

I thought you think you're going into it. You're like, Oh, I'm going to have the best,

I'm going to, I'm going to be the best boss to these people. I'm going to be a leader that

is worth leading, but you have to realize you're going to make mistakes and you're,

you're not going to, you're not going to go with what's makes sense. You're going to sometimes

going to be led by emotions and you have to kind of control yourself in that sense. And,

uh, you know, it's, it sucks to have to lose relationships, but it teaches you like, okay,

this is what you need to do to be an effective leader.

Yeah.

And it's a sign of maturity too.

I mean, maturity has very little to do with age.

It's the horizon, the time horizon on your decision-making.

How far in advance can you see and make decisions and plan and go ahead?

Speaking of maturity, give me an example of a way that you've grown over these last 10,

11 years.

Like a way that, like if you look back five, six years and be like, I would have never

done that, you know?

No.

Yeah.

I mean, I think the humor is a big thing for the show.

A lot of that stuff is deleted.

You can't listen to it anymore because I deleted it.

Some of the jokes that you make, and I think it just comes with, as we grow as a society,

you realize some of the jokes you make, they're not as funny.

They're only funny when you're 18, and now that you're 34, you're not as funny anymore.

But I wouldn't say it was stuff that would get you canceled, but it's just stuff that

you're like, you don't have to make jokes about dirty jokes like that.

Like, yeah, this is not who I am. And, and, and I, and I look back at that and I'm like, it was me trying to be funny, me trying to be overly entertaining because I thought that's how I was supposed to be as opposed to just being myself and not necessarily going for the laugh every time, you know?

Right. Yeah. And that, that makes sense too. And, and I think, and you live life in seasons, right? I mean, they, they say we're a completely different person every five or six years, you know, body cell replacement and everything, but a lot of happens in four to six years, you know? So you are a different person.

It's not being disingenuous to edit previous stuff that isn't relevant to you or isn't a good reflection of who you are today.

I think that's smart.

And especially, it's not about the show you do today.

It's about a massive body of work.

So when somebody does find you and does that deep dive back into all those episodes, it's like they have a good representation of who you are now.

Smart.

Yeah, and I think so.

And it wasn't like I did a mass delete or anything.

It was just a matter of like, I want to be able to say the 10 years that I have of work that you can look at is everything is what I'm proud of.

And so, yeah, maybe there was stuff where I was like, oh, it was rushed and it wasn't as good quality.

And it was about the hip hop news of the week that who cares anymore?

That was 10 years ago, you know, and that's the kind of stuff you get rid of.

Yeah, I always struggle with that, too.

Like if I should talk about current events on the air, but I think it'll be like irrelevant, like in like another month.

Like obviously.

Even a week.

Seriously, right?

Like if I talk about like Eagles winning the Super Bowl, like that's fun for like the week they won, you know, I'm in Philadelphia.

You know, so it's like, but it's like, yeah, are we, is anyone going to care like a month later?

You know, like, so I've always kind of stayed away from current events.

Speaking of something that you're proud of, what is something that you're proud of that has nothing to do with the podcast?

Oh, wow.

That's a good question.

I would say that I guess a couple of years ago, we got a cat.

And I just did not see that. I just didn't see that. I just call me off. I'm sorry.

All right. A couple of years ago, we adopted a cat and I'm just proud of the person that,

you know, I've become from, from, from, you know, being a cat, a cat dad, I guess.

Just having that, it feels good.

It feels good to have somebody that counts on you and is like, it just feels good to have a buddy around the house sometimes.

And I guess I'm proud of that.

I'm good with that.

I think that's a great answer.

Because I feel like everything I do is, everything creative in terms of that I'm proud of like that is tied to the podcast.

And I guess maybe that's that.

Sometimes I'm proud of the person I've become over the years, but a lot of that is because of the fact that I've learned from working on a team, working on this podcast, how to be who I am.

Right. Well, outside of the people we love that we invested in, I mean, our career path kind of does define us.

Outside of like husband, dad, son, the next tier of identity is my job.

And in your case, it would be the podcast.

So it makes sense.

it's cool it's uh they were doing this uh they're doing this female middle-aged um you know like

influencer doctor and they were and um and she was going around to the audience and she was going to

each person would be like tell me who you are without using a relation to somebody else and

obviously the first lady she's like well i'm a mother i'm like no no no a mother means you're

your kid's mom tell me who you are without and a lot of people couldn't name people had a hard

time getting to three things they'd be like uh i'm uh i'm charitable like i don't like they didn't

answer who they were without so i think there's there's there's a degree of it that i think

i don't know i think i feel like our our creativity gives us another almost like another facet of our

personality outside of you know i don't know it's yeah i see that yeah i feel like i sometimes too

I have to play the part of that person.

And when I'm going into it, not that it's fake, but it's just another side of me.

And when I can unlock that, I feel like that person gets in the zone and they go for it.

As a Gemini, they say that you have multiple faces.

And I do feel like that's true.

And I feel like that's my creative face that is my most genuine one.

And so when I'm in that mode, I just go for it.

Yeah, man.

And you're good at it too.

You have a very disarming quality with your guests.

There's a couple episodes I was watching you.

obviously the tattoo artist.

There's a woman, I forget her name,

fairly recently, blonde musician.

Oh, Hailey Wilde.

Yeah, so you could actually see in that interview,

you could see the tension leave her shoulders

throughout the interview.

You have this disarming quality with your guests.

Is that something that you're doing consciously

or is that just you being you

and just eventually they just warm up to you?

It's a little bit of both.

I do try to make them comfortable because, and I try now even more.

So I send them the questions ahead of time and stuff.

Cause a lot of people are nervous or especially with like the tattoo artists,

right?

She was just on a podcast before my podcast where they kind of went after her

and they made her look like on purpose.

I think they, not that she was saying anything dumb.

They made her look dumb in a certain way.

Like you're trying to portray her.

Watch your questions and stuff like that.

Just kind of.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so in that, in her case, I specifically wanted her to be like, Hey,

like I know that was your first podcast experience. It doesn't have to be like that. There's people

that are actually telling stories and wanting to get to know you as a creative person. Um, so in

that case, I was going out of my way to do that, but also in general, I try to tell people like,

Hey, I'm not trying to get you to say anything, click baity or trap you with anything. I just

want you to tell your story. And I think people realize that once I start asking them what,

like, cause a lot of people, uh, even here in orange candy, there's a lot of other podcasts

that are going for more sensational stuff.

Even if you think of it as boring,

I think of it as your story, and it's going to inspire

somebody. So even if

I do tend to lean on something that is less

clickbaity, I am more proud of that.

Even the interview you did with the girl

that was an OnlyFans

model, you handled that

interview with such grace and class, and I'm like,

I mean, this is just a top-tier guy.

This is like

a... I mean, you were a gentleman, obviously,

but even the way she spoke,

you could you could see her kind of like disarm herself and just and just start sharing with you

and you made like a very safe space for her not a lot of people would do that and even if they did

do that they wouldn't be able to do it with such comfortability you know i mean it would feel kind

of weird you know so it was it was cool man really good at what you do um i was impressed um thank

you man specifically that one too i feel like when i really listened to that because i recently edited

that one i was like wow yeah i really i'm proud of myself because i wasn't trying to go for any

dumb jokes or anything. I just was really genuinely talking to her about her career.

Yeah. Yeah. For every one guy like you, I'm sure there's, you know, a dozen and you, and you know,

I'm not going to say them one here, but you know, the questions that she probably gets.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, man. We were to sync up a year from now and I wanted it to have been an

awesome year for you. What are the couple of things that would have had to happen for you to

be like, yo, that was an awesome year. These last 10 to 12 months were incredible. Well, I'll tell

you what i want because creating for me is always going to satisfy me so even if i just keep doing

what i'm doing now and and we see each other a year from now and be like it was it was an awesome

year because i got to do everything i wanted particularly this year but i would say my goal

or i was like wow this is an amazing year is is having my own space again i for a while i didn't

have a studio that was my own well for a while i did have a studio that was my own and then and

then I lost it and then I got another one and I lost it again. And so now I'm kind of floating

between other, other already established places where people record. And my goal is to eventually

have my own place. Even now, like I'm moving stuff in my house. So nowhere really feels like my,

my studio yet. And so I'm building towards that. Um, I, but even then like the, the access that I

have to the studios that I have now, it's really awesome. So just working with those people, but

I mean, eventually I just want to have a warehouse where I can just do everything creative. And so

that's my main goal is just one day just have like like the the rob dyrdek's fantasy factory but for

more podcasting you said it i thought i didn't want to age myself i think that show came on like 20

years ago i was embarrassed to age myself as a person yeah i want to do that for podcasting

that's right i always thought about doing it from um there used to be a show on palladia that was

like this structure with like a bunch of little stages a main stage and i was like so it's almost

like a mini festival in like one building you know what i mean like there'd be somebody here and then

the camera would follow you down and it would be like tie dollar sign on this stage and then when

he was done the camera would pan over to be like one continuous shot and i was like dude i want to

own a place with like three four stages and just like book all my friends and my artist friends and

like once a month have like a big rager you know like that was like that'd be amazing

You have a 30 second elevator ride with your 10 year old self.

So you only have 30 seconds.

What are you telling that little guy before he gets off the elevator?

Okay.

So I wouldn't ruin anything for him.

I wouldn't tell him like the trouble he's going to face.

I would just say, hey, there's going to be some, some waves.

You're going to be experiencing stuff, ups and downs in life, but just know that that's

going to lead you in the right direction.

Just trust the process.

Like, I wish I could tell myself that because there were so many times when I was that age up until even early 20s that I really doubted who I was or where I was going.

And I didn't have to.

I could have just enjoyed life.

And I don't regret it because it's made me who I am today.

But if I could just give some relief to that stressed out kid, that's all I would do.

Yeah, man.

So somebody watches this interview and they want to connect, man.

What's the best way to find you, connect with you, support you?

Cool, yeah.

So you can follow me at The Rodriguez Show.

So that's where they can find me.

And then I am Cesar Rod is my personal one.

But that's, at The Rodriguez Show is always going to be where I put everything creative that I'm involved with.

Just because that's like, it just has become a platform for everything now.

So if you want to find me, that's where you can find me.

Yeah, man.

So Cesar, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart just for making time to be on the show.

I know how busy you are.

I know how big your production is.

I had a ball talking to you.

I learned a ton.

Seriously, I think you're going to be wildly successful in whatever you do.

I hope the show blows up.

But anything you want to do, you can do it, man.

I mean, this show or anything else.

So seriously, thank you, man.

I hope you decide to stay in touch.

We stay connected, you know, and connect over our creative endeavors.

But seriously, I want to thank you for making time.

Hey, I appreciate that, man.

I really appreciate your platform and just letting me talk about, you know, my life and

the stuff I'm doing, man.

I appreciate that.

Good stuff, man.

Hey, the rest of you, thank you so much for tuning in.

You can check us out.

New episodes every Thursday morning, 7 a.m.

They go up on all streaming platforms, audio and video.

And if you like what you heard here today,

please check out The Rodriguez Show

and tell somebody who loves music.