Welcome to "We Them Niggas," A Community

I didn’t see myself writing one of these before, but I like to write and journal anyways and I figured this could be a nice way to start looping others like yourself into what I am creating with We Them Niggas. This idea started as a podcast, but as I have been on my journey into web 3.0 I have been learning that putting community first may be the thing I want to prioritize over necessarily creating content. I have been active this summer in the Water and Music discord a “Research DAO,” though apparently maybe they aren’t a DAO after all. Regardless, in my experience, they are a Co-Operative Research publication where literally anybody can get involved in a coordinated effort to make sense of the growing space at the intersection of web 3.0 and the music industry.

I realize I still haven’t introduced myself, my name is Maceo Whatley. I am a recent college graduate with a BA in Moral Psychology from Franklin and Marshall College, a small liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I decided around the same time I wanted to major in this abstract philosophy-centric major, that I also would become a rapper. At the time admiring the freestyling abilities of G Herbo, Young MA, Lil Dicky, and most notably Juice WRLD who has become known for his ability to freestyle for so long. So since that time, which was around January of 2021 I have been practicing my own freestyling abilities with different friends and roommates. This practice has actually brought a lot of fun memories into my life and helped me to experience new sides of some of the people I am closest to in life from my mother to my college roommates. During this time I have also been thinking about how I can bring value to the larger music industry ecosystem so that I am not making music to sustain myself. This is how I came to the idea of The We Them Niggas Podcast, a vehicle for me to give others a platform, a place for them to share what inspires them, and me to recognize those doing noteworthy work for Black and otherwise marginalized people. I have always wanted to work for myself and create a life where I and the people I care about can have a life where we are free to do what excites us and for me, this is the work of empowering those who want to be changemakers and merely need the resources to actualize effectively. So that’s what I am aspiring to create with We Them Niggas, a community where anyone can come and find a sense of belonging and the resources to maximize their impact on the world around them.

This has been something I have been thinking about for over a year now and I want to be sure to start making more of these thoughts public so this is how I am starting. As I think I said earlier I am someone who deeply values the act of journaling and am treating this first piece as though it were that. I am excited to bring you all on my journey to understand the role Web 3 will have on independent music artists and the creator economy more broadly. This is only one arc in my journey, but hopefully, one we all can really take a lot from. My podcast is a view into my journey to make sense of this wacky world we live in as I learn to decenter myself so I can hear how others are seeing things. Hopefully when all is said and done what I am hoping to accomplish with this project will be clear to anyone who has worked with me. If you haven’t yet give me a follow on Twitter and check out the Podcast on streaming services. I am excited to be starting this journey as a community builder and would love to hear from you so please tune in to my show and feel free to send me a message on Twitter.

Hugs!

Maceo Whatley, aka Just another nigga tryna do right by his people.