WS Chronicle

Podcasts are the new wave. There are podcasts out there that cover just about any and every topic you can think of. Concealed Media (CM) is an old but new podcast that highlights musical talent right here in their own backyard of Winston-Salem.

The idea for the podcast originated from co-host and Chronicle senior reporter Tevin Stinson, who wanted to start blogging about five years ago. He was encouraged to change lanes toward the podcast route by Concealed Media videographer and producer Gregg Penn.  

Stinson partnered with Penn, Deanna Moore and current co-host Andre Lowe to start the original CM podcast. Stinson’s idea was to shine the light on some of the hidden talent that the city of Winston-Salem and the state of North Carolina has to offer.

After a year of production, the original podcast fell off due to conflicting schedules. Around six months ago, Stinson, Penn and Lowe decided to bring the podcast back and added Rae’Dawn Woodberry and Terrae McMiller as co-hosts. The show has continued to grow in popularity and reach after every episode.

The crew of Concealed Media sat down with The Chronicle to discuss their platform, origins and where the podcast is headed in the future. You can check out their podcast at Concealed Media on YouTube.

Question: For you two ladies (McMiller and Woodberry), when they approached you with this idea, what were your initial thoughts and tell me how you felt about it?

Answer: Woodberry – Me and Penn were working together before this on a platform called OT TV, which stands for Our Time, so we were already connected before Concealed Media. I wanted to branch out and do my own podcast and I told Penn and then he let me know that he and T (Tevin) were working on bringing Concealed Media back and I said let’s do it. I love it and it’s fun for me.  

McMiller – For me, I feel like I was on the outside looking in because they have all known each other. We were doing business outside of this first, so that’s how I kind of got brought in. They had a spot to fill and we were already doing business together, so they asked me to be a part of it. This has always been me, music, networking and business, it all runs together.  

Question: When it came to the concept of the podcast, how did you guys narrow things down?

Answer: Penn – We started off with basically anybody who actually wanted to do it. Our first ever guest was an activist and then we wanted to do business people and stuff like that. Me watching other podcasts and stuff, I felt like we needed to find a target audience. I was already doing music and we could get a hold of a lot of these people, so let’s target behind the scenes people ‘cause that’s going to make artists mess with it.

McMiller – I always felt like it was music. I feel like that’s very important, whereas other podcasts have other things. It’s more of a niche in the music industry.

Stinson – It was always supposed to be about creators because we wanted to work with other people that had stuff to offer the world. When we came back, we were doing artists before and I would say a lot of the artists would come to the interview with nothing, but now we are bringing in people with a fanbase.

Lowe – I am not going to front on them because at least they were messing with us, a lot of people were not messing with us back then. The same stuff we were offering now is the same stuff we were offering back then; we just didn’t have this spot. On the first one [podcast], we made them freestyle and we are bringing that back.

Woodberry – Honestly, the only thing y’all really were missing was the structure. Y’all had the vision, it was just the consistency.  

Question: When y’all brought it back, was it a conscious effort to focus on a higher tier guest?

Answer: Penn – Our first one back was DJ E.Sudd, that’s 2 Chainz DJ, so that was our first person back. We were trying to focus on behind the scene people a little more to get them a little more notoriety and we knew that artists would come with that regardless. The artists that we did are people who are signed to bigger people.

Woodberry – We came in strong, period. We just came in knowing what we wanted to do, and it just took off from there. I just feel like a vision was here when we first started. We came and we conquered. Everybody that we have had is really working, like this is what they do every day. They are where we want to be, to a point we are not trying to work a 9 to 5.

Question: Where would you like to see the show in the next few years?

Answer:  Lowe – I want to be like the Joe Budden podcast. I listen to podcasts all the time, but I am just saying that these people have worked on their stuff and kept at it consistently and that’s what we have to do. We are trying to get our stuff on other mediums and streaming services because we are strictly on YouTube now.

Woodberry – I definitely see more sponsorships in our future. I see bigger artists in the next five years. I see us working outside of artists, even getting down to like seeing LeBron James at our table.  

McMiller – I think we are trying to get the top tier people.

Question: What do you guys enjoy most about the podcast?

Answer:  Penn – For me it’s networking and spending time with my people. This table right here, I consider this my team. Spending time together and the family vibe at the end of the day.

McMiller – I feel like the networking is what brought us together and brings everything together. We all have a passion for this 

Woodberry – What I enjoy is putting people on that are working. Some have been working for years and this is the platform that gives them that highlight they have been working toward for years. It’s something about being able to pull my people along with me. As I’m growing, as I’m getting to my next destination, I don’t want to be alone. I like having people around me that I love and I care about and get to share with, so I want to bring those people with me.

Stinson – For me, I really like spending time with them because it’s definitely fun every time we get together.  It gives me the chance to do something different from what I do every day. I can really open up and be myself in these interviews. When I’m sitting down with the mayor to interview him, you can’t really be yourself. That’s the reason I got into writing anyway is to tell stories and I feel like this is telling people’s stories and they really get to tell their side and why they are doing it.

Question: If someone were to ask what the difference is between your podcast and every other podcast out there, what would you tell them?

Answer: Woodberry – When you sit at this table, you get to be yourself, you get to take off that mask you have on. When you sit at this table, you are exactly who you are, before you came through that door.

McMiller – We have seen artists that have done interviews and it doesn’t be as authentic, but when they sit down with us, it’s like they already know us.  

Penn – We are not trying to drill you or get something out of you, it’s more so we want you to tell your side of the story.

Question: From your first podcast together up until now, tell me about the growth you’ve seen in yourselves.

Answer: Penn – For me, my stuff has come super far visually from me just observing them and having to edit the stuff. The first one, everyone was kind of nervous and it was a lot of pauses and now there is a comfort level. It’s like a counseling thing now and it’s like a healing thing for me and I am behind the camera.

Lowe – A podcast is really just a conversation so once you get past the fact that there are cameras and it’s something recording you, you just relax. That’s why I love podcasting so much because you really just talk to people.

Woodberry – I realize that I enjoy talking and up here I get to ask them questions. Even though I have never met them before, when they sit in that seat, we are now family.  

Question: How do you make your interviews seem so organic?

Answer: Woodberry – I think with the last four or five interviews, it’s like we are not strangers with the guests. We are not connected, so let’s talk about it. 

Lowe – I feel like all of us can fit in anywhere. I know for me, I can make a friend out of anybody. That’s the whole point of the interview, getting to know somebody. If they can sit down and they feel at home and the conversation is flowing good, that’s when you know you did a good job.

McMiller – I think the environment matters a lot. When they come here, they feel comfortable.