Some chapters don’t fit into one lane. Mine definitely didn’t. I was playing at The MID regularly, a room where legends like Chuckie, Erick Morillo, Gene Farris, Paul Johnson, and so many others shared their stories through music. That place is gone now, but I’m grateful I got to play it while it was still breathing. In the same stretch of life, we were running fundraisers like Holiday Heroes and raising millions for causes that mattered. Between 2015 and 2017, a lot of my time went into supporting, consulting, reading, and helping shape musical experiences for community work. That path eventually led to being recognized by the White House the following year, but that’s a story for the 2017 posts. Some days were skyline views and late nights. Some days were spent recording StoryCorps interviews with my brother and mentor, Ahmed (Flex), for the Library of Congress, NPR, and CPB. Some nights were spinning for the Ukrainian community with United in America. Some mornings were long, slo...