How Black Music Inspires Our Creativity
- Text Jamila Jalloh
- Design Yohance Barton
Black music has long been the heartbeat of culture. It has shaped art, identity and storytelling for decades, yet its impact often goes unrecognized. Creative inspiration often stems from the culture we consume, and modern life in America has been heavily influenced by Black culture, especially when it comes to music. During a recent panel discussion hosted by Day One Agency’s Employee Impact Group, The Get Together, we explored the hidden history of Black Music and how it influences our creative processes.
Read on to learn how some of our favorite genres inspire us in our day-to-day work and boost our creativity.
As the resident Day One Agency DJ, Associate Director of Communications, Gaston McGary, sets the vibe at the office with his curated playlists. “Black music is Gaston—no doubt about it,” he says. “I can’t start my day, keep it moving, or wrap it up without it.”
Gaston comes from a family of DJs and manages artists, so music underscores both his personal life and professional life. Between recommending talent for Day One to work with and using his connections with old media friendlies at Rolling Stone and Billboard, Gaston’s musical influences continue to affect his work at Day One. “I’m the go-to person for music comms — whenever there’s a brainstorm or clients come with a specific want, I’m always tapped.”
The rhythms keep me steady and grounded in my work while pushing me forward to what’s next.
- Gaston McGary, Associate Director of Communications
Some people may find listening to music while working distracting, but for Vice President of Communications, Farah Noel, music is what fuels her creative process. As a PR professional, writing is her superpower and her playlists are her sidekick. “Part of my writing process has always included listening to Black music… [it] allows me to think through tough scenarios and helps me celebrate my biggest wins.” Whether it’s helping her find a different way to say something (she’s a synonym girl) or spark her creativity, music is what keeps Farah’s mind flowing.
Music also plays a big role in Creative, Yohance Barton’s work. “Black music has profoundly shaped my creative production, both at Day One Agency and in my personal work,” he says. Between the distorted, layered and grungy music videos of the late 2010s and early 2020s and the bold, surreal aesthetics of early 2000s hip-hop visuals, these influences inspire Yohance’s approach to storytelling. When he worked on projects with Nike and Jordan Brand Classic, his knowledge and understanding of hip-hop culture allowed him to capture both events from a well-informed place. Yohance’s work embraces high contrast, intentional lighting and rhythmic editing, mirroring the pacing and style of hip-hop and r&b visuals.
Artists like Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes showed me that creativity should be fearless, and that ethos drives everything I create. My work is, in many ways, a visual remix of the sounds and imagery that have shaped me.
- Yohance Barton, Creative
Senior Integrated Producer, Victor Covington, is a DJ, songwriter and music producer in his spare time. His creative production process has been directly influenced by the strong-willed mentality held by Black pioneers of the music industry. “I look at how Black artists have pushed the boundaries of what is considered ‘music’ and how that has led to cultural impact,” he says. Sounds like gospel, blues and jazz were used as spiritual outlets for slaves to tell their stories and formed the foundation of popular genres today. “That kind of transcending is what I look to emulate through everything I do creatively, whether that’s at Day One Agency or in my own creative outlets.”
Video Editor, Nnamdi Nwigwe, also has a background working in the music industry. His creative wheelhouse was built on making music videos and working amongst the culture that genres like rap and hip-hop represent. This knowledge has come in handy when capturing content at hip-hop dedicated festivals like Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw and events like NBA’s All-Star Weekend where rapper Lil Yachty performed. “These are people I listen to currently, so it makes the work a lot better because I'm connecting to it on a personal level,” he says.
Hip-hop is the heartbeat that drives me. Its rhythm, BPM and style are core to my identity.
- Nnamdi Nwigwe, Video Editor
When it comes to our work at Day One, curiosity is where all ideas start. For Video Creator, JeanJacques, Black music inspired her to be more curious about the roots of her creativity and how they influence her work today. “I met my grandfather later in life, and when I finally met him I was exposed to a huge breadth of old jazz music,” she shares. This led JeanJacques to recognize the deep connection between contemporary genres and sounds of the past. “Now I always question where the root of my creativity comes from, the creative lineage of my ideas and how it can help my creativity grow in different directions.”
The Get Together's discussion was a powerful reminder that Black music’s impact doesn’t just hide in obvious places like in our playlists and on the dance floor. It lives within the storytelling that inspires our ideas, the rhythms that help us write and the culture that shapes our creativity.
