Guided by the Beat

- If you can do small things well, the universe will open up the bigger things for you, you know but you have to treat the small things with the same respect as you treat the big things.

(fast upbeat music) (fast upbeat music) (fast upbeat music) (fast upbeat music) - [ETIENNE] I grew up being a young kid, just playing the drums enjoying getting the opportunity to play in church and develop my skill.

(drums playing) I love doing it.

I do it for myself but people receive some type of joy from watching me do it.

(drums playing) With the backbone of the rhythm section.

If, you know, with no drums, it's like, it's blah.

Once you put that beat to it everybody can stomp they feet, clap they hands.

When I'm playing the drums I'm not thinking about anything else.

I'm in the moment.

I'm not thinking about the future.

I'm not thinking about the past.

I'm thinking about this song right now.

I had a recording studio at my home and turned out some great records but I knew I wanted a recording space.

We ended up having a grand opening on March 3rd, 2011 and that's been 12 years ago.

(vocalizing) (vocalizing) After we figure out what the melody line is then we can add- - We add the words.

- Add the words.

- I want people to feel like anything is possible when you come in here, this is where you can achieve those things that you want to do musically.

Check, check, check, check.

- [WOMAN] Check, check, check.

- Just really grateful that I've had the client base I've had the support from the community and clients from around the world feel like they can create here and kind of call it, you know, their creative home.

- Some things don't happen how we want 'em to.

- My mother, Cynthia Porter, rest her soul she's no longer with us, but she's with me every day but no longer in earthly form.

Being an artist, actress, and just being a loving caring mother who knew that I needed different parenting from my brothers and sisters.

She made me feel like I could do anything, and I saw her mentoring other young ladies who didn't have that same kind of mentoring at home.

It just made me say, hey, that's the stuff that you do.

You see a need, you fill a need.

You see someone who needs something, you jump in.

You just try to help as best as you can.

- [Chris] This guy is the go-to producer and pretty much mentor of Sarasota, Florida, and he's a gem in the city.

♪ And the rocket's red flare ♪ ♪ The bombs bursting... ♪ - [ETIENNE] Chris was brought to me at, I think he was eight years old.

He was doing talent shows at school and his mom and close friend of mine brought him and said, "Hey you gotta check this little kid out."

When I met Chris and saw him perform, I said "There's something special there."

From there, we just started working very diligently on what he said he wanted to do as an individual.

And I devoted myself to making sure he had every opportunity that came through me and we went from performing at, you know, small places to us getting calls to go and do tours, and the first time he stepped on that big stage, I was like, "Bro this is what you prayed for."

I just took one four - Oh, and you've manipulated it.

Having EJ as a mentor since I was a young kid really is a blessing.

I think we're all in search of our collaborative soulmates and he's definitely somebody that came along and saw something in my eyes that really spoke to him and, you know, inspired him to want to develop the talents that he saw in me.

I'm a bi-racial Jewish kid who was raised by a single mother but I think a young man not having a biological dad my mom was so smart to put amazing Black men around me.

When you're a young man, you look to your elders to- for advice on how to be.

I think for that reason alone even not even talking about the music, EJ will forever be you know, a part of my family, a part of my life.

(motivating music) - [ETIENNE] There are so many options and things you can do in life that may differ from what someone says.

I've had a chance to be a musician my whole life.

Some of these kids are wanting to be where you are.

They have goals and aspirations to be a singer or a performer.

If they can see you do it, all we want to do is just empower people to have the same ability to go after their dreams like you're going after yours.

Now, I saw from an early age that music connects with everybody.

(children chattering) The music program in Mozambique was started from me visiting Mozambique in 2019.

I got over there and saw the kids and I was inspired to want to help 'em.

I saw the little girl beating the drum.

It was like a drum that you put liquids in, not a drum-drum but she was beating the drum with the shaved off tree limb as a drumstick.

And when I saw that, I was like, I gotta give these kids some instruments.

Set the goal and we went over there and bought instruments and started a whole music program.

(singing) The kids were just shocked that all this was theirs and I started just teaching music classes.

So they was learning drums from me and then we had iPads that had lessons on that.

A lot of my musician friends over in the States helped prepare for them.

It was just heart-touching to see like these kids never had this opportunity and now we gave them this opportunity and they are playing now.

They have bands over there now.

(singing) (upbeat music) Having expression from all people allows everyone to know that the arts are important.

Young artists, older artists, people who like jazz people who like opera, people who like rap, people who like hip-hop, people who like gospel all feel like Sarasota is a place that I can practice my craft and get good at my craft.

And so for us, it's always about supporting the arts with not just what we say but supporting the arts with our actions and what we do and creating an environment that we would like to see.

(fast upbeat music) (music fades)