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“The Paint Is Still Wet” is a simple phrase with a big meaning: we are all under construction. Growth mindset is not neat, and creative progress rarely looks “finished” while it is happening. On Smith Street, the point is forward motion, even when the process is messy and a little out of whack. That mindset applies to life, faith, and craft. When you treat yourself like a work in progress, you stop demanding perfection at every stage and start looking for evidence of movement

Tone Stith open verse challenge

Independent rapper LaRussell recently made waves by selling around 30,000 albums directly to fans without any major label support or large promotional campaigns. This achievement highlights a growing trend in the music industry: independent artists building strong communities and finding success on their own terms. Yet, when LaRussell’s sales were submitted to Billboard, they reportedly did not qualify for chart placement due to how the albums were marketed. This situation ra

Wendys CTO Contest Sometimes life has a funny way of coming full circle. When I was 18 years old, my first W-2 job was at Wendy’s. Like a lot of first jobs, it wasn’t just about the paycheck—it was about learning how to show up on time, work with a team, and understand the rhythm of a fast-paced environment. Recently, I came across a post announcing that Wendy’s is searching for a Chief Tasting Officer , a role that would involve creating content and trying menu items. Seeing

A hundred years can feel both long and short when you map it onto memory, sound, and struggle. We open by honoring the centennial of Black History Month, which began as Negro History Week in 1926 under Carter G. Woodson. That origin matters: it wasn’t a marketing plan, it was a correction to erasure. Choosing February linked the observance to the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, anchoring public memory to community ritual. By the 1970s, college campuses st

YORE on Smith Street | Black History Month 2026 Keywords: independent creative podcast, gatekeepers in entertainment industry, creative ownership, power imbalance in media, independent artist mindset, building without a middleman What Is “The First Episode, No Middleman” About? The first episode of YORE on Smith Street explores independence in the entertainment industry, the role of gatekeepers, creative ownership, and lessons learned from building without traditional indus