Ep 93: Jeen-Yuhs with Quddus Philippe
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Ep 93: Jeen-Yuhs with Quddus Philippe
Episode 93: Show Notes
Today’s guest, Quddus Philippe, burst into the international spotlight by replacing Carson Daly as a host on the iconic MTV show, Total Request Live (TRL), where he became the interviewer of choice for artists like Jay Z and Beyonce.
After five years on MTV, Quddus started his own production company, The Q Side, to help pioneer new media and develop new talent with partners like MySpace, AOL, Yahoo, and YouTube, but he kept feeling drawn to the personal development space. That's where everything came together in terms of his purpose and his calling, and Quddus started working with entertainment and wellness leaders to help them get camera ready, which really meant helping them find their most authentic voice.
After completing a philanthropic mission trip in his father’s homeland of Haiti and a spiritual journey in Costa Rica, Quddus devoted himself to launching The Creator Incubator, an eight-week program to help others launch their dream projects with clarity, confidence, and community.
In this episode, he shares some insight into his childhood, how hip hop became his gateway to spirituality, and the crippling imposter syndrome he grappled with in his early days at MTV. We also touch on the immense value of being forthcoming with your passions, speaking your truth, and owning your greatness in order to make the biggest impact, and Quddus shares what imposter syndrome looks like for him today, how his appearance in the Kanye West documentary, jeen-yuhs, has helped him own his voice, and what is lighting him up the most right now. Make sure not to miss this thought-provoking conversation about passion, process, and purpose with one of pop culture's foremost tastemakers, Quddus Phillipe!
Key Points From This Episode:
Quddus’ favorite activities as a child: paying marbles and wrestling with his older brother.
Ideologies about hard work and curiosity that were echoed in his household.
Why he believes that having a good time has been the through-line in his story.
The influence that Canada’s version of MTV, MuchMusic, had on Quddus growing up.
How hip-hop was the gateway to spirituality for him.
What the process of auditioning to be a VJ for MuchMusic taught Quddus about himself.
How Quddus got the gig on MTV and the role that possibility thinking played.
The value of owning your passion and enthusiasm without tempering it for others.
Quddus speaks candidly about his early struggles with imposter syndrome.
Career advice from Carson Daly: be yourself and have fun!
Quddus’ first interaction with Kanye West, as depicted in the documentary, jeen-yuhs.
Some of the circumstances that led to his decision to leave the MTV network.
How Landmark inspired his yearning for deeper and more impactful conversations.
Quddus’ interest in inspiring, guiding, and being part of a transformation.
Insight into his post-MTV journey as an artists and repertoire (A&R) representative.
The trip to Haiti that inspired Quddus’ involvement in philanthropic endeavors and his move into the personal development space.
The pros and cons of fame; stepping away from the spotlight to find his truth
How he found self-love by letting go of public attention and seeking fulfillment elsewhere.
Identifying and owning your greatness in order to make the most impact.
What imposter syndrome looks like for Quddus today and how his appearance in jeen-yuhs has helped him own his voice and his impact.
Quddus’ main takeaway from watching and being part of jeen-yuhs: it takes a village.
Advice for tapping into your genius: ask yourself, what lights you up the most right now?
Tweetables:
“For any given hip-hop icon I grew up on, like KRS-One, for example, who was one of my favorite rappers. If he referenced something, I would look it up and research it. That's mostly how I came across different thinkers like [Alan Watts and Joseph Campbell].” — @iamQuddus [0:14:53]
“It's so key to own our passion, own our enthusiasm for something. Don’t try to temper it for other people's frequency.” — @iamQuddus [0:29:26]
“What Landmark provided me was a bigger conversation to be a part of, something that cut to the heart of so much of what molds someone's experience, which is not necessarily the music that they are listening to but the mindset that they have.” — @iamQuddus [0:41:22]
“When I look at what I love the most, it's putting people in a position to win versus being the one that interviews the person once they've won. The difference for me was huge.” — @iamQuddus [0:44:31]
“Stepping away from the spotlight was really about finding my truth. I had a lot of things internally that were not conducive to me finding my truth on camera in that kind of spotlight. I needed to step back to find that.” — @iamQuddus [0:56:20]
“The process is the only thing that we can really control. The outcome, we never have control over.” — @iamQuddus [1:12:52]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
‘The truth about fame’ (TEDx Talk)