HB•R is a platform for artists, entrepreneurs and athletes alike to discuss their journey towards success, lessons learned along the way and thoughts on the current state of culture. For episode 59, we sat down with the host of Spotify’s Dissect podcast, Cole Cuchna, just as season 4 is beginning to hit the airwaves.

Dissect is an insanely immersive serialized music podcast that highlights one contemporary classic album per season, analyzing the meaning, social context and purpose of each song one episode at a time. What started off as a side project while leading up a local California roasters’ design and marketing team, in addition to starting a family, Cole worked long hours those first two seasons, cutting off all forms of unnecessary entertainment from his life. With some headway coming off of season one’s examination of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, season two exploded in popularity, thanks to his contentious subject, Kanye West and his self-proclaimed masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Despite Dissect‘s enormous growth in listenership, the former music composition and theory major just wasn’t making to quit his day job, and with his family growing (Cole is expecting his second child any day now), he was just about to hang up his headphones. That was until Spotfy’s Courtney Holt gave him a call.

Listen in as Cole opens up about those early years producing Dissect and how he was able to turn a hobby into a full-fledge career. He also dives into his approach to research, how To Pimp a Butterfly enlightened his spiritual self, what he means by “art gives you what you give it,” and so much more. Be sure to subscribe to Spotify’s Dissect right now, as new episodes analyzing Lauryn Hill’s critically-acclaimed LP The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill air every Tuesday.

Lastly, stay informed of HB•R‘s new episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast or wherever else you enjoy your podcasts, and please don’t forget to leave a comment or review. Peace!