Mixed and Mastered
Mixed and Mastered is the podcast where the untold stories of the music industry come to life. Hosted by Jeffrey Sledge, a veteran music executive and former VP of A&R at Atlantic Records and Jive Records, each episode dives deep into the journeys, challenges, and triumphs of the people shaping the sound of today. From label executives and producers to artists, songwriters, and managers, Jeffrey brings you behind the scenes to meet the minds driving the industry forward. There’s a gap in the marketplace for these voices, and Mixed and Mastered is here to fill it—one conversation at a time. Because the best stories are told by those who lived them.
Mixed and Mastered
Yvette Love Dávila on Def Jam, Rick Ross, and Turning Grief into Purpose
Jeff chops it up with Yvette Love Dávila—yes, DÁ-vi-la, accent and all—about a life that runs from East New York block parties to the executive suites and back to the heart. We trace her come-up through Violator with Chris Lighty, road-managing Angie Martinez, a pit stop in politics with Sen. David Paterson (featuring the recurring villain/hero, Lenny the Barber), then into the Arista/Def Jam blast furnace under L.A. Reid. Yvette drops the inside story on rebuilding bridges for Nas at Hot 97—commercials suspended, Dom P flowing, history made—and why Rick Ross became “her artist.”
Then the pivot: founding Eve of Wellness, becoming an esthetician and integrative health coach, and transforming unimaginable loss—the passing of her son, Dasan—into service. She breaks down grief as a universal language, how she moves energy in and beyond the treatment room, and why her new Merrick Studios show, Two Mothers, One Aché: A Grief Dialogue, lands right in time for the holidays when hearts are heaviest.
Big Libra energy, zero fluff. Culture meets care, and the purpose is loud. Listen in and take notes.
Mixed and Mastered is produced and distributed by Merrick Studio, and hosted by music industry veteran, Jeffrey Sledge. Tune in to the discussion on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you catch your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @MixedandMasteredPod to join the conversation and support the show at https://mixedandmasteredpod.buzzsprout.com/
