Connection is Magic with Samson Shulman

About Connection is Magic with Samson Shulman

Connection is Magic is a podcast and non-profit 501c3. We are a “Lighthouse for Creatives,” empowering those in arts & entertainment. Ego, volatility, and burnout create obstacles at every step of the creative journey. Yet art remains essential—it heals and profoundly connects us in an increasingly divided world. Hosted by Samson Shulman, associate therapist & former music executive, we feature raw conversations with voices from across the creative landscape. Listeners learn to turn pain into purpose while finding more grace and inner clarity. WATCH: youtube.com/@connectionismagic

Publisher

Connection is Magic with Samson Shulman

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

31 Jul 2016

Latest episode

5 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

103 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Mar 2026

   Frank Ocean’s Mom on His Evolution, Life Gems & Trusting Your Path — Katonya Breaux

   Katonya Breaux (IG: katonyabreaux) is the mother of visionary artist Frank Ocean. Born in New Orleans and raised in Los Angeles, she emancipated herself at 17 from a toxic family environment and is renowned for her grace and wisdom by those who know her. She founded Unsun Cosmetics, a mineral sunscreen line for people of color, which was carried by major retailers including CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. Katonya closed the company while navigating her own healing journey following the loss of her son Ryan. Today, she dedicates herself to life coaching, plant medicine, and training as a death doula, guiding others through life’s transitions with clarity and compassion. Disclaimer: Our Ableton audio session crashed while this interview was being recorded, so we had to use the scratch audio from our Sony 4K cameras. Enhancing it took countless hours and is a real-life example of what we encourage our listeners to always do on this platform… turn lemons into lemonade. We hope you enjoy! Book a 15-minute therapy & coaching session for artists with Samson: calendly.com/connectionismagic (https://calendly.com/connectionismagic) EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS // + Emancipating herself at age 17 from a toxic family dynamic + Folding her skincare business after fighting for it for many years + How meditation changed her life + There is an order to the world we can trust in… i.e looking at the planets all moving in synchronicity or a child growing in the womb, even when uncomfortable things happen in your life, trust its part of that same order and happening for a reason + When she first discovered her son's gift + Incredible talent is NOT enough to be successful, you need incredible work ethic to go along with it + Discussing Frank’s lyrics to her in his song “Futara Free” + The immense luxury & gift of getting paid to do what you love + Katonya (even though she grew up in the church) supporting Frank when he came out as gay and how him doing that helped shift the stigma in hip hop & pop-culture as a whole + Frank not succumbing to the pressures of our modern-day culture to always post and be visible on the internet + How she feels knowing Frank's music has helped and touched so many people + How people spend more time WISHING than WORKING for their dreams + The intense work and focus it takes over time, i.e. Kobe Bryant shooting / dunking a basketball to hone your skills & the countless hours of work no one truly acknowledges that’s part of it + How she will go with Frank to the recording studio and find it so boring because she will hear him play the same segment of a song over 30-40 times working intensely to improve it + It’s not 10,000 hours to become a master at something, rather 10,000 iterations to become a master at something + Katonya’s favorite Frank Ocean song… + How Frank has never struggled with a scarcity mentality when it comes to money + When we allow fear to grip us we actually put up energetic blocks to achieving what we want + Trusting that you have a sacred team of sprit guides + angels that are always intervening to help you whether you can see it or not, it’s ever-present like wifi and when we tap into literal magic happens +  We discuss the song “Be Yourself” off Frank’s Blond album + How Katonya and I handle our “bad days” and the grace we try to remember to give ourselves to make it back to shore, which we always do if we hang in there (HOPE acronym: Hold On Pain Ends) + Katonya answers a fan question in our new segment called “The Magic Moment” and shares advice to parents raising a creative child Hit up CONNECTIONISMAGIC.COM to sign up for our email list and get access to new episodes before they drop, special animated story clips from our most powerful episodes and other special goodies & offers! Love and blessings, – TEAM CIM

2. 

   17 Nov 2025

   G-Eazy on Inner Freedom, Mac Miller Friendship & Rejection Stories He’s Never Shared

   Are you a creative feeling stuck, anxious, or overwhelmed? Let’s talk. We offer therapy specifically for artists and creatives. Book a free call: calendly.com/connectionismagic G-Eazy (IG: g_eazy) was born Gerald Earl Gillum on May 24, 1989, in Oakland, California, is a rapper, producer, and philanthropist whose journey reflects resilience, introspection, and staying true to his roots. Raised by a single mother, he overcame financial hardships and pursued his passion for music, earning a degree in music industry studies from Loyola University New Orleans. His 2014 album These Things Happen marked his breakthrough, featuring the hit single “Me, Myself & I” with Bebe Rexha, which reached the Billboard Top 10 and has over 1.5 billion streams on Spotify. In 2021, G-Eazy faced the profound loss of his mother, a life-changing moment he explored with raw honesty on his 2024 album Freak Show, reflecting on grief, love, and personal growth. Beyond music, he founded the Endless Summer Fund in 2018 to support at-risk youth in the Bay Area with education, mental health resources, and basic needs. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS // + Going from a world tour with screaming fans to just back to your regular everyday life at home just doing laundry and making coffee is trippy AF + Discussing cities with rich historical musical legacies + G-Eazy’s original rap name which he never disclosed before! + Why G-Eazy sold his house in LA and moved to NY + The challenge of having to come off both super confident and super vulnerable simultaneously as a rapper + How the greatest joys in life come from choosing adversity and challenge and getting to the other side of those things + Selling verses for just $50 bucks when struggling early on and some people still popping up to this day trying to promote those songs saying they have a song featuring G-Eazy + Living out of a suitcase and on friend’s couches, selling sneakers and barely scraping by trying to get his career going + Getting flown out to NY and passed on by major labels, having to shake off the disappointment and keep pushing + How to psyche yourself out and achieve the impossible + His friendship with Mac Miller and his favorite memories with him + Meeting Kobe Bryant and what Kobe shared with him about mindset + Forgetting songs that his fans press him to play in his meet and greets before a show and him asking “how the hell do you remember that?” + Recalling performing “Me, Myself and I” throughout the world over 1300 times and how the song was created with Bebe Rexha + We explore the quote that “happy and healthy people don’t make great art,” and how artists often channel tension and anxiety into their work Hit up CONNECTIONISMAGIC.COM to sign up for our email list and get access to new episodes before they drop, special animated story clips from our most powerful episodes and other special goodies & offers! Love and blessings, – TEAM CIM

3. 

   21 May 2025

   The Creative Mastermind Fueling Kendrick Lamar & Travis Scott — Brocky Marciano

   Brock Korsan (IG: @brockymarciano) is a multifaceted force in music and fashion, widely respected as an A&R executive, artist and producer manager, and creative consultant. His career is defined by a sharp cultural lens and a deep commitment to championing artistic talent. Brock got his start on a street team, immersing himself in every facet of the music business. His instincts and relentless drive quickly led to work with influential artists like Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, and frequent collaborator Kendrick Lamar. Known for his ability to spot and nurture talent, he’s become a trusted voice in the culture. At Interscope Records, Brock worked across a wide spectrum of artists and projects, including co-writing Drake’s global hit “God’s Plan.” Beyond music, he’s a managing partner at No Vacancy Inn, a boundary-pushing collective known for blending fashion, music, and culture through ventures like radio shows, parties, clothing drops, and fundraisers. As Senior Vice President at Warner Records, Brock continues to lead with vision, signing breakout acts like Omar Apollo and developing projects that shape the sound of tomorrow. Whether he's in the studio until sunrise or catching waves at dawn, Brock brings the same passion and intention to everything he does—embodying a holistic, grounded approach to creative success. Are you a creative feeling stuck, anxious, or overwhelmed?Let’s talk. I offer therapy specifically for artists and creatives.Book a free call: calendly.com/connectionismagic EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS // Sleeping in his impala to hide his early career moves from his parents who would not understand what he was trying to do Brock’s experiences working at the legendary street wear company, Diamond Supply in it’s early days and Tyler, The Creator working there as a kid packing boxes Leveraging managing producers at first to get around the rappers he wanted to meet Witnessing the early days of TDE and its superstar artists early into the global phenom’s they have become Helping Mac Miller get his first bag of weed and tattoo Touring the world with Travis Scott and watching 70,000 fans attend the Sao Palo, Brazil show and nearly break the concrete stadium How most people just aren’t built for the struggle it takes to be great, especially hype talented people Why getting opinions from too many people is dangerous, because they may talk you out of something great Signing Omar Apollo and helping guide his development & career A real artist needs to make art no matter what, they need to make it to breathe / survive How all the true greats, whether in sports or the arts, give another level of commitment to their crafts even after they’ve reached success Getting a shout out from Kendrick Lamar on “DNA” off of his DAMN album, which he A&R’d What his working relationship is like with Kendrick Lamar and how they’ve both made each other grow Nobody really knows what a hit is and so much it happens off luck and fate, and how so many incredible artists never get a top charting record Sending Kendrick Lamar the iconic “Money Trees” record No matter how much information you are armed with you will get fucked and take L’s in the entertainment industry. Period, but you can choose to become better vs. bitter and also not do the same thing to other people How music is a soundtrack to our lives like a time capsule and how revisiting certain songs takes us right back to those poignant moments earlier in our lives How you can spend your whole life climbing to the top of a mountain and then get bored of being at the top and need a new challenge to feel inspired, i.e. why the children of billionaires are some of the most unhappy people Hit up CONNECTIONISMAGIC.COM to sign up for our email list and get access to new episodes before they drop, special animated story clips from our most powerful episodes and other special goodies & offers! Love and blessings, – TEAM CIM

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

4,061,329

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

26 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

17 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

78

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

82