Walking into an interview — especially with somebody you don’t know — can be intimidating, a feeling V. White knows well. She recalls the nerves she feels heading downtown to the studio for her next interview. However, the elated feeling afterward, the rush she gets, is what she remembers most when thinking about her podcast.
Behind the Board, hosted by White, is a podcast that focuses on profiling and highlighting the efforts and stories of music producers. It has featured creators behind popular songs and celebrated albums.
The podcast was also rooted in Brooklyn, where early episodes were recorded at the now-defunct PNC Radio in Dumbo. The space served as an early home for Behind the Board, helping shape the show’s production and direction in its initial stages.
Growing up in Harlem, White says she is prepared for anything life throws her way.
“You’re approached with different situations when you’re young, you’re getting on the train, you’re seeing all sorts of things,” she said. “I was very confident early in life, I was able to speak to adults without any type of intimidation very young.” Learning how to be a leader, she feels she has been preparing for her career her whole life.
White learned how to speak to people while growing up in the city and developed a charming personality — one that people enjoy engaging with.
“The crazy guy on the corner, sometimes you talk to him and he’s not really — yes he is crazy — but he has this whole story you don’t even know about,” she said.
White credits her best trait as her authenticity, which helps her approach interview subjects with genuine interest while making sure she gets the answers she wants.
“I am not here to ask the basic questions,” she said.
Behind the Board began in 2015, when her then-classmate Lu Childs approached White with the idea for the podcast. After taking a journalism class together, Childs, who appreciated White’s writing style, reached out to her. Now co-executive producer, Childs and White have been working together since.
“It was a little intimidating,” White said, recalling the beginning of the podcast. “One day you would have someone who is lesser known, and then the next day you would have a legitimate, tenured producer that you’ve been listening to since you’ve been younger.”
In the more than 10 years since the podcast’s start, White says she is most proud of the show’s expansion. What began with a smaller focus — mainly on hip-hop creatives — has branched into other genres and explored how different parts of the industry are perceived.
White finds inspiration in media hosts Angie Martinez and Wendy Williams, drawing from their knack for informed questions and authenticity. She also noted they are both women from New York. “Can’t be mad at it!” she said.
White wants listeners to learn how to become more involved in music. She also highlights aspects of the industry that some may overlook, such as wardrobe, production, engineering and songwriting.
“It’s a podcast about music, but it’s providing valuable information for someone who is looking to get into the industry, or who just wants more knowledge,” she said.
In the future, White is working to start her own podcast focused on topics beyond music. She wants it to be value-based and hopes to reach young women.
“I see a lot of issues with young girls, and I see a lot of issues with women my age,” she said. “Younger women have so much scrutiny on them. There are women who are coming from families where they have siblings, and moms and aunts, but they’re not being communicated to in a sense of empowerment.”
White’s life motto is to do not just what’s good at the time or for everyone, but to do what is best for you. “At the end of the day, you’re going home with yourself,” she said. “You’re going home feeling how you feel. You have to look in the mirror.”
When asked about her greatest achievement, White had a simple answer: She hasn’t achieved it yet. She said, “I’m just getting started.”
