It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God wasted no time setting the tone for a conversation as rich and layered as the community they serve. From the morning’s opening moments, it was clear this episode — Season 4, Episode 53 — was going to be about more than just music. It was about vision, legacy, and the quiet, determined work of building something that lasts.
The show opened with a candid look at the results of Nebraska’s recent primary election, and the numbers were sobering. Paul B. read aloud a comment from viewer Raquel Henderson, who had put it plainly: “Only 339,320 out of more than 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska showed up yesterday. Think about that for a second. And yet everybody has something to say. Everybody’s angry. Everybody’s debating policies and leadership decisions online. Where is that same energy when it’s time to organize, educate, mobilize, register, and actually vote?” The hosts didn’t flinch from the challenge in those words. Buddy the God acknowledged the complexity, noting, “None of this — a lot of this — doesn’t matter if everybody voted. And as I’ve been listening to conversations, that’s a pretty valid point.”
Viewer Kimber Snipes offered a more measured perspective, writing in: “I’ve been having conversations with people between the ages of 20 and 35. What I hear the most is most of them don’t really know what to do and know nothing about the candidates. I don’t think we should be slamming people for not voting when the system is really what has caused this — I think we need to have more education and deep dive discussions.” It was the kind of nuanced back-and-forth that has made the 1st Sky community feel less like an audience and more like a neighborhood conversation.
From civic engagement, the conversation pivoted naturally toward community building — and toward a concept Paul B. has been developing all season long. He calls it the “secondary matrix.” “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he explained. Buddy the God grounded it in the urgency of the moment: “We’re seeing the systems break down — our political system, the economic system — the idea of a secondary matrix, the idea of existing within this system and building our own system within that system. We got to do it.”
That philosophy found its perfect embodiment in the morning’s featured guest: Dana Murray, founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA).
A South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home, Murray has planted his flag at one of the most historically significant addresses in Nebraska — North 24th Street, what Paul B. has long called “the most important black corner in Nebraska.” Murray’s vision for that corridor is sweeping and specific in equal measure. “Really the area that has the most history and the one that can claim ‘we are a cultural and arts district’ for real is the North 24th Street corridor,” Murray said. He went on to sketch out a blueprint that includes housing, services, eateries, entertainment destinations — and yes, even a hotel. “With a hotel, now you can throw larger attractions, music festivals, conferences right in the community.”
Some have questioned why someone from South Omaha is leading the charge on the North Side. Murray addressed it with characteristic directness. “If you’re black and you’re in Omaha, especially in the ’70s and early ’80s, everyone had a shared relationship with North Omaha. That was the Mecca for us.” He went further, turning the question into a challenge: “At every opportunity we fail at taking advantage of showcasing our culture.” He pointed to Native Omaha Days as an example of a beloved tradition that has yet to fully extend its invitation to the rest of the city. His own experience proved a different approach was possible. “People don’t have any problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to come down North 24th Street to hear jazz music.”
At the heart of NMA’s work is an idea that resonates far beyond the music room. Murray sees the academy not just as a place where kids learn instruments, but as a forge for critical thinkers. “We’re not only raising musicians but more importantly we’re raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said, “because all these young kids are not going to become musicians by choice. Some will become doctors, some lawyers, some business owners. Whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.” Paul B. put it succinctly: the music lessons are the surface. The secondary matrix is the real curriculum.
Students at NMA do far more than practice scales. Murray described a full ecosystem of electives — live sound engineering, broadcasting, live streaming, and even conducting artist interviews. “It’s not just telling them ‘you can be this’ — no, you can be this right now,” Murray said. “Once you remove those barriers, the sky’s the limit.” Viewer Pops summed up the feeling in the chat simply: “I love this interview. This brother’s vibe is so cool and his intentions are admirable. First Sky loves the kids.”
Looking ahead, Murray outlined an ambitious capital campaign — a first phase of $20 million — aimed at building a full NMA campus. He pointed to Omaha Performing Arts as a model, noting the institution generates $40 to $50 million in annual revenue for its surrounding area. “We need a vehicle like that for North Omaha,” he said, “and I see NMA taking up that space.” Underpinning all of it is a conviction Murray expressed with quiet force: “Our culture is equity. Our brilliance, our artistic genius is equity. Every music in America has been built off of our experience — from the hardest rock music to the jazziest jazz music to the poppiest pop music, you trace it all the way back to the music that was brought over here from Africa.”
Music instructors interested in joining the NMA family can reach Dana Murray directly at dmurray@northomahamusic.org, or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org. Murray was clear about what he’s looking for: “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t really have the attention span for the X’s and O’s of music. The ‘why’ they’re doing it is everything.”
The show also lifted up two other community bright spots: Charell Shelton’s Core Science Bio Diagnostics lab, a locally rooted health sciences venture, and the forthcoming Heart Ministry Center grocery store coming to North Omaha — the kind of infrastructure win the community has long needed and long deserved.
The show closed on a warm note, as it always does. Viewer Aeros 402 shared some personal joy with the chat: “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both doing well and good. I feel blessed.” Congratulations to the whole family — and to every family in this community doing the quiet, daily work of building something better.
That, in the end, is what Love Supreme Friday is all about. Tune in Monday morning and bring a neighbor — the conversation is always just getting started.
