It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God were determined to keep it that way — even with the weight of Nebraska’s midterm primary results still hanging in the air. Season 4, Episode 53 was one of those mornings where community, culture, and candid conversation collided in the best possible way, anchored by a standout interview with North Omaha Music Academy founder Dana Murray.
The show opened with Paul B. setting the tone with characteristic intentionality. “We have to make a decision,” he told viewers. “It’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today, and we’re going to change our mindsets over to something else.” That pivot in energy didn’t mean ignoring hard realities — it meant choosing to build through them.
And there were plenty of hard realities to acknowledge. Nebraska’s midterm primary had just wrapped up, and voter turnout was dismal. Buddy the God shared a pointed observation sourced from Raquel Henderson at the mayor’s office: “Only 339,000 out of more than 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska showed up yesterday. And yet everybody has something to say. Everybody’s angry. Where is that same energy when it’s time to organize, educate, mobilize, register, and actually vote?” Viewer Kimber Snipes offered a nuanced counterpoint from the chat: “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.” Buddy acknowledged that dual truth — civic engagement and community building aren’t either-or propositions. “We got to do both,” he said. “We got to build our own ecosystems and continue to do the things that we’re about to talk about. But in the long run, we do got to figure this out as a nation.”
Before diving into the morning’s main interview, the hosts paused to celebrate a major community win: North Omaha entrepreneur Charell Shelton had just taken home a $52,000 prize. It was exactly the kind of news that feeds what Paul B. calls the “secondary matrix” — the deeper purpose running beneath everything the show does. “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he explained. “On the surface, we’re a couple of talking heads that talk about some news with the community. But what we’re really trying to do is build community, build some coalition.” Viewer Pops captured it simply from the chat: “I experienced my secondary matrix in junior high when I took algebra. I was gaining proficiency and noticed that I was suddenly able to think outside the box on several different levels. Music the same.”
That segue into music felt perfectly timed, because the morning’s guest brought both subjects together beautifully. Dana Murray, founder and director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA) — formerly known as Love’s Jazz — joined the show to talk about his organization’s mission, the upcoming NMA Fest, and his expansive vision for the North 24th Street corridor.
Murray is a South Omaha native who spent 11 years in New York City before returning home with a clear sense of purpose. He speaks about the arts the way a doctor speaks about medicine — as something essential, not decorative. “The arts are the core of who we are as people — definitely as black people — and the history of North Omaha and really Omaha,” he said. “There’s very little talked about the sort of social, people development, healing that has to happen to even take advantage of all the opportunities. A lot of that is unquantifiable, which as an artist, I think a lot of my agenda has been wrapped around that — shining light on the things you really can’t see, but are there.”
His vision for North 24th Street — affectionately known as “the Deuce” — is both practical and sweeping. Murray described the corridor as the one area in Omaha that can legitimately claim the title of cultural and arts district, but said the community has too often failed to capitalize on that identity. He laid out a clear framework: the basics of a self-sustaining neighborhood — housing, eateries, laundromats, parking — combined with destination-worthy attractions like entertainment venues, restaurants, and eventually, a hotel. “With a hotel, now you can throw larger attractions, music festivals, conferences right in the community,” he said. Paul B. echoed the reverence many Omahans feel for that stretch of street: “I’ve always called it the most important black corner in Nebraska, and we got to serve it. We have to be of service to it.” Viewer Pops added a piece of living history from the chat: “Artists like Fats Domino used to stay at your grandfather’s home when he came to town to perform. So yes, more infrastructure for the artist around the Deuce corridor would be a godsend.”
At the heart of NMA is its youth music program — but Murray is quick to point out that the goal isn’t simply producing musicians. “We’re not only raising musicians, but more importantly, we’re raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said. “Not all these young kids are going to become musicians. 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.” The academy also runs a broadcast lab where students learn live sound and podcasting skills — and conduct real interviews with visiting artists. “It’s not just teaching them ‘you can be this someday,'” Murray said. “No, you can be this right now.”
Looking ahead, Murray is preparing to launch a capital campaign with a first phase goal of $20 million, with a long-term vision of building a full NMA campus that could serve North Omaha the way Omaha Performing Arts serves downtown — as both a cultural anchor and an economic engine. His closing thought was one of the morning’s most quotable moments: “What we have to sell in most black communities is our culture. Because if we don’t monetize it, the rest of the country does. The sooner we understand that our culture is equity, that our brilliance and our artistic genius is equity, the better off we’re going to be.”
Music instructors interested in joining the NMA team can reach Dana Murray directly at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The show closed on a note as warm as the morning started. Viewer Pops summed up the feeling in the chat: “Thanks for another great week of shows. You and the Chat Chimers have made First Sky a true pillar in the community. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.” That’s the kind of sign-off that says it all.
If this episode is any indication, 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning is doing exactly what its hosts set out to do — building something bigger than a talk show, one Friday at a time. Tune in Monday morning and be part of it.
