It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God made sure the energy matched the name. Even with plenty going on in the world — and in their own lives — the two leaned into the spirit of the day with intention. “It’s a decision,” Paul B. told viewers early in the show. “I have a lot going on that I could be feeling kind of low about… we have to make a decision. It’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today.” That kind of grounded, deliberate positivity set the tone for what turned out to be one of the most thought-provoking episodes of the season.
The show opened with a reflection on Nebraska’s recent primary results and a candid conversation about civic engagement. Paul B. didn’t mince words: “Posting on Facebook is not enough. Awareness without action changes nothing.” Buddy the God echoed the urgency, pointing to what he sees as a broader unraveling of systems many communities have long depended on. “Follow the money,” he said. “The ecosystem that we have been relying on is crumbling before our very eyes — whether it’s the electoral politics, whether it’s the economy, whether it’s education.” Viewer Kimber Snipes added a nuanced perspective 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.” It was the kind of layered, honest exchange that makes this show feel less like a broadcast and more like a community meeting.
The heart of the episode, though, belonged to a conversation with Dana Murray, founder and director of the North Omaha Music Academy — known to many as NMA, and to longtime Omahans as the space that used to be Love’s Jazz, right on the corner of 24th and Lake. Murray spent eleven years making music in New York City before coming home to Omaha, and what he’s building at NMA reflects both that big-city ambition and a deep, personal investment in the community that raised him.
Paul B. has long called North 24th Street “the most important black corner in Nebraska,” and Murray shares that reverence — along with a clear-eyed vision for what it could become. “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. “And we’ve been so far removed from that.” He laid out the building blocks of a truly self-sustaining district — housing, eateries, services, transportation, and destination attractions — and made a case that the infrastructure is more achievable than people might think. “It would be great to have a hotel — with a hotel, now you can throw larger attractions, music festivals, conferences right in the community.” Viewer Pops weighed in from the chat with a piece of local history that underscored the point: “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.”
Murray, who grew up in South Omaha, addressed head-on the question of his place in the North Omaha ecosystem. “If you’re black and you’re in Omaha, especially in the 70s, early 80s, everyone had a shared relationship with North Omaha,” he said. “That was the Mecca for us.” He spoke passionately about missed opportunities to showcase Black culture to all of Omaha — not just to those already inside it. “One of the things I’ve tried to do was reach out and be a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street. People told me that was going to be very hard, and people don’t have any problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to come down to hear jazz music.” Viewer Mark Manor confirmed it from his own experience: “When I go there it is the same people at shows at Waiting Room, Slow Down, and the Jewels. So people are coming from all around town and getting down at NMA, which I find impressive.”
But NMA is about far more than performances. At its core, Murray says, it’s about raising critical thinkers. “We’re not only raising musicians but, more importantly, raising more critical-thinking human beings,” he explained. “These young kids are not all 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 offers electives in live sound, broadcasting, live streaming, and podcasting — giving students real, working skills right now, not just aspirations for someday. “It’s not just teaching them, oh, you can be this someday,” Murray said. “No, you can be this right now.”
Murray also spoke movingly about cultural equity — and the cost of not claiming it. “Our culture is equity. Our brilliance, our artistic genius is equity,” he said. “If we don’t monetize it — and 99% of the time we don’t — the rest of the country monetizes our culture for us.” It’s a thread that ran through the entire conversation and connected back to something Paul B. calls the “secondary matrix” — the idea that everything the show does has a deeper purpose beneath the surface. “On the surface, we’re a couple of talking heads that talk about some news with the community,” Paul B. explained. “But what we’re really trying to do is build community, build some coalition.”
Looking ahead, Murray announced that NMA is launching a capital campaign with a first phase goal of $20 million, with a full NMA campus as the ultimate vision. An NMA Fest is also on the horizon. Music instructors interested in joining the team can reach Murray at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The show wrapped up on a full, warm note — touching on community entrepreneur Charell Shelton, the Heart Ministry Center’s new neighborhood grocery store, and a discussion of the film I Love Boosters by Boots Riley. The chat room, as always, felt like family. Viewer Aeros 402 shared a beautiful piece of personal news: “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” The whole room, it seemed, felt it too.
If you missed this one, do yourself a favor and catch the replay — and then make sure you’re up early Monday morning, because 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning is always worth the alarm.
