Don Vito: Beats, Business, and Building Beyond Music

Unglossy

Bun B, Tom Frank, Jeffrey Sledge

Entrepreneurship, Business, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.9 • 917 Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this episode of Unglossy, we sit down with legendary producer Don Vito for a wide-ranging conversation about hustle, reinvention, and the long road behind the hits. From growing up in Gary, Indiana, to serving in the Marine Corps, to finding his way into Atlanta’s exploding music scene, Don shares the unconventional path that led him to work with artists like Nelly, Ciara, Bow Wow, Cherish, and Kandi Burruss. Along the way, he breaks down the realities of the music business, the difference between making beats and making records, and why some artists reach the top while others sabotage their own success. But Don’s story doesn’t stop with hit records. After navigating the highs and shifts of the music industry, he pivoted into podcasting, digital media, and content strategy, earning the nickname “The Podfather.” In this episode, he pulls back the curtain on how creators can turn podcasts into real businesses—and why most people are approaching it the wrong way. It’s a conversation full of industry war stories, hard lessons, and unexpected insights about building something that lasts in an industry that’s constantly changing. If you care about music, media, entrepreneurship, or the future of podcasting, this is one you don’t want to miss. Unglossy is a Merrick Studios podcast hosted by Bun B, Jeffrey Sledge and Tom Frank.

Transcript

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0:00.0	this week on Unglossi.
0:02.2	How they're going to work and why can't they're projecting their fears on me and I got to go harder now.
0:06.8	I got to double down on the idea because it may not work for you but it's going to work for me.
0:11.4	But I remember telling Ray that and so we did the music industry career, the dreamers community.
0:23.3	From the top, go ahead.
0:24.7	I'm Tom Frank.
0:26.0	I'm Jeffrey Sledge.
0:27.3	And I'm Bun B.
0:28.5	Welcome to ungloss.
0:30.6	Real stories, unfiltered dialogue,
0:34.5	and the voices move in culture beyond the gloss of hype and headlines.
0:36.9	So buckle up on glossy starts now. To me, you know, I'm a firm believer
0:42.6	by the best and then work your way up to it, right? Because I'm a firm believer that, you know,
0:46.6	I don't want to start with some stuff that, hey, just use this for now. And then I'll grow and now
0:50.7	start over. So the best platform to me would be mighty networks.
0:56.0	And then school is what a lot of people are gravitating towards.
0:59.2	It's not that expensive, you know, the monthly for the platform.
1:03.8	But school, S-K-O-O-L, but then I like mighty networks because there's so much flexibility.
1:09.4	I can build courses inside of Mighty Networks.
1:11.7	I know Mighty Networks well.
1:13.3	Yeah. And I can build, you know, I can do my lives in there. I can do my Webby's in there. There's so much flexibility that I can do inside of that community, you know, in terms of that. Because you got to think if you can just get the people.
1:27.7	Your whole mission should be building your list and driving traffic to your committee. you know, in terms of that. Because you got to think if you can just get the people,
	...

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