Most have just clocked out for lunch in Brooklyn as the temperature rises high enough to prove Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early Spring correct. Walking down Bedford Avenue and Berry Street, the sounds of Yasiin Bey can be heard somewhere off Nassau Avenue at The Lot Radio. The digital radio station’s early afternoon mix has just begun as a group of three sits at separate benches in the gravel-covered outside the studio. Amidst the group, a 20-something DJ dons a Black hoodie, camouflage pants and a pair of sunglasses that Christopher Wallace could’ve paired with his favorite Coogi sweater. Her name is Annabelle Kline. To some, she’s a boisterous Cali girl who used to have an obsession with Hannah Montana and loves the outdoors. To others, she’s the founder of That Good Sh*t, a music discovery platform with more than 200,0000 followers and earned co-signs from Drake and EarthGang Westside Gunn.
Ryan Shepard: What about Miley Cyrus’s Hannah Montana had you in a chokehold when you were five or six?
Annabelle Kline: I connected to her as a character; she was my entry into loving pop music when I was younger. She was singing about having a crush on a boy at school who didn’t even know how cool she was. She’s just like, “You don’t even know I’m a rock star.” I would be at school and I would always feel like a weird, outcast kid. So, I’d come home, listen to Hannah Montana, dance around my room and be like, “The kids at school don’t even know I’m a cool rockstar.” I had this whole fantasy of being an undercover rockstar.
Alongside Hannah Montana, you Dad also exposed you to new music and took you to your first concert to see Jimmy Buffet. How did he influence your musical interests?
My dad is a huge music nerd and that definitely translated to me. He took me to my first-ever concert, and we saw Jimmy Buffet. He would always have music playing in the house. My little brothers and I would put on little dance performances in the living room. He also encouraged me to take piano lessons and always played concert films on the TV. I remember watching this live Dixie Chicks performance all of the time. Oh, do you remember the video game Rock Band? Yeah, we’d play Rock Band every day.
You’ve developed a love for music at an early age, but your interests led you to a degree in environmental studies at Oregon. When did you decide to turn back to music?
I didn’t grow up thinking I’d be in the music industry. It never crossed my mind. I was always a big fan, but I didn’t see myself as someone who would end up working in the music industry. Outside of music, I’ve always been around nature. I grew up scuba diving, hiking, camping, etc. and I developed a deep interest in biology and environmental justice. As I got older and started thinking about my career path, I knew I’d like to do something to help the environment and work in environmental justice.
I didn’t entirely switch to music until I graduated and thought about working at a nonprofit or attending law school. Then, COVID-19 hit, I couldn’t find a job and I started making videos about music. That’s when this thing blossomed.
At first, you were putting people onto new artists, selling playlists and started the “What His Favorite Artist Says About Him” TikTok series. Then, a record label reached out and asked you to create content with Earthgang on tour. What was that experience like?
At the time, I had only been in New York for a month and was like, “I’m going to lose all my savings and work at a restaurant again.” Thankfully, my friend David connected me with one of their managers, Barry, and he called and said, “Earthgang is doing a tour. You should come and create content for them.” I remember getting off the phone, falling to my knees and crying in the kitchen.
I remember being at the first show and poking my head out from the curtains while thinking, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Then, Drake happened. Where were you when you found out that he re-posted one of your videos?
I was at Pirate Studios in Bushwick, practicing for a DJ gig. I saw that he had reposted it and I was like, “Damn. Alright, that’s insane.” Then, I played my DJ set, but I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to announce it to the world, but people started seeing it hitting me up immediately. My phone was blowing up and then, I went back to the same spot to watch my friend DJ. Transparently, I was on shrooms that night. After I got home, I was still very much high on shrooms. That’s when I received a DM and a follow [from Drake]. I thought I was hallucinating, but it did happen.
With Drake and Earthgang’s co-sign, where do you see That Good Sh*t heading in 2024?
I want to continue to make people feel good through music. I can accomplish that by emphasizing the importance of quality control. For the past few years, I focused a lot on the number of events I hosted or playlists I curated, but I want to elevate the quality of my brand this year by building out our community in New York and making sure that every event we host or DJ set I do makes people feel safe, secure and included.
Like Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana, Kline’s cover is blown. After a two-year run filled with Westside Gunn and J.I.D interviews, DJ sets around New York and crafting hundred of custom playlists, those in the know have come to know Annabelle as the environmentally conscious Cali girl who has her ears to the emerging acts of the future or as she calls it — That Good Sh*t.
