“Most stakeholders in the blues world are killing it instead of keeping it alive”: Athlete turned guitarist Emanuel Casablanca approaches guitar with a competitive mindset – and he’s on a mission to stop the blues all sounding the same

Emanuel Casablanca.

Brooklyn, New York, has long been associated with indie, punk and jazz, but for the most part, blues has been overlooked. Thankfully, Brooklyn native Emanuel Casablanca didn’t get the memo. In fact, he’s doing everything he can to move the blues needle into the red.

Before he made music his life’s work, Casablanca wasn’t focused on the blues at all. “I was a competitive basketball player since I was around 10,” he says. “I played in school and summer leagues, so it occupied my life all through high school, prep school and the beginning of college. I never even had a Christmas break until I quit playing basketball.”