Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Episode 69: The Pocket Queen. Taylor Gordon, aka The Pocket Queen has become one of the most followed drummers on social media. And for good reason—her groove is deep, her performance is engaging, and she’s built a strong brand that goes beyond just drumming.
We sat down backstage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Miami, where she was playing with Willow Smith, and got into all of it—how she came up with The Pocket Queen name, how she first went viral and continued her social media growth, how she landed the Willow Smith gig, and how she’s running her career as both an artist and a business. We also talked about her journey from Berklee student to full-time pro, the challenges of balancing creativity and entrepreneurship, and what she’s learned along the way. So here it is! I hope you enjoy my conversation with The Pocket Queen.
‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
00:00 - INTRO
01:21 - PLAYING WITH WILLOW SMITH
01:50 - RECORDING BASS ON "FALSE SELF" ON "EMPATHOGEN"
02:39 - HOW "POCKET QUEEN" WAS CREATED
05:03 - CREATING VIDEOS, INTROVERSION, BUILDING A BRAND
07:39 - VIRAL "777-9311" CLIP, SOCIAL MEDIA
11:59 - COVERS, CHALLENGING YOURSELF, GROWING SOCIAL MEDIA
14:43 - PQ CHALLENGE, MAKING BEATS
15:21 - REACTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTH
20:08 - PQ'S CAREER NOW, TOURING, PERSONAL PROJECTS
20:59 - MANAGING ENTREPRENEURIAL CAREER
22:53 - WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO POCKET QUEEN?
26:27 - STRATEGY, RELEASING MUSIC, TIMING
30:12 - WHAT INSPIRES POCKET QUEEN TO DRUM RIGHT NOW
31:45 - TINY DESK WITH WILLOW SMITH, MOHINI DEY
32:54 - WILLOW SMITH IS A NO CLICK SHOW
33:31 - WILLOW SMITH
35:08 - WHAT'S NEXT?
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Pocket Queen:
instagram.com/thepocketqueen
Montreux Jazz Festival Miami:
instagram.com/montreuxjazzfestivalmiami
montreuxjazzfestivalmiami.com
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
https://x.com/gowithelmopod
Follow Elmo Lovano:
Instagram.com/elmolovano
https://x.com/elmolovano
Episode 69: The Pocket Queen. Taylor Gordon, aka The Pocket Queen has become one of the most followed drummers on social media. And for good reason—her groove is deep, her performance is engaging, and she’s built a strong brand that goes beyond just drumming.
We sat down backstage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Miami, where she was playing with Willow Smith, and got into all of it—how she came up with The Pocket Queen name, how she first went viral and continued her social media growth, how she landed the Willow Smith gig, and how she’s running her career as both an artist and a business. We also talked about her journey from Berklee student to full-time pro, the challenges of balancing creativity and entrepreneurship, and what she’s learned along the way. So here it is! I hope you enjoy my conversation with The Pocket Queen.
‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
00:00 - INTRO
01:21 - PLAYING WITH WILLOW SMITH
01:50 - RECORDING BASS ON "FALSE SELF" ON "EMPATHOGEN"
02:39 - HOW "POCKET QUEEN" WAS CREATED
05:03 - CREATING VIDEOS, INTROVERSION, BUILDING A BRAND
07:39 - VIRAL "777-9311" CLIP, SOCIAL MEDIA
11:59 - COVERS, CHALLENGING YOURSELF, GROWING SOCIAL MEDIA
14:43 - PQ CHALLENGE, MAKING BEATS
15:21 - REACTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA GROWTH
20:08 - PQ'S CAREER NOW, TOURING, PERSONAL PROJECTS
20:59 - MANAGING ENTREPRENEURIAL CAREER
22:53 - WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO POCKET QUEEN?
26:27 - STRATEGY, RELEASING MUSIC, TIMING
30:12 - WHAT INSPIRES POCKET QUEEN TO DRUM RIGHT NOW
31:45 - TINY DESK WITH WILLOW SMITH, MOHINI DEY
32:54 - WILLOW SMITH IS A NO CLICK SHOW
33:31 - WILLOW SMITH
35:08 - WHAT'S NEXT?
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Pocket Queen:
instagram.com/thepocketqueen
Montreux Jazz Festival Miami:
instagram.com/montreuxjazzfestivalmiami
montreuxjazzfestivalmiami.com
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
https://x.com/gowithelmopod
Follow Elmo Lovano:
Instagram.com/elmolovano
https://x.com/elmolovano
