Herb Partlow

Herb Partlow (born July 23, 1961) is an American music producer, multi-instrumentalist, Author, and businessman based in Charleston, South Carolina. His latest music single City Lights, reached No. 1 on the SmoothJazz.com Global Listener Chart in February 2026.1 His work has been Profiled by the Charleston City Paper, and SoulTracks has reviewed several of his recordings, including Jazz Theory (2014), Next Level (2020), and Ride or Die (2023).

Partlow's song "Jazz Theory" has appeared frequently on JazzBites Contemporary Radio's (London, UK) "Top 10" list. According to JazzBites Contemporary Radio and OnlineRadioBox.com playlists, his recordings have been broadcast on radio stations in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa, Japan, and Latin America.

Partlow has worked in multiple roles in the music industry. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was an on-air radio personality (Superb Herb) at KUCR 88.1FM with the popular "Soul on Sunday" broadcasts in Riverside, CA as a member of the original S.O.S. Crew. In the early 1980s, Partlow began recording rap music. He, along with fellow KUCR DJ Kin Harris (The UnDisco Kidd) recorded a rap song (Hieroglyphics Rap) about the S.O.S. Crew and the City of Riverside in 1981 which was a heavily requested song.

Partlow and Harris were early west coast rap pioneers. The "Hieroglyphics Rap" influenced future hip-hop artists from the area, including Brother Marquis (2 Live Crew), and Rodney-O (Rodney-O and Joe Cooley) when they were in Jr. High and High School living in Rubidoux, CA, a small community just outside of Riverside. Brother Marquis and Rodney-O were part of a local group called "The Caution Crew" formed in 1983, and Superb Herb and the other DJs would spin their singles on the radio at KUCR in the Inland Empire.

In the mid 1980s, Partlow recorded hip-hop material released through Macola Records (Hollywood, CA) and later moved into production and engineering. Prior to his full-time music career, Partlow worked in corporate and professional roles in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2007, Partlow founded the label Superb Muzic. Partlow has released jazz and funk-oriented projects since the early 2010s, including the EP Urban jazz (2011), Digital Future (2015), the Future Jazz EP (2018), Next Level (2020), and Next Level 2025 (2025), a remastered reissue of the original with an additional bonus Track.

Outside of music, Partlow has held civic leadership positions in Charleston. He served as chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Housing authority of the City of Charleston, and has been a board member of the YMCA of Greater Charleston and the Roper St. Francis Foundation.

Music

Partlow has worked in the music industry since the early 1980s. His work incorporates elements of contemporary jazz, funk, and hip hop. In 2021, the Charleston City Paper wrote that "Herb Partlow was indie before indie was cool," and referenced the chart placement of "Paradigm Shift" on smoothjazz.com. During the 1990s, Partlow was a producer And Co-producer on several independent projects in the Bay Area. In 1995, he produced 2 songs on the Do or Die album titled, "Falling In Love With The Game." Partlow was one of two producers (Freddie White) on the album titled, "The Funky Overthrow" by G-Lo, released in 1997 by Taipan Records. In 1998, he produced one song (Light My Fire) on the debut album from Angel Sessions titled, "Introducing Angel" on the Pittmobile label. He has been featured in music publications over the course of his career. He was part of a Billboard magazine article dated February 1, 2003 titled "In Bay Area, R&B/Hip-Hop Scene Ready For Resurgence." As a Bay Area music producer, Partlow was included alongside other Bay Area artists and producers. He was interviewed by Gail Mitchell for the article, which profiled the Bay Area "indie music" scene.

The Jazz in M.E.E. magazine published an article in October 2013 in which Partlow was quoted about changes in the industry, and a 2015 ‘Tip Jar’ article included his comments on mixing and mastering. In 2022, Partlow was interviewed on Quintin's Close-Ups to discuss his journey in the music business.

SoulTracks reviewed several of his singles as part of their "First Listen" series, including Jazz Theory in 2014, which featured soprano saxophonist J. L. P. In April 2020, SoulTracks reviewed the title track from Next Level, and in June 2023, the outlet reviewed his funk single Ride or Die featuring X Factor USA finalist Tora Woloshin.

Corporate and professional work

Before returning to Charleston in 2013, Partlow had a career in the corporate sector in the San Francisco Bay Area. He worked for firms such as KPMG, Arthur Andersen, and Deloitte, and held positions at Bank of America, the Federal Reserve Bank, and LECG over a 30-year career. In 2013, he returned to Charleston and established H. F. Partlow Web Development, LLC. He currently serves as the Public Relations Director and Webmaster for BDG-CPAs, with offices in New York City and Charleston.

1986–1993: KPMG & Arthur Andersen

Partlow was the Audit Staffing Manager at KPMG and Arthur Andersen. In that role, he managed client engagement staffing for the Audit department of the San Francisco Office. While working in the San Francisco office at KPMG, Partlow had the benefit of having direct exposure to future leaders of the firm in Jon Madonna (SF Office Managing Partner) who later served as chairman and CEO of KPMG International, and Eugene O'Kelly (SF Office Partner) who later served as chairman and CEO of KPMG (U.S.).

1993–1999: Bank of America

During his time at Bank of America, he was an Assistant Vice President and Communications Consultant working in the Office of the Chairman. After BofA acquired Continental Bank of Illinois, he worked on the internal consulting team that led the Finance Division "Performance Improvement Project" (PIP) sponsored by the new Bank of America CFO, Mike O'Neil who came over from Continental Bank as part of the merger.1999–2002: Federal Reserve Bank

During his tenure at the Federal Reserve, he first worked on their 'Y2K Project" as an analyst and webmaster. He designed and maintained the Y2K and the Information technology Planning & Standards Intranet web sites for the Federal Reserve System. After the century date change, Partlow worked in the Federal Reserve System's Project Office in San Francisco as a project manager and team leader on the "FedLine for the Web" implementation project.

2002–2005: Deloitte & Touche

He was a contractor and project analyst working in the Office of the vice-chairman at Deloitte & Touche. Partlow was a 1099 contractor in the office of the vice-chairman (Jack Russi) of the Northern Pacific & Hawaii region of Deloitte & Touche working on special projects.

2005–2010: LECG

Partlow worked for the Law and Economics Consulting Group (LECG) as an HR Analyst and Senior Recruiter. After conducting a search for a new website manager, he decided to pursue the position and was hired as the new website manager/webmaster. He worked on the development and subsequent launch of the firm's new global web portal. The firm merged with SMART Business Advisory & Consulting in 2011, and several practice groups were later acquired by FTI Consulting and Grant Thornton. This was Partlow's last corporate job.

Community and public service

Partlow served as Chairman of the Charleston Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners, and was covered in local news reports. He also participated in a Quintin's Close-Ups interview as board chair in 2024.

He also served on the board of directors for the YMCA of Greater Charleston and the Roper St. Francis Foundation.

Author

H. F. Partlow is an American writer whose work focuses on political communication, public misinformation, and economic behavior. His first book, Dumb America: How Misinformation, Greed, and Tribalism Broke a Nation, was independently published in November 2025. The book examines the influence of misinformation on American governance, economic decision-making, and public perceptions of policy.

Partlow's writing draws on his professional background in corporate management, strategic planning, and economic analysis. His work typically explores the relationship between media narratives, political polarization, and market behavior, presenting arguments about how misinformation shapes civic engagement and public understanding in the United States.

Albums

Selected singles

External links

• Superb Muzic Website
• H. F. Partlow Web Development
• BDG-CPAs