[3] While studying at University of California, Davis, he contributed to student radio station KDVS,[1] and met a group of friends who formed the hip-hop collective SoleSides, including DJ Shadow and Blackalicious.
[3] Under pen name Jazzbo, Patel began writing for hip-hop magazines Bomb, The Flavor, Urb, Straight No Chaser, and Rap Pages.
[4] Later, Questlove invited Patel to work on a documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which became Summer of Soul.
[4] The documentary film won several awards, and made Patel the first-ever South Asian best-documentary-feature winner.
(aka The Burden of Black Genius), a documentary about Sly Stone,[8] which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.