Raquel Cepeda is an author, journalist, filmmaker, podcast host, and a whole lot more. She grew up in both the Dominican Republic and the New York City of the 1980s. In 2001, she became the Editor-In-Chief of Russell Simmons’ One World magazine. She left the magazine in 2004, just in time to edit the definitive anthology of rap writing, And It Don’t Stop: The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism.

Raquel would go on to make the documentary Bling: A Planet Rock, where she took Paul Wall, Raekwon, and Tego Calderon to Sierra Leone in order to learn the truth behind the country’s diamond trade. Her most recent book is a memoir, Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina, and she’s also a “co-discussant” on the podcast Our National Conversation About Conversations About Race.

See http://theciphershow.com/episode/127/ for full show notes and comments.