FRIENDS!!

What a season it’s been! We’ve so deeply enjoyed sharing space and talking about all the moods and ALL THE FEELS with you all. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to have this platform to connect and build community with y’all; we family now.

As the summer comes to a close, we’re reflecting back, and WHOO!, have we been on a journey. We’ve talked about prioritizing our mental health, middle school romance, shared stories ‘bout being our most precious queer baby selves, and even gotten super vulnerable and talked about the road to discovering ourselves.

For the season finale, we wanted to bring y’all something special and our friends from the A Seat at Our Table collective had our backs by hosting The Blackout BBQ, and allowing us to record live. We were surrounded by such love, such black joy, and a community of folks who just GET IT.

We sat down with the founders of A Seat at Our Table as well as some of The Blackout BBQ attendees and talked about how impactful events such as the bbq are, what blackness means to us, and how vital the food (and who made it) is to our experience at any cookout.

Our hearts are so full of joy, friends. This episode was such pleasure to not only record, but to be a part of and have possible in the first place. What a magical way to end the summer and the season.

So…plug in, kickback, and envision a space full of beautiful black and brown folks sharing food, laughs, music, and a mood that fills your soul in a way so bright and so warm, you’d swear you can feel that hug your favorite auntie gives you as she hands you a plate.

We love y’all. Thanks for kicking’ it with us.

Until next season, friends!

To find all of the amazing and talented humans we got to talk with at the bbq, find their social media information below:

Zoe- @msromans

Sasha- @ashawithans_ , @astoldbyasha

Charlie- @kingc.x

Chahney- @wonderr_boii

Marcia- @tribesofjoseph @thetribes_shop

De’ja- @ameliajade.co

Sarah (A Seat at Our Table) - @_sarahvega_ @diquemedia

Ashley (A Seat at Our Table)- @soulfulrebirth7 @nefertitirosadesign

Toni (A Seat at Our Table)- @tdotmichelle, @antiste__eatery, @stills_by_guetty_antiste

Summer (A Seat at Our Table)- @ohboibk

Gem (DJ Gemynii)- @gemynii @theconjure

You can find our host Lex, and Jess, our super amazing producer on IG:

Lex- @thehomielex

Jess- @mylastnameisaplanet

Don’t forget to check out this week’s playlist after you get your life at the bbq: https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/issa-mood-vol-10-the-blackout-bbq/pl.u-Ymb07WpIPGP7RW

ISSA MOOD is going live for its season finale, friends, and we want you to join us!

We will be joining A Seat At Our Table's, The Black Out BBQ event, happening this Sunday, September 16 at Brooklyn Fete. Lex and Jess will be there hosting a live episode where they'll discuss community and what that looks like for black folks.

Visit A Seat At Our Table on Instagram at @aseatatourtable4 for more information and to purchase tickets.

Hello friends,

We are so happy to be back with you. We are gearing up for the final episode of the season (see episode above this for all the info on that) but we know it's been a while since we've last kicked it. So, we wanted to share some outtakes from previous recordings as a behind the scenes look at what goes into making ISSA MOOD.

Join Lex, Trent, and Jess as they fumble through all the words, fight about all the words, and just say all the words.

We've had so much fun working on this podcast and we are so grateful that you guys have joined us for this journey. Can't wait to share all the wonderful things we have in store for next season.

Hi friends,

We've missed you. This week, Lex is back with all of the feels as they talk about their last two weeks away from you. They discuss their time off from work to focus on their mental health and life changes.

This episode is a raw one, friends. And a tender one. And Lex explains all the reasons while it's so crucial to not only exist in that space, but also celebrate your time there.

This is their road to authenticity. Thanks for being here with us.

After you've finished the episode, be sure to tune in to this week's playlist:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/episode-nine-authenticity-nshit/pl.u-vxy6WB6Tz6zgbE

Enjoy.

Hello friends!

We are back with another episode and this week Lex is prepping for Insecure Season 3 (August 12th, folks, mark your calendars!). Lex is joined by their lovable (and sometimes problematic) producer Jess and the two debate over Lawrence's 'good guy' aesthetic and Dro's "open marriage" (air quotes cause light skin).

The two share some personal stories on what their ideas of dating looks like, which include Jess making a possibly flawed argument for having your cake and eating it too and Lex admitting to their flirtatious ways.

This episode does contain a ton of Insecure Season 2 spoilers so if you're not caught up yet (but, like, how), make sure you do before giving this episode a listen. After you're done listening, go over and check out this week's playlist, especially made for the chicks that love Drake:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/episode-eight-every-black-girl-that-went-to-college/pl.u-b3b8qxGUyvyjM2

We hope you enjoy, friends. Thanks for listening.

Hi friends,

On this week's episode, we spend some alone time with Lex talking about their absolute favorite thing to talk about: love. Lex goes into their discovery of love languages and the ways in which that has helped shaped their relationships with friends and lovers. We also talk about what it means to love someone how they ask to be loved, instead of how we'd like to be.

Finally, Lex talks about the ways music serves as their sixth love language and how they use it during times where words fall short (like maybe during middle school break-ups).

This episode is intimate and sweet and tender and hopefully offers up something magical to help you all get through the week. And to add on to that magic, you can listen to this week's playlist that is all about, you guessed it, love:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/episode-seven-teach-me-how-to-love/pl.u-Ymb0xyPhPGP7RW

P.S. Be sure to check out: www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/ to find out what your love languages are and let us know you feel about them be hitting us up on Instagram @issamoodpodcast!

Enjoy friends.

Hello friends!

This week we're going back...way back. Really, we're just going back to the 90s as Lex and our best bud Trent (she's baaack!) talk about one of the best shows ever made (and you can fight us on that), Living Single! Lex and Trent ponder over which character they most align with and why neither of them really see it for Regine.

This week's episode steers from our usual format, but you can say we're feeling some nostalgia. And if this episode isn't proof enough, our playlist for the week most definitely is. Be sure to give that a listen after you're done with the episode:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/episode-six-in-a-90s-kind-of-world/pl.u-vxy6WpXCz6zgbE

We had a lot of fun with this one, buds. Enjoy!

Hello friends,

We don't have an episode this week, but we can explain.

We do have a hint on what next week's episode will be all about, though, so give it a listen and hop in our DMs if you can figure it out.

Hello friends,

This week, we're back with the homie Lex to talk about queer identity. Pride Month just ended and now that all the capitalism and rainbow flags have been tucked away (capitalism is forever, though), we thought we'd chat about what Lex's identity means to them and how they navigate around the many labels that exist. We brought our wonderful bud, Malcolm, on to join the convo and explain why we all knew what was good with Xena: The Warrior Princess.

Plus, we set the mood this week with nothing other than our Queer Princess, Janelle Monae's jam, "Make Me Feel". We talk about how that track and Hayley Kiyoko's "What I Need" have helped shift the normality of discussions around queer identity. Malcolm also explains the power of bisexual lighting.

This one is a goodie, folks.

After you're done listening, be sure to jam out to this week's playlist:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/episode-four/pl.u-Ldbqxrvtxdx9Y3

Welcome to ISSA MOOOD.