Light Culture

Light Culture

By David HershkovitsSociety & CultureBusinessArts
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Light Culture episodes

  • Ted Lidie of Alien Labs
    Ted Lidie is the man behind the premier west coast cannabis brand Alien Labs. A Cannabis Culture OG, he was born into a family business of growers in Northern California and learned the ropes working his way up from local dealer to dispensary door man to dispensary manager to his exalted position today as an industry elder who was able make the business legitimate in the 21st century. We talk about his preference for black market weed, the end of cannabis culture, the definition of “good weed,” and why New York City is primed to be the biggest cannabis market.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    35 min
  • Whitney Beatty’s “Tea” Party
    Whitney Beatty wasn’t particularly interested in the cannabis plant until a personal, transformative experience turned her around. For Whitney, it was a doctor’s suggestion that got her to pivot from entertainment industry executive to founder of Josephine and Billie’s – as in Baker and Holiday – the nation’s first black women-owned cannabis speakeasy. We talk about her transition from being a Detroit kid who said No to Drugs to an LA “Tea Pad” power player with backing from Jay-Z’s social equity fund. It wasn’t easy and she’s still putting in long hours, a rare black woman executive with a mission to help women connect with cannabis, whether by massage, talks, edibles or a good old fashioned smoke down. Her story is unique but universal, someone to watch as the cannabis world continues to unfold and expand.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    27 min
  • Kyle “K$ace” Nelson – Born Ready

    One fateful day Kyle Nelson rolled up to a Sweet 16 party wearing a Versace suit that prompted a friend to call him KSace. It stuck and he’s been building his name one improbable success story after another. You might say he’s been lucky. At the right place at the right time, naturally swag, fluidly moving from skate punk to Teen Vogue model to TV to rapping to becoming the face of YouTube music to his position with the fashion label When Smoke Clears. Yeah, he’s been lucky. But there’s more to it than pure luck. People say that when luck strikes you've got to be ready to seize the moment. You might say Kyle Nelson aka KSace was born ready. We talk about his love of fashion, the hard work behind “being lucky” and why 50 Cents is his favorite rapper of all time.




    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  • Alex Todd – Bling’s Cannabis Connection

    When bling meets hip hop meets cannabis the business synergy can be explosive. At least that’s what Alex Todd of Saucy Farms and Extracts is counting on. Better known as a “celebrity jeweler” to clients like Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kevin Hart,  he’s feeling his way into a business which is very much of a moving target as rules and regs wind their way from local to state to national approval. We talk about his pivot to cannabis and its future in New York; east coast v. west; being an indie; and why it’s so hard to make money in this rapidly growing industry.




    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    46 min
  • Curt Smith of Tears for Fears
    Once upon a time the British synth-pop group Tears for Fears sold over 30 million records with anthems like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout,” peaking in the late 80s before the duo of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal decided it was time to break up the band. Reuniting in 2000, they’re back with a new album that’s energizing their passionate fan base as well as those who discovered them through samples and covers by The Weeknd, Kanye, Lorde and Nas. We talk with Curt Smith about New York back in the day, on not being a fashionable band, writing from the heart, the cult TV Show “Psych,” staying true to your roots, cannabis and California, getting sampled and dealing with Kanye.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 min
  • Brett Heyman Founder of Edie Parker
    If you have a picture in mind of what a typical stoner looks like, Brett Heyman is here to prove you wrong. Married with children, she is the founder of the irreverent handbag company, Edie Parker, and its cannabis and smoking accessories brand Flower by Edie Parker. A red carpet regular who has her home featured in Architectural Digest, she's a veteran of the fashion world who has worked for Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana. While the rest of the fashion world sits on the sidelines of cannabis, Brett has made it her crusade, from both a personal as well as a social advocacy point of view. Dubbed the Coco Chanel of luxury cannabis by Forbes, she continues to literally make a statement by incorporating words like “Weed” and “Dope” into the design of her irreverent bags worn by the likes of Kacey Musgraves and other cannabis lovers attracted to her brand ethos: “For a good time, call Edie Parker.” We talk about New York as the epicenter of cannabis culture, the likes of Gucci and Chanel getting on the cannabis bandwagon, children and weed, and lighting up at the CFDA Awards.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min
  • Trevor Andrew’s “Gucci Ghost” Story
    Olympic snowboarder, musician, artmaker, streetwear designer, filmmaker, NFT creator, Trevor Andrew is perhaps best known today as the man behind the fashion brand Gucci Ghost. What started as a playful hack using bootleg Gucci fabric caught the eye of the fashion brand’s creative director Alessandro Michele who brought him on board for an official collaboration. Andrew’s amazing journey from world-class snowboarder to prolific creator includes recuperating from a terrible snowboarding accident with his then-girlfriend, now wife, the singer Santigold. She encouraged him to make music. The rest, as they say, is history. We talk about skateboarding and creativity, Gucci’s Michele and Dapper Dan, his love affair with NFTs and the ongoing influence of his mentor Jake Burton.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  • Kenny Hamilton -- From Justin Bieber’s “Mentor” to Music Biz Exec
    If I were to make a modern day version of the Kevin Costner-Whitney Houston movie “The Bodyguard,” it would be based on the life of Kenny Hamilton. His experience handling security for a 14-year old Justin Bieber, would give writers plenty of material to work with. In his current incarnation as managing partner at thet CSH group, Kenny focuses on artist development and music management. We talk about fan mania, what he learned from Bieber, how Jerry McGuire changed his life, cannabis and his stint with the Navy, Atlanta as a rap music breeding ground, the art of keeping safe at big festivals and the secret of his friendship with then-on-the-rise mega mogul Scooter Braun.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    42 min
  • JR -- Photographer, Provocateur, Change Agent
    JR is the famous photographer who shoots larger than life portraits and pastes them on buildings and walls for the local residents to see and be seen.  JR’s disruptive hands-on collaborations and interventions get the treatment they deserve in his new documentary, “Paper and Paste” which takes us on a journey through some of JR’s most impactful activations --  a Paris ghetto, a supermax US prison, the Mexican-American border and a favela in Rio. We talk about what inspires him, how he deals with dangerous situations, his own immigrant background, creating art around the Pyramids of Egypt and JR’s belief in the power of art to manifest change, both in the private as well as public space.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
  • Tammy Pettigrew -- Aka “Cannabis Cutie”
    With cannabis legalization for New York a done deal, there's an ancillary economy growing around the fringes of the industry that’s rarely tabulated and has little to do with the growing, buying or selling of the plant and its CBD offshoots. Millions more go into the economy thanks to all the creative businesses and financial spinoffs cannabis generates -- consulting, publishing, the arts, legal, fashion, finance, design, influencer, media and home entertainment among others. That's where LA cannabis fixture Tammy Pettigrew comes into the picture. Better known as The Cannabis Cutie, she’s armed with an MBA and the blessings of Snoop Dogg. We talk about her mentor Snoop, cannabis and sex, the importance of authenticity in the cannabis world and why celebrity brands don’t really cut it in the quality department.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    38 min

About Light Culture

From the publisher's feed

Hi, my name is David Hershkovits. As a founder of Paper magazine, I have been a long-time supporter of cultural disruptors from the alternative worlds of skate, hip hop, graffiti and streetwear scenes…