Vibe Check

This week's episode welcomes guests Jeff Chang and Favianna Rodriguez of the Cultural New Deal. The organization serves as a call for each of us to transform our personal, institutional, and global thinking in the pursuit of cultural and racial justice.

Before diving into the meat and potatoes of the conversation, Jeff and Favianna provide us with some additional background on the Cultural New Deal. Talk then shifts to the artists and culture bearers of color, whose voices have been excluded from the arts and culture sector in the United States.

As the Cultural New Deal aims to revitalize arts and culture in the US, and center the voices of those previously unheard, the organization is providing steps on how to work towards racial reconciliation. This begins by thinking locally and giving people the tools to organize.

Throughout the episode, you will find out how to get involved with the Cultural New Deal and hear more on regaining communities by both organizing and promoting people of color. Press play above for valuable insights from Jeff and Favianna, and be sure to visit culturalnewdeal.com and culturalpower.org for more.

Actress Kiersey Clemons joins us today on the latest episode. Clemons, who plays Shoshanna Meadows in new horror-thriller Antebellum, takes some time to touch on the parallels between Black horror films and racism in America.

Led by Jordan Peele, the Black thriller genre has gradually transitioned into the mainstream, as stories of Black individuals being terrorized by white people ultimately mirror the horrifying experience of being Black in America today. During the podcast, Clemons delves into how Hollywood previously chronicled such narratives using a lens of comedy through shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Elsewhere in the episode, the Antebellum actress discusses her affinity for secondhand clothing and how she recently gave away a portion of her own wardrobe to fans on Instagram. In closing, she shares how her mood admittedly affects what she chooses to wear.

For over a decade, SoundCloud has been a proving ground for up-and-coming artists looking to make it big in the music industry. From musicians like Post Malone and Kehlani to Billie Eilish and Lil Uzi Vert, the platform has been crucial for artists and fans alike looking to discover new music.

On today’s episode of Vibe Check, we speak with Leon Sherman, the global editorial director at SoundCloud, as well as Orlando Urbina and Marshall Tan, founders of Washington, DC-based company GRVTY, as they discuss the inspiration behind their new fashion collaboration and how it came to fruition.

The collab is all part of SoundCloud’s plan to inspire creativity and empower its community during these times of increased isolation from the Covid-19 pandemic.

This week we welcome rapper, producer, singer and songwriter, and record label owner Hit-Boy.

Hit-Boy’s moniker isn’t even remotely hyperbolic, the California-born producer’s credits include Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “N***** in Paris”, “Trophies” by Drake, “Clique” by GOOD Music, “Racks in the Middle” by Nipsey Hussle, “Sicko Mode” by Travis Scott, and “Sorry” by Beyoncé, among many others.

On top of those certified platinum and Grammy-award winning records, Hit-Boy has just executively produced King’s Disease, the thirteenth studio album by Nas which dropped last month.

For this week’s Vibe Check, Hit-Boy calls in from lockdown to chat with Noah Thomas about his super-producer status and finding things to celebrate while in a state of lockdown –such as spending time with his 5-month old son – and reflecting back on those “Wow, I really made it” moments.

This week we welcome Dexton Deboree, a filmmaker, branded content creator, and founder of Falcon content, Deboree has had the pleasure of working with a number of high-profile names from the Highsnobiety world, ranging from Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones, to Serena Williams and Michael Jordan.

We begin our time with Dexton as he details how he’s been keeping his creative juices flowing during the pandemic. In between meditating, journaling, and reading, he admits he’s made a concerted effort to get a few ‘fits off, even if just for drives or walks.

Deboree has had a hand in some of the most noteworthy projects from the past few years, including the Dior x Jordan campaign and Unbanned: the Legend of AJ1, the documentary exploring the history of the Air Jordan 1. During the podcast, he dishes on these initiatives, while also teasing his next documentary centered around one of the NBA’s hottest rookies.

Elsewhere in the episode, Deboree delves into his filmmaking process, how he manages to land such coveted gigs, and working with some of the biggest names in fashion and sports.

In the metaphorical sense, Jaden Smith lives on his own planet. And, all things considered, who wouldn’t want to astral project somewhere else? Between the global pandemic and racial reckoning, it feels like Planet Earth as we know it is in shambles and nobody knows where to even start cleaning it up. Our interview happens to fall on what would have been the late Oluwatoyin Salau’s 20th birthday while also coinciding with natural disasters like Hurricane Laura and the California wildfires. The next day, news of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman dying from colon cancer sends shockwaves across the Internet.

But in spite of a persona built on being perpetually spaced out, Smith himself feels the grief of these events like a weighted blanket of sadness. He’s been aware of this messy reality pretty much his entire human existence, but recognizes that this traumatic moment is a massive wake-up call for people who “wanted to turn a blind eye to racism and try to ignore it.” And yet, the most turbulent times are when Smith seems to find the most creative inspiration.

We had the pleasure of speaking with the founder and CMO of Miilkiina, Nadia Azmy and Maria Alia. Miilkiina is a new digital media space and creative agency that spotlights global tastemakers and trailblazers and focuses on underrepresented identities.

Azmy and Alia have a renewed appreciation for the internet and social media during a time when physical interaction has been drastically reduced due to the pandemic. During the podcast, they discuss the power of the internet and how their reach has been able to expand amid the coronavirus crisis. Now more than ever, Miilkiina is bringing in creatives from all over the world to have specific conversations that may not have been previously possible.

Miilkiina is a space for everybody, something Azmi and Alia wish they had access to earlier on in their careers. Here, they also delve into how they broke into the creative industry and what it takes to follow similar pursuits.

Lenny McGurr, better known as the multidisciplinary artist Futura (fka Futura 2000) started in the world of graffiti before branching out to the world of fine art, street art, and beyond. A certified “old head,” he’s designed some of the most covetable sneakers to date (forget the Dunkles, all praises to the FLOMs) and during NYC streetwear’s late-’90s heyday, was behind labels like Project Dragon, Subware, and the seminal Nort/Recon outpost done with Stash.

These days, he’s busier than ever. Supreme’s updating some of their collaborative work from the vault, Futura Laboratories is cooking up new products on a more consistent basis, and he’s got high-fashion collabs like last year’s Off-White™ collection and this year’s capsule with COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT. We took some time with the artist to discuss his breakout year, and his unexpected connection to the U.S. Postal Service.

Yara Shahidi is legit one of the most intelligent beings on the planet. The 20-year-old actor, activist, and incredibly astute speaker (just listen to this episode as proof) stays civically engaged with her organization Eighteen x 18, which encourages young people to vote, and has famously interviewed former first lady Michelle Obama for Teen Vogue, among many other accomplishments.

On this episode, she talks about making Hollywood a more inclusive place via her production company 7th Sun, which just signed a deal with ABC Studios to produce shows. While we’ve seen great strides in diverse casts and inclusive storytelling, there’s certainly so much further to go. She also talks about the importance of this election, how people who can’t vote can affect change, and how high the stakes are in 2020.

Lovecraft Country, a psychological horror series based on a novel by Matt Woodruff and developed by Misha Green, is Majors’ latest project to debut, and hits HBO this weekend. Executive produced by J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele, the eerie show depicts the parallels between foreboding Lovecraftian horror and the racism of the Jim Crow south, a dark legacy whose impact can still be felt today. Majors took some time from filming his latest project, The Harder They Fall, to talk about the persistence of racism, working with industry elder statesmen, and why not being active on social media is kind of a flex.