The Carbon Sound Community Listening Collective is a group of trusted DJs, cultural workers, and community members who will help shape how Carbon Sound discovers and curates music. Created to ensure our intake process remains community-rooted, transparent, and accountable, the Collective centers Black musical expression across genres and generations while uplifting local and regional BIPOC artists. Members offer insight, perspective, and scoring during structured listening cycles, helping ground programming decisions in lived experience rather than trends alone.

The Collective is advisory in nature, reflecting a wide range of musical lineages, scenes, and creative communities. Through monthly listening sessions, members review and respond to new music submissions, strengthening equity in how artists are heard and considered. While final programming decisions remain with Carbon Sound, the Collective plays a critical role in shaping how we listen, learn, and show up for the community we serve.

We’re grateful for the artists and cultural workers who help shape how we listen. If you’d like your music considered, we invite you to submit here!

Meet the members of the Carbon Sound Community Listening Collective:

TIM WILSON

Tim Wilson has been the owner and operator of Urban Lights Music for the past 31 years.
He is experienced in retail sales, marketing, branding, and customer service. He is at Urban Lights because he loves music, the daily interaction with customers, and the opportunity to share his knowledge and insight into the music business with the next generation.

RICKI MONIQUE

Ricki Monique is a Minnesota-based musician, educator, and cultural curator. As a Co-Organizer of Tangible Collective, her practice centers on utilizing creative expression as a way to engage community in collective imagination and cultural development. Through intentional space setting in both the classroom and on stage, she aims to build a container for expressive and sustainable modes of being.

AWA MALLY, THE MAYOR

Awa Mally, aka The Mayor, is a Minneapolis creative, DJ, event curator, and co-creator of PureWaterRadio, home to an all-genre beat battle (4X). With a commitment to community-rooted curation and a belief that music has no limits, Awa champions Minnesota's artists as both keepers of musical legacy and pioneers of new sounds. She brings a diverse perspective and passion for elevating the voices shaping the future of the music industry.

Michelle Ndely, DJ MCSHELLEN

Michelle Ndely, known as “DJ McShellen,” is a Minnesota-based open-format DJ with Cameroonian roots and a deep, inherited love for music, quickly emerging as a rising force in the local scene. Recognized for her authentic yet infectious energy, thoughtful song selection, and genre-blending sound, she delivers a truly one-of-one, fun, and unforgettable experience with every set. Beyond the booth, Michelle channels her creativity into fashion and her community, working as a mental health practitioner and child welfare policy analyst—bringing the same care, intention, and passion to all that she does.

TOLZY, TOLZY SOUND

Tolzy, also known as “Tolzy Sound,” is an international DJ, curator, and producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With a passion for music that began at a young age, he has developed a distinct ear and signature sound. After emerging onto the scene in summer 2022, Tolzy quickly gained recognition for his originality, genre-blending style, and ability to connect with audiences. His sets fuse Afrobeats, Afro-Fusion, Amapiano, AfroHouse, R&B, and Deep House, creating high-energy experiences that resonate across diverse crowds.

Tolzy has played and curated shows at major Minneapolis venues including First Avenue, Fine Line, Union Rooftop, and Icehouse, and has performed at shows and festivals across multiple U.S. cities alongside artists such as Oxlade, BNXN, Ruger, DJ Tunez, Davido, Pheelz, Tyler ICU, Wande Coal, TxC, and Fireboy DML. He is also the founder of SoundWave Social, an event series dedicated to fostering community through music and connection. Beyond live performances, Tolzy produces for other artists, releases his own music, and shares curated DJ mixes on MixCloud and YouTube.

Major Sosa, Truly Humbled Under God

Major Sosa — aka Truly Humbled Under God, the Metro Transit Monarch, and the Two-Phone Tyrant — is a local artist, lyricist, producer, DJ, and aspiring philanthropist. He’s a co-founder of The Winners Club Collective and the 5 Star Radio Archive Project, blending sound, culture, and community with unapologetic vision.

Sasha Bangzz

Sasha Bangzz, a dancer turned DJ, is an AfroLatinx artist known for seamlessly blending genres like 90s Hip Hop, R&B, and Vogue to create sets focusing on the dancer's experience. Beginning in the male-dominated battle scenes of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Sasha has always been a passionate advocate for inclusivity, using music to champion underrepresented artists and celebrate diversity. Whether in the ballroom scene, club, or theatre, Sasha creates experiences rooted in pure Black joy and celebration.

Angel Beloved

Angel Beloved is the co-founder and Creative Director of MPLS HOUSE (MH), a Minneapolis-based artist collaborative founded in 2017 and centered on connection, creation, and inspiration. While MH spans multiple artistic disciplines, its primary focus has been music through DJing, production, and community engagement. In recent years, the collective has evolved from party-driven events into the corporate space, leading to partnerships with O’Shaughnessy Distillery, RockStar DJs, Hewing Hotel, Southdale Center, Bellosounds, Modist Brewing, and Women’s Advocates. Their work continues to grow through intentional collaboration and feedback from both partners and audiences.

On the production side, MPLS HOUSE has released five EPs over the past seven years, including two collaborations with local producer Jeff Swiff. Over the past year, the collective has expanded its studio into a dedicated recording space to further elevate its sound, create more original MH music, and open the door to new collaborative opportunities.

KWEY

KWEY is a Ghanaian-American producer, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist based in Minneapolis and self-described gentle giant. He began DJing in 2015 and has since developed a sound rooted in global rhythms, cultural connection, and diasporic influence. In 2018, he founded Samambo World, a platform created to connect the African Diaspora through music and shared cultural experiences. Through both live DJ sets and original production work, KWEY continues to build spaces that center African and diasporic sounds. He has performed multiple DJ sets for Carbon Sound, bringing his expansive musical knowledge and community-driven energy to the platform.

Carbon Sound’s DJ sessions started back in late December of 2023. We’ve invited DJs from the Twin Cities and beyond to share their unique style in our studio. New mixes air Wednesday at 8 PM Central. We’re happy to announce that mixes will now be made available for playback online and in the Carbon Sound app for 24/7 listening. Check out the full collection of DJ mixes here.

Carbon Sound stands as a platform to highlight past and present generations of DJs, the tastemakers in the community that get us moving, introduce new tracks, and lead events. There’s so much talent based in the Twin Cities and coming through here on a monthly basis. It’s an honor to be able to highlight that.

There’s a rich history of electronic music and hip-hop in the Twin Cities, and it’s still being made today.

Stay tuned for new mixes on Carbon Sound. If you’re a DJ and want to be considered for the series, email a mix of yours to carbondigital@mpr.org.

Download the Carbon Sound app on iOS and Google Play.

DJ Afro (6/10/26)

Chico Chi (5/27/26)

DJ Fawzi (5/13/26)

abel. (4/29/26)

DJ PEACEBOII (4/22/26)

Effygasm (3/25/26)

Tarik Thornton (2/18/26)

The Mayor (2/4/26)

Sophia Eris (11/7/25)

Kwey (10/31/25)

Angel Beloved (9/3/25)

UNBOTHERED Presents: Yasmeenah (6/25/25)

echo's final mix (6/18/25)

Büttäh (6/11/25)

Truly Humble Under God (6/4/25)

UNBOTHERED Presents: D Untethered (5/28/25)

BYZARRA (5/21/25)

Urban Lights Presents: Big Reece (5/14/25)

Tekk Nikk (5/7/25)

DJ Advance (4/30/25)

UNBOTHERED Presents: Yasmeenah (4/23/25)

Lonefront (4/16/25)

Urban Lights Presents: DJ IntenZ (4/9/25)

Omari Eternal (4/2/25)

UNBOTHERED Presents: Yasmeenah (3/26/25)

DJ Sci-Fi (3/19/25)

Urban Lights Presents: DJ Layz T (3/12/25)

Ori The Ghost (3/5/25)

Rimarkable (2/26/25)

DJ Slugo (2/19/25)

Urban Lights Presents: Mickey Breeze (2/12/25)

Girl Blunt (2/5/25)

echo (1/15/25)

DJ TNA (12/11/24)

kaya (11/27/24)

DJ McShellen (11/20/24)

echo (11/13/24)

Luzia Fuchsia (10/30/24)

Real Girl (10/16/24)

El Niño Indigo (10/2/24)

TaliaKnight (9/4/24)

Sasha Bangz (8/28/24)

echo (8/21/24)

Ronnie Loko (8/7/24)

Jeff Swiff (7/24/24)

Nola Rave (7/10/24)

Blackmoonchild (6/26/24)

Entrañas (6/12/24)

AKKO (5/29/24)

DJ JEN-E (5/15/24)

DJ Etta (5/1/24)

Alexis Rose (4/17/24)

Kwey (4/3/24)

Sophia Eris (3/20/24)

Yasmeenah (3/6/24)

Dazegxd (2/21/24)

Dazzle (2/7/24)

echo (12/29/23, 1/10/24, 1/24/24)

DJ Miss Brit is a Twin Cities DJ, community curator, doula, and more. Her introduction to DJing 10 years ago was a “happy accident,” the kind where your friend calls you the day of her wedding asking if you can be their DJ after the original DJ canceled. Since that fateful day, Miss Brit has performed all across Minnesota and beyond — from iconic Twin Cities music venues and clubs to community events and professional sports games. Through it all, community has been at the forefront of her practice. It’s how she got her first gig, and it’s who she keeps in mind when she’s on the 1s and 2s, mentioning that “a good DJ is playing for the people.”

In her mix for Carbon Sound, DJ Miss Brit came into the studio feeling good, and she hopes to spread that positive energy to all who listen.

We chatted with Miss Brit about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Who are you?

Hey everybody, my name is DJ Miss Brit.

What got you started DJing?

It was a very happy accident. I used to work in radio at KFAI years ago, and it would take me forever to make my mixes, just for a two-hour show, because they had journalism software, not DJ software. And so I had this theory: if I got turntables, maybe it would speed up the process. Got turntables, taught myself, made mixes faster. That was enough for me. A few months later, my friend calls me the day of her wedding, and her DJ has canceled on her. That ends up being my first gig, and that was 10 years ago.

What was that wedding like? What do you remember from it? What do you remember playing?

I remember playing a Kaytranada remix of "If" by Janet Jackson, and I remember that, because that was the first ever recording I got of myself. I was mixing that into another song or blending it in, and that was the first ever time I had been recorded DJing anything. But the reception was lit. We had a great time. My friend who got married is also an artist and creative, and so there were nothing but creatives at the reception, so we had a ball.

What have been some learning experiences over these past 10 years as a DJ?

I would say don't limit yourself to a particular genre or a location or venue, and that there are seasons for everything. So there was a season of my life where I was in the clubs all the time, and that was fantastic. And now I'm in a season of my life where I'm doing a ton of corporate, sport events, and I'm really loving that. There have been moments where I'm doing celebrity parties or I did an event for Kamala Harris when she was Vice President. There have just been these moments, and so in the slow moments I've learned not to get down on myself. Everything has a season.

Speaking of those seasons, what is your approach to these different events? What's the approach for a club, and how does that differ from a Twins game?

In a club, I want to gradually build. And then once I get the crowd where I want them, I want to keep them there until it's like, last call. Then I want to bring it back down so they can get out so we can all go home. At a Twins game, I'm not waiting to build, I'm starting right away. I typically do a 90-minute opening set pregame and then when the game actually starts, it could be they're in my headset saying, "Oh, another out. All right, we're coming to you, 3 2 1." And boom, you're live. So you're just going high energy, putting as many songs in as you can because it's unpredictable. So that's kind of the difference, is like you play for the moment versus in a club experience, you're building and bringing down.

You've talked about empathy being a big part of being a DJ. Why is that?

Because you have to read people. And ultimately, some DJs play for themselves, and lame on them, but I think a good DJ is playing for the people. You want people to feel good and so you're watching, you're paying attention to body language. Who's dancing? Are they tapping their foot, nodding their head? What seems to get them involved with the music? And so by being able to kind of perceive how people vibe with the music and with your style, you're able to curate an experience that hopefully leaves people feeling better than when they came in.

Knowing that you're a DJ, but also a community curator and a doula, how do those worlds intersect, if at all?

Sometimes they intersect, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes when I'm supporting a woman in birth as a doula, music comes into play and I'll talk about that as we're building the birth plan. Sometimes, if you're playing softer music during an early phase of labor, that can kind of help to keep you calm, or maybe you want it all throughout, and just kind of talking about how music can invoke different emotions and different types of energy. And so what feels good to them. There's other times where it doesn't come in at all and that's fine, or maybe it's me getting a pregnant mom up and dancing because we want to be able to dance that baby out and get her into labor. So it kind of depends. I do a ton of community events. Community is really how I got to where I am today. Constantly booking me, supporting me, showing up for me, speaking my name in rooms that I'm not in, so it's always just been a beautiful love affair with me and my community because we've always just had each other's back. So that's been awesome.

What would you say has been the most gratifying part about DJing over these last 10 years?

Many things. I am very proud of who I've had the opportunity to DJ for and with, the way that those experiences have left a mark in community, whether it's lasting or for a moment. So I'm really proud of that and really always paying homage to those who have come before me who have opened up those doors. And my seven-year-old now has DJ software on her tablet and downloaded it on her own. She sees mom do it, she's into it, she comes to a lot of gigs with me, and so seeing me be able to inspire her and other, especially young women, to consider getting into the field is pretty dang special.

What do you have planned for the Carbon Sound audience today?

Yeah, so I am throwing my original plan out the window. I got a — I can't even remember what it's called — but basically a chiropractic adjustment with acupuncture and cupping right before this. I feel so much lighter and so much happier after, to be just completely transparent. So I'm just gonna play some good vibes to hopefully spread some positive energy and wellness throughout. And shout-out to Right Spot Wellness, cause they got me all the way together.

Obi Original stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about building community through his Icehouse residency AFRODISIA, his hit song “Sorry Oga!,” and more.

Sanni Brown

All right music class, let's go.

Obi Original

Yeah yeah.

Sanni Brown

We have a Nigerian-born, baby, Minneapolis-based artist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer whose music blends Afrobeats, highlife, funk, soul, and rock into a sound that is both deeply rooted in West African traditions and uniquely his own. Carbon Sound family, welcome Obi Original.

Obi Original

Yeah yeah, everybody say "Yeah yeah!"

Sanni Brown

Yeah yeah!

Obi Original

So happy to be here this morning.

Sanni Brown

Welcome welcome welcome.

Obi Original

Thank you.

Sanni Brown

I am half Nigerian. My dad's Nigerian — Lagos. And your music reminds me of a Saturday morning with Mama or Daddy at the market. Getting plantains, getting the ingredients for soup and fufu. And so that's what your music sounds like to me, but for someone who doesn't know you, who is Obi Original?

Obi Original

Obi Original is a multi-hyphenate creative based in Minneapolis with roots from Nigeria. The one thing about my brand is if you were to ask somebody that knows me, every single person will tell you, "I know Obi from videography, for photography, I know him from producing my record, from producing my album," or "I know Obi from a night at Afrodisia, where I've seen him perform." So I've always tried my best to be a telling presence in my city. Anyway, any form I can help, then it has to be done that way.

Sanni Brown

That's that Nigerian upbringing, that's what it is.

Obi Original

Yes, ma'am. So when you say taking it back to a time where you go back to the family and you're family-oriented, and the family's together, a lot of the music that I make now is really inspired from that soundtrack that I had in my past, for sure.

Sanni Brown

How would you describe your sound, knowing you blend multiple genres? Because what we specifically just talked about was the African and Nigerian upbringing. But you mix pop and rock, and so how would you describe your sound?

Obi Original

I would describe my sound, at a current moment, as highlife music. Highlife music has humble beginnings from Ghana and Nigeria; the independence of these countries maybe around the 1950s. Now I've evolved it into a sound with my influences from — everybody talks about Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Prince, Stokley [Williams], really inspired by what they were able to do in the city at their time. And now I'm running this Afro-rock scene, I would like to say. Afro-rock, in this term, is a double entendre, because even in the case of the source of rock music, where does rock come from?

Sanni Brown

Soul, it comes from Black sounds.

Obi Original

And African rhythms. So it is the rethinking and the re-education of us reaffirming where rock comes from, so it's Afro-rock.

Sanni Brown

I like that. So you got a new song. It's hitting. People is feeling it, and this is the song for me that I immediately thought of the market. But this song, "Sorry Oga!" has been gaining a lot of traction. What inspired it, and what does Sorry Oga mean?

Obi Original

When I listen to music, I usually have periods where I'll listen to a lot of Bob Marley, a lot of Lucky Dube. But about four years ago, there was a time I was listening to a lot of old school Ghana and Nigerian highlife music, and I was very encaptured by the chord progressions that they were using. So there was one night I just was in my studio, and then I just made a demo to it. There was no words to it at the time, but we had an event where they called me to perform, and I had this song, and I freestyled it, and I'm like, "OK, they're responding with the Sorry Oga." So Sorry Oga in itself has been a composition for at least three, four years.

Sanni Brown

Wow, and you kind of taste tested it at one of your performances. I hope y'all taking notes.

Obi Original

That's another tip, you gotta A&R your tracks. Use the live opportunity to A&R your tracks, to see what people like, so now you can put it out in the world.

Sanni Brown

That's a gem. It's music class for a reason.

Obi Original

But even in the context of what does Sorry Oga mean, Oga in itself, in Pidgin English, just means like brother, boss, sir. "I apologize, sir. Sorry, Oga. I didn't mean to come and ruffle feathers."

Sanni Brown

You've spoken about creating spaces where African culture can be celebrated openly. What does representation through music mean to you?

Obi Original

It is essential. It is the nucleus. Because now, if there's no representation with the style of one's music, then it's very difficult for one to walk in purpose or for people to follow one's purpose. Meaning that you can have a song, somebody can make a song, it can sound good, sonically, but —

Sanni Brown

Where's the connection.

Obi Original

There it is, and I say that in all respect to any music style, even people in my own field. So, yes, representation is knowing that you come from somewhere, and you want to share with those around you. Minneapolis is the best city when it comes to having the opportunity to do such thing.

Sanni Brown

I agree with you. What excites you the most about where the Minnesota music scene is headed?

Obi Original

You asking me some dangerous questions. The most exciting thing right now is that we have a lot of people that are in their bag. We have a lot of people that are really realizing what it means to build community and community spaces, whether that be myself with my Afrodisia residency, my brother Bakarii Jackson with Ozone Creations.

Sanni Brown

He is cold

Obi Original

He has the Well Off series he's rocking right now where people are going and really doing the yoga, working with mental health in the community. Brother Kwey, Sister Effy with Samambo, what Essjay has been doing for the past couple of years. She's like twin in this space right now, for real.

Sanni Brown

I love Essjay.

Obi Original

Yeah so, I mean, it's beautiful to see that everybody is understanding that the power of independence is in our hands. If I would just kind of wrap it up in a simple sentence. Reason I say that is because some people might ask me, "Obi, why haven't you left Minneapolis?" And then I'm like, "My job is not done." I haven't spoken to everybody that I want to speak to in Minneapolis. I haven't performed in front of all the people that I want to perform in front of in Minneapolis. So it would be ignorant for me to come and think in my head that my job is done here.

Sanni Brown

Wow, what a mindset! I really like when you said, "The power of independence is in our hands." I want to expand on that and say what I've seen from the artists who've come in here is, it seems like the power of independence is in community, too. Because I think when you're at a label, it's all their decision. And I feel like when it's independent, it's you and the audience. And your ability to build community, that's what you need to be independent. So, it's just amazing to watch y'all lean on community to create this independent essence or experience for everybody here. That's powerful. I say this all the time, I'm like, "Look, y'all gotta appreciate these artists because somebody from the coasts is gonna come snatch them up." And I love your mentality of, "Nah, y'all gonna have to come here." You do the check-ins in L.A., y'all gotta do the check-ins in Minneapolis.

Obi Original

Because my people that did well before me, that's how they did it, and it worked. If it ain’t broke, don't fix it.

Sanni Brown

I heard that. OK, so let's get to your Afrodisia residency at Icehouse. What does it mean to have a consistent home for your music here in Minneapolis, and why was it important to create a recurring series rather than just book occasional shows?

Obi Original

Yeah, and that's a very good question. It comes from knowing that there is a void in the relationship between the African community and the Minneapolis community at large.

Sanni Brown

That's dangerous.

Obi Original

It is dangerous, but like Fela Kuti said, "You might say something dangerous and they might try to knock you down. But you have to say what is true." The reason I say that is because now, I know there was a time in African American history where James Brown went to Congo during The Rumble in the Jungle, attesting to the end of the day, one of the most enlightening moments in his life when he was able to go to the Congo. James Brown was able to go to Nigeria, play with Tony Allen. Tony Allen changed Fela's sound. How can you tell me we're not twinnin'?

Sanni Brown

I love this.

Obi Original

And I really say it, and I will say it in all respects, I refuse to have a narrative where there are people that are in the ground right now, that fought so hard to keep us together, for one person to not know what they're saying out of their mouths. To say what they fought for was not right. So, Afrodisia is that in the action. The same way L.A. Buckner, my "BiG HOMiE." I tell you, I watched Sound Field all the time in college. It's when he did his Fela Kuti episode, I was like, "It's feasible, it's possible."

So, even in that case, with what he's doing with his own residency, with what I'm doing with my own residency, it is not there to just to play music. It is there to really heal what needs to be healed, to exhale what needs to be exhaled, to decrease depression. At least going into your week. I'll be honest with you, the Saturday when [Alex] Pretti, unfortunately, died, JT Bates was the booking agent that time. He called me; he said, "We can't do this Afrodisia, I heard shots just ring out."

Sanni Brown

Oh, my goodness, wow.

Obi Original

So, what I said to myself, I said, "The next Afrodisia will be free. Everybody come in." Try our best to realize what's going on in the situation and the dynamic in our city right now. Because now, even in my case, I'm an immigrant as well. I have these thoughts in my head. But many times in history, there have been so many creatives that have come up to the plate to at least give space, and that is all Afrodisia is. Space for us.

Sanni Brown

I want to be clear and say why I say it's dangerous. It's not dangerous for Black people from all of the diaspora to come together, but I know that that's such a touchy conversation online and offline, and for you to just go headfirst into it like, "Nah, bloodline-wise, historically wise, you my twin." And to put on a show like this and it be free at Icehouse, it's dangerous. I love it. I love when music is dangerous. I love it so much. So, for us who are just excited about your music and your movement and the show Afrodisia, how do we keep up with you?

Obi Original

The easiest way to keep up with me would be going to Instagram @obi_original, or I have a website, obioriginal.com, where people can be up to date with my shows, if they want to come and support the mission in which I'm leading here, they can come and buy merchandise, and it's a really great space maybe if you want to listen to some music that's not out yet. You might find it there, too.

Sanni Brown

OK, I like that. That little drop. I heard that. Obi, thank you so much for coming in. I love what you're doing. I love your show, and I'm really excited to hear more dangerous music from you.

JAKI BLUE stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about the journey behind her upcoming EP The Love You’ve Been Given, as well as her release show at 7th St. Entry.

Sanni Brown

I'm gonna try my best not to fan out during this interview, because I saw this artist two years ago perform, and she just really set the tone. So I'm really excited to see that she's back and she's doing more music, and I'm seeing more about her. OK, that's my fangirling out the way. This is Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter whose music blends R&B, soul, funk, and pop, and invites listeners to slow down and reflect. As she prepares to release her debut EP, The Love You've Been Given, JAKI BLUE continues building her voice as an independent artist while sharing music rooted in honesty, vulnerability, and human connection. Carbon Sound Family, welcome, JAKI BLUE.

JAKI BLUE

Thank you, great to be here.

Sanni Brown

It's so cool to see you in person.

JAKI BLUE

Love it. This is amazing.

Sanni Brown

Thank you for coming in. The first time I saw you, you were just this artist, and I remember the lights was low, and you just really set the tone. It wasn't just like, "I'm someone who can sing," but you understood atmosphere and ambiance. And I just want to tell you thank you for that.

JAKI BLUE

No, that means a lot. Honestly, for me, that's huge. It's not just about singing; it's about emotions, it's about connecting with the self, it's about all of that.

Sanni Brown

Yeah, and I was picking up what you was putting down. So for the people who may not know, who have not had the opportunity to fangirl about you, tell us, who is JAKI BLUE?

JAKI BLUE

I am an artist, local artist based out of Minneapolis, and I'm a writer as well. My music is very intimate; it is a lot of emotional processing. I have this whole concept called the Blue Dream, which is this inner world that I have. And for me, music is integral to who I am. I'm working through a lot of different things and growing and building. I tend to gravitate towards more folk-like lyrics, it seems. I oftentimes reflect on what I do in post rather than planning it out. Upon reflection, very soulful vocals, sometimes folk-like lyrics. I'm just really excited about everything and sharing.

Sanni Brown

So I have this thing about music: artists that stick with me is when I'm hearing your music, and I don't know what's happening, but I know I like it. And I'm glad that you put words to that. How has Minneapolis and Minnesota at large shaped you as an artist?

JAKI BLUE

I think there's so many dimensions to that question. There's one really easy, obvious answer, and I think that's the seasons. As brutal as winters can be here, I think that it's kind of beautiful in a sense. You have to kinda go within. You kinda hibernate in all ways, and you kind of have to reflect, and it gives you maybe some uncomfortable emotions sometimes. So I think that's really cool. I love the seasons here. It kind of is a refreshing palette for an artist to go through that evolution of "I'm in a different season, I'm in a different world, I'm in a different headspace, even." And I think that evolves you as a person and as an artist because those two things are like so interconnected, of course.

Sanni Brown

I love that. Because for the most part I hear people complain about the weather here, but for you to take that in, reflect it like, "You know what, when we're transitioning, even in our seasons in our lives, it can be difficult." I wonder if that is a reflection of that, wow.

JAKI BLUE

Absolutely, yeah. Because it is very difficult. You wouldn't appreciate the beauty of spring if it wasn't for the winter, you know? I think that evolves an artist in a really beautiful way. I honestly love a snowy night in the dead of winter, recording at home. You have candles going, you have a fire going, or whatever. You're drinking whatever you're drinking, something warm, and you're just locked in. I actually really love that.

Sanni Brown

Also, I don't think it's the snowy nights. It's the snowy mornings.

JAKI BLUE

I have no rebuttal there. Sorry, I tried.

Sanni Brown

No, you did wonderful. Every artist has a moment where music stopped being something they enjoyed and became something they knew they had to do. What was that moment for you?

JAKI BLUE

I can't really answer that without kind of getting into my whole story, which I will proceed to do. When I was a very young child, I did gravitate towards music and all things creative and loved to sing when I was very, very young. But I am adopted, and so I struggled with identity, and I pushed a lot of parts of myself away growing up, and music was one of those things. So I did not make music at all for the majority of my life; as a tween, a teen, and a young adult, it was just not part of the equation. And I just buried it very deep because now I understand it's something that is so vulnerable and it's so special and it's part of me, and I don't think I was ready to face that. But I met my birth mom about nine years ago, and I found out she's a musician. So when I met her, she came here, and we met for the first time, and it unlocked something in me. She bought me a ukulele, and I started to like play around on it. And I was already writing before, but nothing structured really, not songs. But I just started — these songs just started coming out of me. It's kind of a blur; it all happened kind of fast. But I just knew after a short period of time, this is who I am, and it is a part of me, and that's something that I have known this whole time, on this whole journey, ever since having that unlocked for me. This isn't something I just do for fun or do as a hobby. It is a part of what I feel in my soul, in my spirit, and I feel like it's a part of me, and I feel so blessed to have that. And obviously, it can be hard, and you can have doubts and things like that, but when I have the clarity that I always come back to, I know music is a part of who I am.

Sanni Brown

Oh, I love that you got that awakening from reconnecting with your mom. So you are getting ready to release your EP, The Love You've Been Given. There's something about your music. It just reminds me of like a blueberry muffin or something. I don't know what it is.

JAKI BLUE

JAKI BLUE-berry muffin.

Sanni Brown

I like that, yeah. So tell us about this project. What can we expect from the project?

JAKI BLUE

For sure, I'm very excited to release it. I like to say The Love You've Been Given is kind of the emotional thesis. This project, I made over the course of the last few years, so it's a bit older. It's not something that I've been making right now, but it's a beautiful testament to this journey that I kind of mentioned briefly of unlocking myself and discovering myself, and facing myself. And a lot of the lyrics in many of the songs seem like they would be about maybe a relationship with someone else, but they're actually about myself, like conversations with the self. I think there is a lot of beauty and pain in the project, and a lot of processing. And I'm really excited to release it. I feel like it's like a testament to this woman or this girl that was sorting it all out. I'm so excited to finally drop it; I've had these songs for a while now. The Love You've Been Given is — we all have this intangible worthiness to us that gets lost, and it's easy to lose it within yourself. But it's real, and it's been given. I have a lot of spiritual and philosophical questioning as well in my journey of life, and I think that comes out in the music. I would say even more so now, tangibly in what I'm creating right now, but this project as well. I think those undertones are there. There's a lot of questioning; there's a lot of processing. There's a lot of wondering, yearning.

Sanni Brown

I feel like I've felt some of those themes in the songs that I've heard from you before. So, what makes this project different than the work you've done before?

JAKI BLUE

I would say it's all interconnected. I think it's just different parts of the journey. When I create a song, I like to channel and freestyle. So whatever comes out from what I'm making is kind of where I'm at, at the time. So I think there's variations of those same themes because those are things that I'm going through in life and that we all go through in life.

Sanni Brown

Not gonna lie, I love when artists make different projects, but they're all connected. Because that's like you said, the seasons. Even though they're different, they're still connected.

JAKI BLUE

Yes, it's still the same world, different seasons.

Sanni Brown

Same city, y'all. Same state. What kind of space were you in creatively while making this EP?

JAKI BLUE

Yeah, so again, I made it over the course of a longer period of time. Even though I was going [through] this as I might call like awakening or whatever the word would be, since I've done so much healing since then, I can recognize that I was still blocked in a lot of ways and still am, again, on this journey. But I can look back and see — there's a song called "Lonely," and I can see in the lyrics and what I was emitting there, the loneliness I was feeling and the isolation I was feeling because of my confusion and my lack of identity or my lack of confidence in myself. The song "If You Ever Come Back Home," there is this kind of cool — not to psychoanalyze myself, but I was talking to Braden, my manager, and he noted that the song does have like a hopeful note to it, but it's not happy. Happy songs are great, but I don't really typically make happy, cheerful music. But it kind of goes back and forth between this fearful self, this unknowing self, and this hopeful self of "Well, I'm gonna get there someday," Or "I'm gonna understand this, and I'm gonna leave these patterns behind that are holding me back so much." So I think there's a lot of that dynamic going on in the project because I was so much so in that state of fluctuation, of waking up to myself and what I feel is my purpose, but also while waking up, still feeling really trapped in a lot of ways.

Sanni Brown

I love projects like this because it communicates that you can have two very different emotions at the same time, and sometimes the message is buried in between that.

JAKI BLUE

Ooh, I like that.

Sanni Brown

I mean that's what I'm gathering from you. I'm getting that from you. But no, I love when music allows for both of these very different emotions to exist, because oftentimes that's how we feel, and we don't have musicians like JAKI BLUE to come out and let the sounds and the vibes and everything make us understand those complex emotions.

JAKI BLUE

Oh I love that, because you do get a lot of very dark melancholic music and a lot of very happy music — and of course there's so much beautiful music. There's everything in between, but you don't have to live in one space or the other. It's so complex how we feel.

Sanni Brown

So what excites you the most about finally sharing these songs live?

JAKI BLUE

I'm very excited. I'm really, really, really excited — come to the show. I am so excited because I am just ready to be so vulnerable, and I want to create a space where we can all be in that together. And I don't want to perform — I think this is something that I've done in the past — where I get all worked up, my nervous system gets worked up, and I'm like, "Oh, I need to be great," or "I need to be this thing. I need to like show people who I am." Because I've always been very worried about being understood or being seen for who I am, because it's very easy to be misunderstood as a woman, as an artist. But I think that the worry and the fear that came along with that actually inhibited me from actually being seen and sharing myself without fear, without being perfect or without being this or that, so I'm just so ready to be in the space of just existing and sharing this emotion, this art. I almost want it to be like a portal where we all heal together and just feel together. And I want it to be a really special moment in time. And I think it kind of just marks the beginning of something. It feels like the end of something, in a beautiful way, and a testament to the end of something and a giving that girl her flowers. But I think it's the beginning of a journey.

Sanni Brown

I want to say before we wrap up the interview, you are a very beautiful woman. You have a very good vibe, and I think it's really important that we have women who are beautiful, externally and internally, but then talking about the messy stuff of life, because it gives women — because you know we all want to be beautiful and look perfect, and like you said, show up perfect, and it's like no, you can be vulnerable, you can feel scared. It's OK, it's normal, it's a very human thing. So again, I appreciate you leaning into your vulnerability and putting it in the lyrics and in your music, and then doing the show like what you did. I trust everything you're describing about the show because I saw you perform before. So how can we follow you? How can we stay in touch? How can we support JAKI BLUE?

JAKI BLUE

Yes, thank you for asking. I am on all socials. I'm on all streaming platforms, so you can catch me on Insta, YouTube, Spotify, all the things. And yeah, come out to see the live show. I know artists always say like, "Big things ahead." I mean, big things right now. I'm dropping a project in a week, a show in a couple weeks. So lots of lovely, amazing things, but truly, I'm so excited for this journey and all the things to come. So just stay tuned if you're interested. And I also really think that the emotional residency of what I'm trying to build is so important alongside the music. That space for this music to exist in, for anyone who wants to emotionally process this journey, is also for anyone who feels that way.

Sanni Brown

What's the handle on socials?

JAKI BLUE

@jakiblue

Sanni Brown

I love it. Thank you so much for coming in today JAKI.

JAKI BLUE

Thanks for having me.

Se’Anna. on da Mic stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about finding her voice as a hip-hop artist and community builder, her new album No Vacancy, and more.

Sanni Brown

Oh, we got an animated one in here today, y'all. Twin Cities emcee, spoken word artist, educator, and community builder who uses poetry and storytelling to create spaces for reflection, restoration, and connection through performances, workshops, and curated events. Her work encourages audiences to engage with themselves and each other in meaningful ways. Carbon Sound family, welcome Se'Anna. on da Mic. Welcome, thank you for coming in here, Se'Anna. Thank you so much.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here. I'm excited to be here.

Sanni Brown

So we gonna get down to the nitty gritty about it. So first of all, for those who may not be familiar, like myself, who is Se'Anna. on da Mic?

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Se'Anna. on da Mic is a Minneapolis-born femcee using conversational rap, rhythm and poetry, to spark transformative dialogue that ushers more life, truth, and light into the world. I'm big stickler for narrative-led system change, and hip-hop is really my modality. So I mean, I'm a mic controller and a minister to community, as my uncle would say. And I'm also currently leading a restorative initiative called Beyond the Mic. So again, using hip-hop as that modality to create restorative community experiences through storytelling and fellowship. So hip-hop is my weapon of choice.

Sanni Brown

So what is it specifically about writing poetry and performance that made you say, "This is how I want to tell my story?"

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Oh man, it gave me freedom at a time that I felt very confined and restricted. I started writing when I was 13, so it's been about two decades, going on two decades. And at the time, I was just dealing with a lot of mental health issues. I didn't have the language for it, but it was depression. And so I was going through a lot of things, and I feel like I was trying to find solutions for problems I didn't make. That's a lot for a kid. And so I've always had a love for music, and I think I was just getting into poetry itself, so I just decided to try my hand at it, and I just started writing. I was writing what I was feeling, what I was experiencing, things I couldn't really say out loud, and feel like I was being received and taken seriously. That's how it started, and pretty much it became my way of escaping my current reality, but also an empowering way for me to create the reality that I wanted to live. And as I wrote it, I could see it for myself, and I feel like my identity started to shift; my idea of the world around me started to shift. It's really that freedom that nobody can take from you.

Sanni Brown

Yeah, my goodness. I'm always telling the Carbon Sound family, the pen is mightier than the sword. I don't hear people say that as much as I used to hear.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Let me make note of that. The pen is mightier than the sword.

Sanni Brown

The pen is mightier than the sword. I grew up hearing that. So when I hear you describe all that, that's pretty mighty of all the things that that pen did for you.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Absolutely.

Sanni Brown

When did you realize your voice, outside of your pen, could create spaces for other people?

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Oh man, I have one moment in my life that I feel like is the strongest catalyst. When I started writing, I was writing for myself. I didn't have dreams of becoming a performing artist or anything like that. I was like, "This just my little thing." I go home, I had a bad day, I'm about to write in my notebook and put a little flow to it. I should note that I want to say, like a year or two after I was doing poetry, is when I started getting more into classic hip-hop. One of my earliest moments of influence was hearing Queen Latifah, “Wrath of My Madness,” and I was like, "I could do this." Like, learned it word for word. That is like the birth of Se'Anna. on da Mic. But again, it wasn't a thing that I wanted to do for everybody else. It's something I wanted to do for myself. This life-changing moment was when I was back in college. I was a big part of our Pan-Afrikan Student Union at Augsburg College, and we have an annual event called African Night, and so it's like celebrating all facets of the Pan-African diaspora, and so there was a cypher. And they're like, "We want people to come up and show us what you're working with." And all the guys — first to the stage. And somebody was like, "There are too many guys up here. Where the female rappers at?" And at the time, like maybe two or three people knew that I was writing on the low. And so they're like, "Where the females at? Se'Anna, get up here!" I was like, "Who? What?" I was like, "Maybe if I just ignore them, this will all go away." But then that person and another classmate came up and grabbed me by my arms, and pulled me on stage. And at that moment, it's fight or flight. Like, I'm on the stage, people see me. So I was like, "OK, I could be a punk and walk off this stage right now, or I could pull this back pocket 16 and just let the moment make itself." Cause I ain't no punk. So I sucked it up. There's footage of this out there in the world. I sucked it up, I was like, "You know what? I'm gonna just kick this flow. They're not ready." And the response that I got to that was like a group of people who were like, "Oh, we've been waiting on this." So in that moment, it was well received, and I was like, "You know, maybe I should do more of this." And I will also say, a follow-up of that was with that encouragement, I started trying to put myself out there more, and the opportunities that ensued that year alone — I got to open for Pete Rock for Twin Cities Dilla Day. Mind you, Pete Rock and CL Smooth as a duo — in my top five music influences, and I had a lot of the Pete Rock beats in my first mixtape, Riverside Ave.

Sanni Brown

That's all Carbon Sound is Pete Rock beats. That's all I play.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

So everything that transpired in that season was confirmation that I'm like, "Maybe I can do this. Maybe I should do this." So that was the starting point where I was like, "OK Se'Anna, as selfish and as hidden as you want to be, you've been given this gift for a reason, and maybe it's time to use it."

Sanni Brown

Oh gosh, I love that. I love your story. OK, so fast forward, you're dropping albums. We passed the "Should I do it?" Now you're dropping albums, now you know. And the name of the album is called No Vacancy, and it's dope because you dropped it on even.biz. If you're a local artist, I need you to pull up and listen real, real, real closely, OK? What inspired this particular project, and why did you choose to release it through that platform?

Se'Anna. on da Mic

I mean, I'll start with the project. I actually wrote that album in the summer of 2021, so I was going through a lot of life changes at that time. I went through a very devastating breakup. It was like my first adult breakup, so it was a lot. I was not happy in my career; I was having like some health issues at the time, and so I feel like I didn't have anything to turn to except that pen in that season. And so I had found this random guy who does beats on YouTube. He made really cool beats. I found him on Instagram, found his BeatStars, bought a bunch of beats, and was like, "You know what? I need to get this out. I need to process this. This is a lot, and I don't really feel like I have anything else." And so the title didn't come until like two years ago. But really, what it was, and all that process that I realized, was it was time to take inventory. I felt like I was carrying a lot of things that were not serving me. I was holding to them for whatever reason, maybe just because I still didn't know how to process the grief of all the change and things of that nature, and so I mean No Vacancy pretty much was like me telling those things like, "You can't live here anymore. I got stuff to do. I got a calling on my life; it's time to go. Pack up; this the eviction notice. And so the concept of No Vacancy is essentially ridding of the things that no longer serve you, so you can make room for the things that do.

Sanni Brown

And I want to point out that you said, "I don't really have anything left else to say," and that is so huge, because even that was a no vacancy; there's nothing left to say. So a lot of your work centers around community. What does building community look like to you beyond bringing people in the same room?

Se'Anna. on da Mic

I think for me, community looks like collective purpose and interdependence. I feel like a big foundation of that is alignment, but I also realize a lot of people want to be around people that are just like them, which is fine. It's healthy. I think the more that I grow in life, the more that I realize how healthy it is to have all of those complementary pieces that may not exactly reflect who you are exactly, but also play into a larger purpose, a larger meaningful thing. For me, I work best with analogies. So I'll give you the analogy. I say it like this: I got the buns, you got the hamburger meat, you got the lettuce. Let's make burgers. Because I can't do nothing with these buns, it's just no substance. I mean, it's not to say there's no substance; they all serve an individual purpose that works together for a larger purpose. And so the older I get, the more I mature, the more I realize the importance of having community that can be interdependent, that isn't just like, "Oh, we're here for the fun of it." But when we get to the thick of it, especially in this socio-political climate, we can all pull some stuff together and create a more powerful blow.

Sanni Brown

I love that. So as you continue to grow your work, what kind of impact do you hope to leave on the Twin Cities creative community?

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Oh man, I guess the impact that I want to leave is: it all has a use, use it all. I talked a bit about my initiative with Beyond the Mic, and I feel like at some point was like, it's either going to be this or this. And Beyond the Mic is really empowering, because it's allowing me to find ways to utilize all my gifts, skills, and talents for something great. And so I think sometimes, especially when it comes to hip-hop, because there's a lot of proving that you gotta do. And sometimes that's hard because I'm like, "Yeah, I can do this, but I can also do so many other things." And I don't want my rep to be questioned because I'm expanding in so many different areas.

Sanni Brown

I hear you.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

So I feel like that's the biggest thing: use it all, whatever you got, use it all. And I hope people will see my works and they'll be like, "You know what? I can get creative about bringing these things together and making something shake."

Sanni Brown

You have two opportunities for people to experience your work this month. Can you tell us about each one of them?

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Yes. So on August 14, I will be at the Icehouse hosting CandiSoul, which is first of all, Candi is an amazing live band led by Traiveon, who's an amazing singer.

Sanni Brown

Oh, I know them vocals.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Yeah, somebody who I also went to school with, who was a witness to the process and provided a lot of opportunities for me back then. And so I'll be hosting CandiSoul on August 14 at the Icehouse, and be able to have a little set in there as well. But then I will be returning to the Icehouse on August 24 during L.A.'s Monday Nights to do my own show, which is called The Relic, and that is a hip-hop soul synthesis, presenting my original works, but also paying homage to all of the works that inspired it, all of the foundational pieces that have existed throughout time, and really it's just a celebration of what has informed my craft, but also continues to form music in the present and in the future, all the people that unfortunately are getting lost in the sauce. So, I mean, I know for me, it's going to have a lot of Isaac Hayes, Isley Brothers, some Outkast, some Robert Glasper. So really, it's just gonna be this nice big amalgamation of Black music, past, present, and future.

Sanni Brown

I was just listening to Isley Brothers' “Voyage to Atlantis” today. That intro is insane.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

And the message, the message stands, because what does he say? I'll always come back to you. This is me coming back to my roots. This is me coming back to my roots and also giving people the opportunity to learn more about the history of Black music.

Sanni Brown

My gosh. So for the future fans, for the crazy fans, how do we keep up with you? For the young girls who want to be inspired, who are scared, and they want to watch you do your thing, and they want to be inspired. How do we keep up with you?

Se'Anna. on da Mic

So I'm most prominent on Instagram. You can follow me @seanna.ondamic. I did recently get a TikTok. It's not super active. I'm learning how to navigate social media.

Sanni Brown

You're expanding, like you said earlier.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

And I'm gonna keep it a buck, I just don't know how to work TikTok. And I recently returned to Facebook as well. So again, Instagram is the most prominent one, but I am on Facebook, and I am on TikTok. Just don't be surprised if you follow me on either of those and there's nothing cracking.

Sanni Brown

Se'Anna, thank you so much for coming in today. I appreciate the work that you do. I look forward to seeing you host and taking your music to other spaces that are representing the past, present, and the future. Thank you so much for coming in today.

Se'Anna. on da Mic

Thank you, thank you.

Chadwick “Niles” Phillips stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about this year’s On The One Music Festival.

Sanni Brown

I am so excited to start this interview today. Carbon Sound, dream chasers, dream chasers, everybody pull up. I have a literal dream chaser I've been watching for the last, maybe a decade. His name is Chadwick "Niles" Phillips. He's been here before, when we started Carbon Sound. He's been here before, but he doing big things, y'all. See, this is what we worried about, is they start off small, and then they start working with the famous folks. Chadwick "Niles" Phillips has created On The One Music Festival. It's a free community music festival celebrating Black music, culture, and creativity in Minnesota. It's produced by his company, The Avant Garde, and the festival brings together national recording artists alongside Minnesota talent. Carbon Sound family, y'all welcome Chadwick "Niles" Phillips, welcome in the studio!

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Peace and love, Carbon Sound, Twin Cities. Sanni Brown — Sanni Brown rhymes with Carbon Sound.

Sanni Brown

Yes it does, yes it does. I feel like that's alignment. So first of all, you know I've been watching. We've been working together for at least 10 years, and I gotta say, it's so dope for you to be in here because I use my show to talk to dream chasers and people who are chasing their dreams. And to watch you go from where you were to now, it just really verifies what I'm talking about to the audience. So first of all, I want to thank you for taking the time out, for coming in today.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

It means a lot coming from you, Sanni. You gave me my first interview.

Sanni Brown

Of course, we cut from the same cloth.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

So from then to now, it's just a beautiful thing.

Sanni Brown

Yeah, it really is. So last time you was here, we talked about your vision for the Avant Garde, as well as the On The One Music Festival, which both have continued to grow. How does it feel returning to Carbon Sound with this new chapter?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

It feels amazing. I always say when it's people that you know from back then, every time you see them, always have good news about what's going on now. If you ain't see them in like three years, it's like "So, how have you been?" It's like, have some good news, you know? So I put myself through that avenue. So us being here at Carbon Sound now, I have amazing news because it's been almost like a year. So I'm glad I have good news to bring about my evolution back to Carbon Sound.

Sanni Brown

And what you doing for the Twin Cities music community is so dope.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Thank you, thank you. I love the Twin Cities. This is where we at.

Sanni Brown

It's a gang of creative people here, man. But some of these people don't know about On The One Music Festival. So for people who are just hearing about this for the first time, what inspired you to create it?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

I'm big on festivals.

Sanni Brown

I can see.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

From Coachella to the Montreux Jazz Festival to the ESSENCE Fest, cause festivals brings us all together, and to me, it feels like utopia. Utopia means just everyone coming together, everyone's at peace. We're not thinking about our differences. We're just enjoying life and enjoying music. So for me to produce a festival as a lover of festivals is a dream come true.

Sanni Brown

And it's free. I just can't get over that. This a free music festival that you putting on for the community. Niles, that's insane. Especially with everything being so high-priced, that's beautiful.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

As a person in marketing and promotion, and business and entertainment, you have to see the cusp of where things are at. So the event is one thing, but the price is one thing too. And we didn't want to jump the gun with charging too soon. Because you start feeling yourself, "We charging." And that filter-out process happen. So it's gradually growing. We'll get to that level, but I'm so glad that it's free and we have our first national recording artist. So we have so many people who can be able to experience that when it's a paid experience, usually. So I'm just glad we're able to give this to the people.

Sanni Brown

You setting the bar is what it sounds like.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

I'm glad you saying it. You know, if other people saying it, then that's what it is. I'm just thankful.

Sanni Brown

I mean for yourself, for the Avant Garde, you're setting a standard for what we can expect when we go to see the events that Avant Garde puts on.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

It is a bar being set for sure. I just try to do as much as I can to make it the best that it could be. Because of my resume, I've worked at BET, New York City Fashion Week, I was on a major label, so adding those components to what I bring is very important. Being in those rooms, I was able to get some game and some experience. So when I do my thing, it's put on at the highest level.

Sanni Brown

Why is it important that On The One feature Minnesota artists, alongside the nationally recognized ones?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Because I mean, Minnesota, seriously speaking, we have some of the best artists in the world. The thing about the artists here is their passion about everything they talk about. There's always this nucleus of passion and honesty with what's created, and then it's so diverse. And you look at the history of it: Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Bob Dylan, Next, Mint Condition, the Minneapolis sound, and so to be in the modern day of that is absolutely amazing. So to connect the local artists, and then you bring national artists, still about networking, it's still about exposure, so you never know what could come out of this for the local artists. It's a pipeline of national, international, and local, so we can really get opportunities for these local artists to actually blow up and actually take it to where they need to take it.

Sanni Brown

You mentioned diversity in the artists. How do you approach curating a lineup that reflects that diversity of Black music while still feeling like one smooth experience?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Well, music to me is universal. And the thing about Black music, everybody loves our music. No matter where you go in the world, it makes people dance. It makes people heal. And we have such a phenomenal element to us genetically; with whatever we touch, it just turns into gold. No matter what happens to us, we still push forward. So, using that within what I'm radiating is very important because beyond it being our music, we're givers to everybody. And everybody can experience it, and everybody can love it, and they can leave back home inspired, motivated, and just ready to groove.

Sanni Brown

What helped you prepare to organize a festival of this magnitude?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

I would say, well, shout out to my brother Segrin, my older brother Segrin, and my younger brother Zack. So Zack was a 40 under 40 businessperson in Michigan, business tycoon. He's worked out here too, with the Timberwolves, Twins. And then my brother Segrin, he was rapping before me. He was that older brother that was like Superman, in the crib with his turntables. And so he inspired me to want to even get into hip-hop, period. So he's evolved into one of the top film and editing programs in the South. He's located in Miami. He's worked with T-Pain, all types of people. So he is working with me with this, and he had experience before I did. So he drops game on me, and then I work with my brother from the business standpoint. And I've learned to relinquish and just let people who are great at what they do, do their thing. And it just adds to the whole thing, and it's enhanced the whole experience. So shout outs to my brothers, and just the city of Bloomington for providing this opportunity — it's amazing.

Sanni Brown

What can people expect when they come to the On The One Music Festival this year?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

They can expect just the best experience, like ever, for real. We have Carl Thomas. Grammy-nominated, had three banging hits back in the day, number one album, and he's just changed R&B from the time he started to now, and he's our first national act. And plus, 80% of our people is from Chicago.

Sanni Brown

Oh, OK, baby! Chi-Town, stand up!

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Carl is from the Chi-Town area. So from that to the local artists, you have L. A. Buckner & BiG HOMiE, Jhadiya Steele, BdotCroc, Bakarii, who's a part of Ozone Creations, the Normandale Jazz alumni from the Bloomington community; they bring that flavor, and then Generation Now DJs. That's the DJ program for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, DJ Miss Brit, DJ Sota, and Mickey Breeze. And then hosted by the one and only, Sanni Brown.

Sanni Brown

Well, hey y'all, what's up?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Cherry on top.

Sanni Brown

I be doing my hosting thing, you know what I'm saying.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

So it's going to be amazing, people.

Sanni Brown

It's crazy how you've just brought all this talent, DJs and musicians and photographers, and media people. Young people and dream chasers, listen to that. That network is so important. And you are a masterclass in showing the young folks, the next generation, about how to network.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Sanni, that means so much to me. Thank you.

Sanni Brown

I mean, but the proof is in the pudding.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

And to me, all forms of art are relative to each other, whether it's music, fashion, photography, film, visual art. And the things I'm doing now are things I've had endeavors for, while I was in the forefront as an artist. But I was like, let me put my hand in the bag and see what I come out with. And now they're all illuminating. That's what I tell artists: diversify, evolve, and try everything that you have a talent in, and you never know. You never know what it could become.

Sanni Brown

Last time I told you to come, you're gonna have to come for a third one, baby. You're dropping the gems, baby. You're dropping the gems. And then finally, looking ahead, everything you're doing sounds so exciting. It sounds so exciting. But what excites you most about the future of On The One Music Festival and the impact that you hope it continues to have on the Minnesota music community?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

I just wanna, to be honest, use my art to heal as many people as humanly possible. However far it radiates, On The One Music Festival is a part of a bigger foundation and endeavor to just utilize music and art to heal, uplift, and inspire. Because this is a part of a lineage of people that came before us. So I want to make my ancestors and my elders proud with this, but I want to set a foundation for the future. And so I want it to grow as much as possible. And I'm just thankful for the opportunity to even do this.

Sanni Brown

Niles, I have to say, and I know we're peers, but I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud to watch you, because I remember you were from out of town. And when I first started my radio career, you — I don't even know how we gravitated to each other.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

I know, right? It's just "Poof." The stars aligned.

Sanni Brown

You, Mickey Breeze, just watching people from around the way, and watching y'all. First, you're chasing your own dream, and then you create opportunities like this for other people. You're gonna make me cry, but thank you so much for being in here. Thank you for doing what you're doing, and thank you for the Avant Garde so much. How can we keep in contact with you, though? How can we keep in contact?

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

So y'all can follow me on Instagram, very easy: @nilesgotyou.

Sanni Brown

And he do got you.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Exactly. And then @the.avantg, so that's the Avant Garde page, and then @nilesgotyou is my page on Instagram. Follow me, and I'll follow you back, and we'll just continue to grow.

Sanni Brown

Thank you so much, Niles.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Thanks, Sanni. This is an honor to be here at Carbon Sound.

Sanni Brown

You just affirm everything I say about dream chasing. It just feels so good.

Chadwick "Niles" Phillips

Thank you. That means a lot.

Fresh off of a first-time performance at The Great Beyond, Carbon Sound welcomes Minneapolis DJ Jamila into the studio. Speaking of firsts, Jamila’s first-ever live DJ set came through a call from papa mbye for Carbon Sound’s Minnesota Music Month show at Amsterdam Bar & Hall just over a year ago. It’s safe to say she’s hit the ground running this past year, playing and curating shows throughout the Twin Cities, with the help of the queer and femme DJ collective Body High that she’s a part of alongside Girl Blunt, Techno Doll, and Starthirl.

In her mix for Carbon Sound, Jamila emphasizes groove and body music, inviting you to move those hips and dance.

We chatted with Jamila about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Who are you?

My name is Jamila; I'm a DJ in Minneapolis.

When did you first start DJing?

I started DJing last April. The first time I played out in front of anyone was actually a show that was hosted by Carbon Sound at the Amsterdam, and my friend papa asked me to play. He called me and he was like, "Jamila, I heard that you started DJing. Do you think you'll be ready by April 10? I have a spot for you on this lineup." So I had to get a set prepared, and I'm grateful that he saw that in me and pushed me to keep doing it.

What was that like?

I think in the moment I was really proud of myself. I think my taste has definitely evolved a lot, and I only played a 30-minute set. But I was really nervous to play 30 minutes; I was like, "Oh, that's so long." And I feel like now, my style has evolved to more long-form mixing, which is cool. I was doing a lot of fader chops, and I was playing 140 BPM, and that's something I don't really do anymore.

What caused that transition away from 140 BPM?

I think just playing with new sounds and playing with new genres, and maybe finding my sound and what I feel resonates with me.

What got you started DJing?

I think being a part of the techno scene in Minneapolis really changed my perspective on music and dance and the culture surrounding electronic music. Moving to Minneapolis and going to spaces like Future Classic and parties hosted by Intellephunk, and really being submersed in this culture of techno and electronic music.

What can you tell us about Body High?

Body High is a collective that I'm a part of. It's me and three of my friends, and we really try and create a space with electronic music and specifically techno music that is femme-centered and queer-centered. It's a collective run by — let me shout out my friends — Girl Blunt, Starthirl, and Techno Doll, and we're coming up on our one-year right now. We do a monthly residency at Mortimer's every third Sunday, but we also do really cool things where we get to throw bigger-scale parties at warehouses and go all out with the deco and play longer sets. And it's something that's been giving me a lot of joy and passion, not only being booked to play parties, but being able to create something and build for the community and throw my own parties, too.

What drew you to the techno community and the sound?

I think it's the intentionality of the sound. When you walk into parties where it's Intellephunk Sound or People's Sound or Greyphoria Sound, it's like yes, you're going to see a DJ, a local artist that you have heard before, maybe it's your first time hearing it, but there is this emphasis on the sound systems and the speakers, and how the dance floor moves people and how everyone is connecting towards the speakers rather than connecting with the person on stage.

What would you say is the most gratifying part about DJing?

I think DJing is very vulnerable. It's almost similar to posting a screenshot of a song you're listening to on your Instagram story and being like, "I hope people like this." And it's kind of cringe. DJing is just kind of cringe, it's like, "Hey guys, I like this song, and I hope you like it too." But I think being able to have people connect with me, and being in the DJ booth and looking down on the dance floor and seeing people dance to a song that I just discovered, and I don't know anyone else who knows this song, but I got a whole room of people to dance to this song that I'm liking right now, is really cool.

What can people expect from your set for Carbon Sound?

I think I'm gonna play a little bit of house and some techno in there. But I'm going to have an emphasis on groove and body music the entire time.

How would you define groove?

Groove — something that makes you want to open up your root chakra. Like, move your hips a little bit, yeah.

Cameron Wright stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about the ebbs and flows as a singer in the music industry, singing backup for Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige, their upcoming releases, and more.

Sanni Brown

Carbon Sound community interviews, we got somebody up next. Dream catchers gather round, baby. Cameron Wright is a Minneapolis genre-defying and defining artist whose journey has taken them from the Twin Cities to national stages, including performing with some of music's biggest names. I hope we can get into that today. Welcome, Cameron Wright, yay!

Cameron Wright

Thank you so much for having me.

Sanni Brown

Welcome, welcome, welcome. I'm happy for you to come in here. I just know the name; the streets been saying your name. I hear your name, and folks, yeah, they be talking. And so this is new for me too. But can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about who you are and what you be doing? Why the streets is talking about Cameron?

Cameron Wright

My name is Cameron. I'm from Minneapolis; I was raised here. I moved here in 1995 with my mother, who is a local gem to the Twin Cities, Tonia Hughes, gospel singer, theater extraordinaire. My journey began singing here immediately at five years old in 1995. My mom was in a group, and through her artistry and journey, and calling me on the stage every time they had an opportunity, I kind of cemented an identity here.

Sanni Brown

Oh, so Mama was calling you up.

Cameron Wright

Baby, at five years old, I'll never forget, "Get up here and sing, 'Yes Jesus Loves Me.'" But I wanted to, you know? So yeah, I began to develop an identity here very young, and then I started getting asked to do things by myself without my mom.

Sanni Brown

How has that shaped you, both as a person and as an artist?

Cameron Wright

It definitely eliminated fear. Well, I would say in that stage. Because then you go through puberty and blah blah. But it dissolved all fear for the time being, and it allowed me to be very, very bold in my gift.

Sanni Brown

Oh, I love that, and I love that your mom introduced that to you. I love that. I love my mom. I'm a mama's girl. So every artist has seasons, you kind of touched on that just now, where they're putting in work that nobody really sees them. What were some of these moments like for you?

Cameron Wright

Those seasons, I'll tell people all the time, jokingly, my grandfather — I also love my grandparents. My papa, my grandma, both my grandmothers. Papa used to always say, "You would sing all day to the point where you would drive us crazy." That is the season you're talking about. A lot of people feel like when you're not active, when you're not gigging, when you're not getting offers, when you're not where you want to be, when you don't have the connections — what I was doing was refining my craft. I was singing all day. I was journaling and writing poetry, which was really music. And I didn't realize at the time what I was doing was finding my sound. You know, through at the time imitation. That imitation turned to innovation. So that was what I was doing. It never felt like downtime to me because I was always singing — just all day.

Sanni Brown

I love your perspective of that. I don't want to skip past that, because I guess I want the community to really sit with that moment. Sometimes the kids are singing too much, or talking too much, playing too much. They really letting you know what's really going down in their heart. So I really love that you just expressed that like that. You had opportunities to work with incredible artists like the Beyoncé and the Mary J. Blige. Can you reflect on those experiences and walk us through how those opportunities came about?

Cameron Wright

Absolutely. So to connect it to the question before, actually, in those moments of being around the house and just like singing, and of course going from being a child to a teenager to an adult, then you have moments like, "Ok, where's the work?" But I would turn what I was doing at home into content. I would just sing something around the house and just post it on my story. And through that, I was living in L.A. at the time. Through people seeing me on social media, somebody reached out to me and said, "Hey, is it okay if I send this to —?" I can't even remember the person, but he was doing lighting for Beyoncé. That's literally what happened. I was singing in my apartment. I was singing "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." It was on my story, and somebody called me and was like, "I want to send this video to —" and then that got to her music director, and then the next thing you know, she had a private audition in Los Angeles for Coachella, which I didn't know what I was auditioning for. And I went in, and that day I got the job. But everything happened so differently. So that was in 2018. Now you fast forward to 2026, which is eight years later, where I now am semi-known — I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I'm known enough for people to just call me. And I got a call from Mary's vocal coach, and he was like, "What you doing for the next six weeks?"

Sanni Brown

The coach called you?

Cameron Wright

Yeah, because we know each other. We came up together in L.A.; we were both doing auditions and stuff. And now, honey, he's a vocal contractor. He vocal contracts all the big tours.

Sanni Brown

I don't even know what that is.

Cameron Wright

So he finds the singers to go on tour with people, to do residencies, to do sessions for people's album. I just did a session with him for Zac Brown Band. Yeah, I'm on their new album. So he called me, and he was like, "What you doing for the next six weeks?" And I was like, I said, "Who is it for?" Cause I kinda knew, you know? And I just wanted him to say it. He was like, "I can't say. Just let me know." I said, "I'm free." Literally, I sent him a video. An hour later, he called me that night. He said, "All right you gonna get a call. They need you to come out quick." I literally flew to Vegas the next morning.

Sanni Brown

Oh my God, I love this! I love these stories! This is so inspiring. I use this show to talk to dream chasers and people who have a small little dream, and sometimes they don't think they can achieve it, because of whatever the dynamic. They may not have the support system. So I oh my God, I love your story. I love your story so much. And so that's how you got linked with Beyonce, and that's how you got linked with Mary J. Blige. What helped you keep going during periods with less creative opportunities? So it's always fun to talk about "I got linked up with Beyonce. I got linked up with Mary." But what about them down times?

Cameron Wright

Honey, you gotta really be intentional with your attention, because living in L.A. particularly, when I would have seasons of gigging with major artists or creating my own work, because I'm a recording artist myself, there's definitely times where you're not doing a thing. And there were seasons where I would feel overwhelmed with sadness or "I should be further along," but what I discovered is my creative practice to help me get back into momentum. I love documentaries. I will sit and watch a documentary and watch somebody's story, an artist. And just hearing how they push through it, or just hearing their journey, it just inspires me to be like, "Cameron, shut up. This is a part of it, and while you're doing this, do something creative." So write, sing, post —

Sanni Brown

Study your craft.

Cameron Wright

Yeah. Documentaries — I just got done watching the Earth, Wind & Fire one the other day because, again, I just came from this huge time of momentum. I was in Vegas for five weeks with Mary J . Blige, went straight into rehearsal with Kelly Rowland for a festival in Chicago, and then came right back to Minnesota. Don't have a clue what I'm doing for the next — I don't know what's next.

Sanni Brown

It seems like there'll be some downtime, no?

Cameron Wright

Yes and. So again, you got to be intentional with your attention, because sometimes you're sitting with your thoughts. When you have a routine every day, and you're rehearsing with Mary, and you getting paid real good. And then you're home and you're kind of like, "Ok, well, I got a gig in a month." That documentary put so much life in me. Just watching Maurice White and just the perseverance, and also just self-belief. Like child, I got this.

Sanni Brown

I love this. I love watching documentaries, and I'm always telling dream chasers, study the people. Listen, when I got into radio, I was getting rejected so bad. I had to start studying the process of people getting rejected. That's a part of the process. So I love that you're saying get into the documentaries because I feel like that is just as good. Your career has grown quickly over the last few years. How do you stay grounded while embracing new opportunities?

Cameron Wright

Well, this is my perspective. It's easy for me to stay grounded because there's so much more that I want to do. Even if I was where I wanted to be, I wouldn't be super inflated. But I can't have this inflated ego because my journey, to me, has just begun. You know, being with Kelly and being with Mary or whoever — that's awesome. I'm so grateful, and I really have to sit in those moments like, "Wow, God, look at this. I used to have a poster of Destiny's Child, and now I'm sitting up here in the Four Seasons in Kelly's hotel room, eating a piece of cake." But that's not the end-all, be-all. So I'm still very grounded and very focused, and I got work to do.

Sanni Brown

What projects are you most excited about right now, and what can people expect from you next?

Cameron Wright

I'm most excited about my project. So I am releasing an album. Ok, so let me just take you down memory lane. Out there, everybody who's ever followed me, I've had multiple little EPs that I've released, but I took everything down. So all y'all harassing me about putting them back up, please stop, because they're not coming back. No, I'm kidding. At some point, I'm gonna do this archive thing, probably on SoundCloud or something. But those projects probably will never be on streaming again. But there is a new project that I'm working on that does have some of that music, and I'm really excited about it, because I have not released an EP since the pandemic, literally since 2020. So I'm really excited about that. I released a single, which is kind of like a preview into what's to come.

Sanni Brown

And what's the name?

Cameron Wright

"Hot and Heavy," which is perfect for this hot and heavy summer. So yeah, I'm really, really excited. I'm working with one of my favorite — first of all, not just one of my favorite, one of my biggest influences, James Fauntleroy. Also a Taurus, so we just have so much chemistry. But when I was in L.A., there would be seasons where I was like up, up. I'm doing Coachella. I had a song placed on Star, that Lee Daniels show.

Sanni Brown

Oh, for real?

Cameron Wright

Baby, was making the coin. Baby I was up. But all artists know, there are ebbs and flows. So with that being said, I'm not acting proud and acting ashamed. There were seasons where I was working, the savings done got low, baby. I don't know what I'm gonna eat today. So during one of those seasons, I went and got a job at Barneys New York. I don't know if y'all remember Barneys; it was a department store. I worked on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, so I was strategic because I was like I could make good commission here, it's high-end retail, but I also could make connections with people in my industry. And one day, James Fauntleroy came in. Soon as that elevator door opened, of course nobody knew who he was, but I did.

Sanni Brown

Did you scream? Did you lose it?

Cameron Wright

I'm not starstruck either, at all. But James Fauntleroy, for me, as a writer and a singer, I walked over to him quietly while he was going through the rack. I said, "All I'm gonna say is Cocaine 80s." And that's his group, like his little underground group, and he was like, "Oh, you digging deep." So we immediately just started talking, and he shopped with me, and he gave me his number because we just immediately clicked. And I never texted him or did anything. This was back in 2019, maybe the beginning of 2020. I think a year ago, I was on a plane going from D.C. leaving a gig to L.A., and I was in one of these transition periods. I was leaving a gig, right? But it was a season where things were just kind of slow. I had just wrapped up a season of The Voice, and I had all these expectations of what the show would have done for me, and I was like, "Ok, Cameron, what do you want to do? How are you going to activate the people that you've met? How are you going to activate all your dormant gifts?" Blah blah blah blah blah. And thank God for Delta and their Wi-Fi. I was going through my phone, and I came across James's number. I said, "I'm texting him."

Sanni Brown

Ooh, I love this!

Cameron Wright

I sent him a song, "You and Me," which is a part of the project Revelations that I took down. But that song will be on the new album. It's my favorite song that I've ever written, and I sent it to James. And I actually was intentional because sonically it sounds like something that — it's in his world. I didn't know what was gonna happen. Within 10 minutes, I got a text message. It said, "Yo" with about 150 O's. And I was like, "He replied!" I'm up in the air, like, "Oh my God, ok, you gotta calm down. You on a plane." So then, get another message. He said, "Is this you singing?" And I said, "Yes." He said, "Who wrote it?" I said, "Me." He said, "I'm scheduling a meeting." I was shaking, just shaking, shaking. So I get to L.A. I'm telling my partner. I'm like, "James replied! He wants to meet." So then weeks go by, I don't hear a thing. Don't hear a thing, and I'm like, "Oh Lord Jesus, what's going on? Do I follow up?" I was like, "No, don't aggravate the man. Just trust." And my partner told me, "Let it go. Just let the universe bring it to you. Just let it be." Literally, after I accepted that, the next day his assistant reached out and he was like, "Can you come to the studio this weekend?" And from that moment on, me and James have been just good friends. Good friends, and we're working together now.

Sanni Brown

What's the name of the whole entire project?

Cameron Wright

I can't tell you the upcoming name. Stay tuned.

Sanni Brown

Ok, all right. How do we stay tuned? How do we keep up with Cameron Wright? Because based off the itinerary flight you just gave us, we don't know when we gonna see you.

Cameron Wright

I always direct people to Instagram, it's @iamcameronwright. I also have a Twitter. I just got back on Twitter a month ago because of my single “Hot and Heavy,” and I haven't tweeted a thing — or X.

Sanni Brown

It's an interesting place. Cameron, I'm so happy you came in here and shared your story. Your story, it's just what I talk about. It's what I talk about. I love the trusting what's meant for you, coming to you. That is the hardest thing about this stuff. Your vibration is gonna bring something back. Something's gonna respond. I appreciate you coming in and telling us your story, and we will definitely be keeping up.

Cameron Wright

Thank you.

Keith Baker stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about ReConnect Rondo’s work of transitioning the Rondo neighborhood’s history of pain into new possibilities for the community.

Sanni Brown

Hey y'all, we are back with another interview. You know how we say "around the way?” Well, I'm sitting with someone who actually helps design "around the way." ReConnect Rondo is a St. Paul-based organization dedicated to repairing the generational harm caused by the construction of I-94 through the historic Rondo neighborhood. Now, through storytelling, advocacy, and community-centered development, ReConnect Rondo works to restore connectivity, preserve culture, and build economic opportunity for the Black community in Rondo and beyond. And here with me, Carbon Sound family, is Executive Director of ReConnect Rondo, Keith Baker. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

Keith Baker

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Sanni Brown

I'm a fan of all you guys around the way. My mom taught me the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, so to see y'all come in here and tell us y'all ingredients is super dope. But first of all, just for me personally, I've been hearing about ReConnect Rondo and the project to make peace with what's happened with the Rondo community. So I'm really a fan of this, and I've been following it. So first of all, I want to thank you for what you're doing. And then second of all, for those who don't know you, can you introduce yourself and your role at ReConnect Rondo?

Keith Baker

Well, I'm excited to be here with you. I'm the executive director for ReConnect Rondo, and I have a bit of a transportation background, kind of an eclectic background, but I was saying to a few folks a little bit earlier, I started in the music business. So I don't know how you make a straight line from music to now leading an effort to restore a community.

Sanni Brown

How'd you get here?

Keith Baker

Well, I'm a believer of curiosity, imagination, and knowledge. And I think the pursuit over time just introduced to a wide range of things over the course of my personal life and my professional life, certainly working in the nonprofit field, working in the public sector field, working along private sector as well. I acquired just a curiosity about how things function and how things work. And so I find my way to this project with an understanding of how knobs, tools, systems, processes, those things function in all of these various arenas. I just happen to be in a place where an opportunity surfaces to reconnect a community.

Sanni Brown

I guess it makes sense the way a musical mind is, you do question the world around you. So I can see how you found yourself in this space. For listeners who may not be familiar with Rondo's history, can you explain to us why the neighborhood remains such an important component to Black history in Minnesota, and can you help it paint the picture of what was actually lost in the Rondo community when it was divided?

Keith Baker

I mean it's a heavy subject. No doubt about it. But there's also a possibility. So when we think about 150 years, the Rondo community, the African American community, has emerged from as early as the mid 1800s, establishing their social, cultural, economic, civic, spiritual fabric, then the freeway comes through, clearly, and devastates that cohesiveness, that sense of community. Rondo's story is like 950 communities across the country, quite frankly. And when we think about the loss, what we really wanted to do is make sure we quantified the loss, so even though more than 1,000 structures — and when we say homes, 700 homes, 300 businesses were devastated along the corridor of Rondo, after again, that social, cultural, economic, civic fabric had already began to form, and to really be a full expression of what the Rondo community is. It also has an incredible history, too, because a lot of the thought leaders in the early 1800s met in Rondo, and really conceived civil rights activities, advocacy activities, and so it has a long history of contributing nationally to a larger movement. And that's why it's so significant that we pay attention to Rondo's history today.

Sanni Brown

And I'm glad you're here today, because I feel like I've only gotten a surface level understanding of, "Oh, this was a Black neighborhood, and construction went through it." To know that the early minds of the 1800s were coming up with ideas, to link up that would affect us nationally. That's why that's important. We don't want to lose that. When people hear ReConnect Rondo, what do you hope they understand about the mission right away?

Keith Baker

It's a very complicated project, but when I think about it right off the bat, is the transition from pain to possibility. When we think about reflecting on history, certainly it's an emotional lived experience that community members have been a part of. But how do we set conditions for possibilities into the future? How do we see those things happening? And so for me, it really is that transition from pain to possibility.

Sanni Brown

That's so powerful. I don't want to move past that too fast, because I think in our own lives when we look back, it's hard to get caught up in the pain, but when you look forward, it's like, "Well, how can I possibly navigate around this again?" The proposed Rondo Land Bridge, this is the project that I've heard about. It's become a major part of the conversation. Can you tell us about this, and what makes the project so significant, beyond it just being infrastructure?

Keith Baker

Let me establish this idea of connecting past, present, and future. When we talk about the past, certainly the African American community in the Rondo community today is about 30%. It's a very diverse community today.

Sanni Brown

When you say 30%, what do you mean?

Keith Baker

30% population of African Americans. 80% of the population historically in Rondo were African Americans. And so you can see a great shift, but it's important for us to be fundamentally grounded in the current state of things, but also you have a lot of new immigrants moving into the community, establishing their own sense of place, but while those things often happen, the African American experience begins to disappear, because new experiences begin to surface. So we think about establishing 21 acres of brand-new land over the freeway to connect both sides and use that as the platform for making sure that the African American experience doesn't disappear, because it reflects an African American cultural enterprise district, which was Rondo before the freeway went through.

Sanni Brown

That's so bold and so courageous, to go be like, "Nope, we're gonna put this right back." What role does music, art, and community events play in healing and reconnecting communities?

Keith Baker

As a musician myself, and you did reference art — I see this as an art project, because it's fundamentally about creating something new from something that was. So it's acknowledging what was, but it's also visualizing, again, the possibility into the future, and that's really essentially what art is. So I see this, and I've always seen this as an arts movement, but we've got to get through some of the technical pieces in order to realize what might this built environment on top of this newly created structure reflect. How does it smell? How does it look? Are all very, very important, and arts are fundamentally important to that.

Sanni Brown

Wow, so dream chasers, listen. I told you the voices from the community are coming in, and they're telling us the secrets. It just seems like such a big project, and to say it like, "It's art" or like, "It's an album," I love how the interconnectedness of process, regardless of the practice, that's dope, that's huge. I don't want to skip past that.

Keith Baker

I often think about systems, processes, tools, and resources. When people think about an art project, they've got tools, they've got a flow, they understand how they create. I think this is the same, except again, there are a lot of levers that are oftentimes invisible to community, and what we're trying to do is make sure, "No, these are the levers that actually move a creative project like a land bridge." Because you're dealing with architects, you're dealing with engineers, you're dealing with all kinds of folks who contribute to it, but you've got to set the right tone for it.

Sanni Brown

What gives you hope when you think about the future of Rondo and Black communities across the Twin Cities?

Keith Baker

Wow, that's a deep question. I think about it fundamentally — cultural preservation, economic benefits, and ultimately a way of creating this sense of cohesiveness in our common aspiration and benefit.

Sanni Brown

You just did this interview so smooth, just so smooth. I appreciate you coming in. And if we wanted to find out more about your work with ReConnect Rondo, how can we connect with you? How can we research you? How can we stan?

Keith Baker

Absolutely, reconnectrondo.com. Certainly want you to go there. We've got all of our studies that we've done from a technical approach, but also you'll get a feel for who we are. Also, our social media is really a marvelous way of clipping in.

Sanni Brown

What's that handle?

Keith Baker

reconnect_rondo.

Sanni Brown

Okay, and we could probably find that information on the website, right?

Keith Baker

There's no doubt about it.

Sanni Brown

Thank you so much, Keith Baker, for coming in, and thank you for what you're doing to preserve the Black community, Black culture, and that connectiveness, that connective tissue that keeps us together and helps our image. So, thank you again so much for pulling up.

Keith Baker

Thank you.

Nakara Forjé stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about her most recent project Healed Hoochie: Sacred Pack, her Sacred Advisory tour, and more.

Sanni Brown

All right, class, settle down, settle down. We got a new community voice in the studio. Based in Minneapolis, a rapper, songwriter, and creative, whose work explores healing, identity, sensuality, spirituality, and Black womanhood through storytelling — Carbon Sound family, let's welcome Nakara Forjé. Welcome!

Nakara Forjé

Thank you.

Sanni Brown

I'm so happy to have you in here; I have so many questions about your projects. But we gonna keep it concise. So, you have a project called Healed Hoochie, and it's like a series, and you just released [Healed Hoochie:] Sacred Pack; that's the latest in your series. I remember when you dropped the Healed Hoochie series, and now you're touring it. So, first of all, congratulations; that's super dope. And in this project, you've brought other Black artists into the fold, and you are gonna have your final show at the Icehouse in Minneapolis on July 11. I'm fanned out, so I know you, but for the folks that don't know you, can you introduce yourself and talk a bit about who Nakara Forjé is, for the people who may be discovering you for the first time?

Nakara Forjé

Yes, my name is Nakara Forjé. I am a hip-hop artist, God MC, visionary, event curator, workshop facilitator. I'm a mother, I'm a sister, I'm a community leader, and I take pride in that.

Sanni Brown

How has Minneapolis shaped you as a person, artist, and storyteller?

Nakara Forjé

Man, Minneapolis is home. I've gone a lot of places, but the older and wiser I get, I just appreciate Minneapolis, the Twin Cities, really, more and more. The Twin Cities is so diverse; it's so cultured, the nonprofit sector here and the grants that we have and just all the things that kind of make this place great — I think when we're from here, when we're experiencing it, we take it for granted, and so I'm just so grateful to be from here. I think the diversity of this place, the community that we have here, it's so fire. It's grounded me, it's molded me, it's made me the leader I am.

Sanni Brown

I love that. I love your commentary. I'm from Chicago, and so I'm an outsider, and I'm constantly talking about how the creative scene here is insane.

Nakara Forjé

It's elite.

Sanni Brown

It is elite level, and so it's really nice to hear. I think I feel like I hear negativity about Minnesota, so I love when y'all come in and y'all like, "Nah, y'all need to —"

Nakara Forjé

Be grateful.

Sanni Brown

Be grateful. I feel like I'm more like, "Y'all need to put some respect on y'all own name." Because the talent here is insane. So, again, you released Healed Hoochie: Sacred Pack in February. What does this project and the phrase "Healed Hoochie" mean to you, and especially to Black women?

Nakara Forjé

Healed Hoochie is about the duality of working on yourself and becoming the highest version of yourself, while still navigating the lowest version of yourself. I think we're constantly living in that tension, and so healed hoochie is about embracing that tension and understanding that I'm perfectly imperfect. I'm a constant work in progress, and that deserves to be celebrated.

Sanni Brown

Sheesh, I gotta pause. You said embracing the tension — ma'am, when did you get that enlightenment for that?

Nakara Forjé

I think I've always been working towards that enlightenment. So often I fought it, or I've been fearful of it, or I've been made to feel that I want too much, or I am too much. And it's like, no, actually, I deserve the most.

Sanni Brown

Such a subtle flip.

Nakara Forjé

Man, perspective is everything.

Sanni Brown

Oh my goodness.

Nakara Forjé

My daughter, shout out to Eshay, she's taught me so much about reframing, and now I'm just like, the queen of the reframe.

Sanni Brown

I do appreciate that about younger people. I think the older you get, you get more stuck in your ways, and I think when you're younger, you're like, "You know what, let me look at it this way."

Nakara Forjé

For sure.

Sanni Brown

I love that. What was the creative process behind this project? I remember the first time you dropped it, I was just like, I've never heard anything like this before, Healed Hoochie. Because you see healed and you think, you know, evolved, and then you like hoochie, and you're like, woah.

Nakara Forjé

And you know what, it's like I'm actively healing, I'm constantly healing. There are some things that I've healed, that I've grown from, that I've outgrown, but there are still some ways that I'm raggedy. And you might not see it, but I know it, and I own it. So it's about being accountable to the parts of me that are not yet healed.

Sanni Brown

Nakara, you coming in here spitting — I'm sorry. What kind of emotional, spiritual, or artistic space were you in while creating this project?

Nakara Forjé

So it's a series of projects, like you said, and they all kind of have their own flavor. And so the first one is the Rare Pack, and that's me leaning into "I'm really her." I'm owning that, and that was also the transition period of me moving to Atlanta, getting away from Minnesota, healing from some things that really tried to set out to break me. And it's like, no, I'm gonna use those things, and I'm going to let them propel me. And so the Rare Pack is just kind of owning that bravado. The Jada Pack is about the demonizing of Black women.

Sanni Brown

Please get into that.

Nakara Forjé

And so, shout out to Jada Pinkett Smith.

Sanni Brown

I was gonna say, why Jada, ma'am? Why Jada?

Nakara Forjé

Because they was on Jada head, and I think they forgot that when Jayda entered the game, Jada was that girl. Jayda didn't look like nobody, she didn't sound like nobody, her acting was elite, her aura was sought after. And when somebody makes a mistake or you don't like the way that they're moving, you forget all that they've brought to the table. And so, just being a person who's been deeply misunderstood, I felt like I wanted to present an ode to Jada Pinkett.

Sanni Brown

Your success and your growth from this series, I can tell, it's just the way that you're approaching this. You are touching on topics that I feel like are taboo, or that I feel like maybe the manosphere kind of runs with, without having a deep understanding of womanhood. And so, oh my God, thank you.

Nakara Forjé

Thank you.

Sanni Brown

So, back to this four-city tour, because obviously the girls need to hear this. I notice that you're intentionally bringing Black artists into the fold. Why is that important for this tour?

Nakara Forjé

I'm a Black woman; I take that with me everywhere that I go. That's the first thing people see; that's who God made me to be. I got to take pride in that, and so centering that in everything, but more importantly, centering God in everything. So all of the artists that I chose all have a spiritual element; they know God, and you hear it in their music. Their music is touching; it makes you feel something, and so that was really important in curating this tour.

Sanni Brown

That seems dangerous to do that now.

Nakara Forjé

That's why you gotta do it.

Sanni Brown

It seems so dangerous in that you intentionally are putting that — I tell my listeners I'm a believer, but it's such a dangerous territory, with religion and politics intersecting. How did you feel about adding that in?

Nakara Forjé

I don't feel no way about it. It's just what it is. It has to be intentional. It has to be done. That's part of the call on my life. God gave me this gift. He's the reason I rap. The Sacred Pack is about my spiritual journey, and so I'm centering that message, and that vision, and that mission with this tour.

Sanni Brown

Why is it important for this tour to feel so community-centered?

Nakara Forjé

You don't get to be a large artist without community. And so community is at the core of everything, and some of us, we have smaller or larger communities, but it's a community, nonetheless. And so I just really want to do something that makes all of us feel good, and feel seen, and feel heard. Community is at the heart of a fanbase. We want to be big artists, but you got to build community.

Sanni Brown

Your tour wraps up at Icehouse on July 11. What can we expect from the final show? Without giving away too much, obviously.

Nakara Forjé

Oh my gosh, you can expect to not leave the way you came, you can expect worship, you can expect elite lyricism, you can expect to feel God in a space. Feel God and feel community.

Sanni Brown

How has this project changed you?

Nakara Forjé

It's stretching me, it's edifying me. I'm finna cry.

Sanni Brown

Because you have a very peaceful vibe in here, and that's why I want to know, because again, I've been fanned out about you since a long time ago, and to watch you drop this project, and to see people respond to it, it speaks to the magic that I talk about in music all the time. You have a very strong aura about you, and it's pleasant, and it's strong, and it's healing, and I just want to thank you for doing this, for you dropping this series, for you embracing the tension that you obviously have felt to get to this space, because you don't get to this space without the bumps and the lumps. And so I just want to thank you for being who you are, for allowing yourself to evolve in front of us the way you have, and then for providing us a product. Because you could have just twirled away into Healed Hoochie heaven, and you would have still had this vibe and this peace about you, but the fact that you was like, "Nah, let me come back and tell y'all what I learned."

Nakara Forjé

Yeah, you don't get to this peace without the turmoil, and so part of my assignment is to share the journey of how you get there. I still wrestle with it. I had a hell of a morning. I got a six-year-old who think he know everything, and so I'm in constant tension and turmoil. But I choose to be well, and that's just me using my free will in the best way I know how by making that choice to be well. So, thank you, because my aura has always been strong, but it hasn't always been peaceful.

Sanni Brown

Oh, wow.

Nakara Forjé

And so that's the journey.

Sanni Brown

You did done some work, I can feel it.

Nakara Forjé

Thank you.

Sanni Brown

Well thank you, Nakara. Thank you so much for coming in. And shout out to the babies, because the babies help us stretch too.

Nakara Forjé

Yes, absolutely. He raising me, so shout out to Carter.

Jamar Diggs stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about community building through basketball and what to expect at this summer’s Twin Cities Pro-Am.

Sanni Brown

Woo, dream chasers! I got somebody here for you today. The Twin Cities Pro-Am is a Minnesota summer hoops destination. It brings together professional athletes, locals, college players, and the community through competition. The Pro-Am has grown into a gathering space that celebrates community through basketball. And here to talk about the program is Jamar Diggs. Welcome, yay!

Jamar Diggs

Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.

Sanni Brown

First of all, thank you for what you do in the community. I love highlighting anybody who is building up the community, inspiring the next generation. So, first of all, thank you.

Jamar Diggs

I appreciate it.

Sanni Brown

Can you introduce yourself to the audience that doesn't know about you and talk a little bit about your role with the Twin Cities Pro-Am?

Jamar Diggs

My name is Jamar Diggs. Grew up here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Went to high school right in downtown Minneapolis, DeLaSalle High School. With school and basketball, my career took off, went to go play Division I college basketball, ended up playing professionally in Europe. So I've been playing professional basketball in Europe for the last 15 years. That's a little story about me, just grew up here, always wanted to find a way to make an impact in what I knew, and sports was kind of my thing. So, when I would come back home in the summers, I wanted to create something — selfishly for me and my friends, a place to play. And then when I started to do that — there's a track record of similar leagues and similar Pro-Ams in other cities, and there's also one here that I played in when I was younger, so I wanted to recreate that, because it was gone. I have somewhat of a business acumen, and I wanted to use some of my skill set and some of my relationships, and I said, "Well, let me start there." So I just kind of wanted to start small and just have a place for people to play basketball, but then I realized it could be a lot bigger than that, so I wanted to just involve people in the community and find a way I can tie it all together and kind of take what my predecessors, what their leagues have done, and take it to my version of it or a different level. And that's kind of what I did with that.

Sanni Brown

What makes your vision for your version of Pro-Am different from the other Pro-Ams?

Jamar Diggs

I think first I want to give a shout out to the guy who kind of took me under his wing, his name was Rene Pulley, he was kind of a basketball legend here in the Twin Cities, St. Paul area, and he had something called the Howard Pulley Pro-Am, and I played in that, participated in that as a player, as a high school guy, and for multiple reasons that fell out, and I just said, "Well, pass the torch to me, and I can take that on." I feel like the basketball community is extremely strong in Minnesota, as you see a lot of people, younger guys making it to the NBA and all that, and sometimes we don't get the national recognition from around other places, and I kind of wanted to create our space for us to highlight ourself. And within that I was like, well, since our community is so strong, we need to take the people that love basketball and the people that are here in the cities and just bring them all together in a safe, fun environment, and that's kind of what I wanted the vision to be. And then from that, step by step, I just started thinking of other things: how to implement camps or implement mentorship programs and things of that nature within the basketball event; we're now highlighting local artists or DJs, or things of that nature. Just little things — or local businesses, let's say — just finding small ways to continue to make it a community-based thing, not just a basketball event.

Sanni Brown

Before we go any further, what does Pro-Am mean?

Jamar Diggs

Pro, like professional, and amateur. So, there's professional basketball players and amateur basketball players. There's high school players, there's some guys, the local kid that may go to Tartan or may go to Johnson or may go to Minneapolis. Some high school players, which are amateurs because they don't get paid to play basketball, and now that college basketball has changed, and they start making money as well, they're still considered amateurs, but that's what it is. Guys that play in the NBA, or guys that play internationally, who play basketball for a job, those are professionals. So it's a mix of professionals and amateurs. Or the guy who may not have had the career, let's say with a resume, but can play, he's considered an amateur basketball player. So it's a mix of those players.

Sanni Brown

That's so welcoming. Why do you think the Pro-Am has resonated so strongly with the Twin Cities community?

Jamar Diggs

I think I would just have to highlight again, like basketball — it is a hockey state, Minnesota, they say, but in our neighborhoods and people that we know, we love basketball. So from that standpoint, I just think it's special, because again, people want to come out and see a guy that they may have not seen in a few years, or their stories of somebody's son, a father and son playing together, like Khalid El-Amin and his son Ishmael El-Amin, these are legendary — you would never really get that opportunity to see these guys play. Or you can see brothers playing, or somebody who graduated from your local high school playing against a professional NBA guy, a Timberwolf might come in town, so all of this is just like unique format, which I think it brings a level of excitement, and you know, level of fun, and again, the stakes aren't high, it's not your college team, have to win for a championship, but also it's pride. It's pride in the city, like I get a bunch of my friends together, and we're gonna beat a bunch of your friends — competition. It's nothing serious, but just a competition, and I think that's why I think it's resonated, in my opinion. Selfishly, as a basketball player, one thing I've learned that resonates with basketball is you can see people's emotions and face when you play basketball. Like football, people wear helmets, you may know of a player, but you don't see their face. In basketball, you can really resonate emotionally with them, even from excitement or frustration. I think that is one thing with the sport of basketball, in particular, it's special. And then also, Minnesota, again, it's not that big, so if you don't know somebody, you know one person who knows that person, especially in the sporting world. And I think the combination of those things, coming together and friendships, and again, little small banters, maybe a little St. Paul Minneapolis rivalry, little things like that. It's not intense, but little things like that play a role.

Sanni Brown

Healthy competition.

Jamar Diggs

Exactly.

Sanni Brown

I've heard you mention safe space. It's just so interesting to hear basketball and safe space in the same sentence. But again, I'm an outsider. Is that what makes it so special to you? Is that it's providing that safe space?

Jamar Diggs

I just think that's something that I want to have happen, you know? A majority of the year through work, I'm out of the country; I'm not home. And when I come home, I want to enjoy myself. Growing up as a kid, there were spaces in the community for me that I felt safe, and being from the community, outsiders may have not felt that it was safe, but that's where I grew up, I was like, "Oh no, this is not a problem." So I wanted to make sure that whatever we created, to outsiders and people involved, felt safe. I don't want to keep highlighting safe, but it's just more like fun, healthy competition. I want to re-shift it to there's a level of mentorship, there's a level of networking, there's a level of community. There's a level of I come here, and I have a clothing brand, and maybe not a lot of people know about my clothing brand, but they know this athlete. Well, if I come here and support this athlete, and this athlete supports my clothing brand, and this fan that comes to see this athlete sees my clothing brand, there's a healthy space and environment for those interactions to happen naturally. Obviously, there's a social media aspect; there's obviously marketing, but just, "Oh, this is here at this event? Oh, let me check that out, I never heard about that. And little things like "Oh, I sell healthy juice," "I'm a financial advisor," or "I'm a content creator." It's just bringing all these into one location on top of, "Oh, there's a game happening." It's just one thing to go see a game, but it's another thing to have a network and a community and opportunity, and that's where some of these symposiums that we have and some of these camps, just try to have these things happen at the same time.

Sanni Brown

What can people expect from this year's Twin Cities Pro-Am?

Jamar Diggs

If you've never been, you never know who's gonna be there. So you come there on a Tuesday night, you show up, you don't know who's gonna play, and it might shock you, it might surprise you. It might be a guy that flew in from the Lakers, end up playing. It's a good place to just enjoy basketball, enjoy your neighbor, meet some new people, maybe see somebody you haven't seen in a long time. And again, it's free, so that's what I've always prioritized. I will never charge anything, because it's not about making a dollar; it's about how can we give back, how can we show, how can we create a space that everybody's intertwined and having a good time. This is summertime; you can go to the lake, you can go to the park, but it's like, hey, I want to go check a game out on a Thursday night, I go check a game out. I could come in for an hour, or I could stay and watch both games and be there three hours, and I'll be there next week.

Sanni Brown

For someone who's never been to the Pro-Am, what makes that experience different from experiencing a traditional basketball game?

Jamar Diggs

Multiple things. One thing I would say is the access to the athletes. So you go to a Timberwolves game, unless you have a special relationship, there's no way that you're going to be able to see Anthony Edwards, or there's no way you're going to be able to touch a player or be around. My gym, or our gym, the Pro-Am kids are sitting on the baseline within arm’s reach of the players with photographs, autographs, things like that. Chet Holmgren or Jalen Suggs, they may not be playing, but they'll be in the crowd, and they're right there. We tried to create that space so everybody understand, we're all here for a good time, and also to meet and connect and go from there. And it's not a "brand" or anything that's highlighted; it's like, this is us, this is Minnesota, this is Minneapolis, this is St. Paul, this is the community, this is who we are. So we try to highlight that part of it, and I think that's what's different than you go to a Timberwolves game, it's like, "I'm going to see LeBron James." But you're in the nosebleeds — there's barriers, and you're spending $20 to have a meal; it's just a lot. That's a part of the entertainment; that's not what we want to do. It's healthy competition, access —

Sanni Brown

Community, togetherness.

Jamar Diggs

Exactly, see you putting the words — I should be interviewing you, you should be speaking for me.

Sanni Brown

What excites you about where the Twin Cities Pro-Am is going?

Jamar Diggs

I love it. I love the growth that it's had. Me and my staff, me and the team, we're so excited about how we've been intentional about the little incremental growth that we've had; we didn't want to go too big too fast. But the things that we're doing, like in August 5, we're doing a free camp for kids; we want to bring in some players and guest speakers, and things are finalized from that, but just little things like that. We have a shoe drive; we have a book bag drive that we're doing, like charitable events that we're tying in. Some of our sponsors are doing things within the community that we're funneling. The growth that we have from just five guys or five girls playing basketball together, we're beyond that. It’s just those little things, and I may not be the best at articulating it all, but that's why I try to tell people, just experience it.

Sanni Brown

So, for those who want to experience the Twin Cities Pro-Am, how do we contact you? How do we find out information about that?

Jamar Diggs

So we have our website, twincitiesproam.com, and most of that information is there, and on there we have a schedule, and we keep up to date. Social media as well, we have a Instagram account and a Twitter (X) account as well, @twincitiesproam, is on all our social media. I think that would be the best way, because again, this is rare for us, because we don't market our league. There's a reason we don't market our league.

Sanni Brown

And yet it's this successful.

Jamar Diggs

It's kind of like, if you know, you know.

Sanni Brown

I appreciate you so much, Jamar Diggs from Twin Cities Pro-Am. Thank you. I'm always excited when you guys come in and tell us about summer stuff. So, thank you so much for coming in.

Jamar Diggs

Thank you for having me.

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about Griot Arts and collaborating with Carbon Sound.

Sanni Brown

Oh, baby, we got a colorful one in here today. Carbon Sound Community Voices would like to welcome the owner and founder of Griot Arts, which is a Black-owned community arts and resistance space in Rochester, dedicated to uplifting Black artists, culture, storytelling, and creative expression through its bookstore, exhibitions, events, workshops, and community programming. Griot Arts has become an important gathering space for artists and creatives in Southeast Minnesota. And here to talk about Griot Arts is the founder and owner, Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara. Welcome, you're so colorful. Welcome, thank you for coming in today.

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

Thank you so much for having me.

Sanni Brown

Yay! Ok, so right off the bat, I have heard a lot about Griot Arts, and that's just from around the way, just hearing people talk about it, so that's good, they talk about it. So, for the people who may not be familiar, maybe new to town, or just want to know, what is Griot Arts, and how would you describe the space?

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

Griot Arts is a community art space and a bookstore that celebrates Black voices, and it's located in downtown Rochester, Minnesota. I actually feel like to really understand the ethos and the soul of Griot Arts, you also need to understand what the Griot is, and what I named it after. And so I always tell people the Griot was a storyteller in the West African tradition, and not only that, but they were artists, right? They were part of keeping the memory alive and the history of the people through poetry and art objects and dance and music, and so I always like to connect to that historical part of it, and that living tradition, but then also be like, "This is a call for all of us to think about what the arts can do in the community." And then the actual space of Griot Arts was really inspired, I think, by these intimate living rooms, like bell hooks has this thing where she talks about how the first museums and galleries in Black communities were in our homes. And so I thought a lot about, like, ok, in a predominantly white space like Rochester, Minnesota, what does a Black space actually look like? And I wanted to kind of create this living room, so it's kind of giving like, your abolitionist auntie who kind of likes to read romance, it's giving Black intellectual, it's giving Black joy, it's super colorful, you see me dressed here, it's very colorful, it's like candy colored homes from the South and the Caribbean. It's got the wax print and Ankara from West Africa. It's got like the rattan and the wicker from the stoops. So I'm just trying to bring all of that in.

Sanni Brown

What does it mean to you to operate as a Black-owned community and resistance space? Heavy on the resistance space, because how is the living room resistance?

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

The living room is resistance because it holds us, right? It holds who we are, and the fullness of who we are, with the history steeped in the tradition of Black bookstores and art spaces and third spaces, and all those spaces were resistant, because they were centering certain narratives and stories that weren't part of the mainstream culture, and so that was already resistant. And at the same time, though, I'm always trying to think about, like, ok, how do we think about how these spaces can also be incubators for a radical imagination? How can we continue to think about what's possible in these spaces? And we already know that that's part of the work that those spaces did, as classrooms, as political mobilization centers, as knowledge centers, as art spaces.

Sanni Brown

Just by you describing the living room, there's a comfort there. Black comfort, I feel like that's a resistance.

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

Absolutely. And joy, absolutely.

Sanni Brown

What has it been like to help build and support the creative community in Rochester?

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

It's been really beautiful. Full disclosure, not from Rochester originally, didn't grow up in Minnesota, I'm from New York. I made Rochester my home 10 years ago, and one of the first things I went in there was like, "Ok, I do see Black people here, but where is the cultural infrastructure to hold us?" And that's what I was looking for, and that's what I wanted to build within our wider arts and cultural ecosystem. There is arts and culture in Rochester, but the question is who's getting represented, who's being held in those spaces? And Griot Arts was kind of my invitation to be like, ok, how do we build that cultural infrastructure to hold who we are as Black people in that city?

Sanni Brown

Aside from what I just said about Black comfort, why do you think spaces that intentionally center Black creativity, culture, and community are especially important right now?

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

It is so urgent, it's always been important, but it's super urgent. I think about the ways in which Black art and culture have been some of our most powerful archives of possibility, right? They really have shown us, the blueprints — I like to call them the Blackprints — for how we thrive, how we survive, and how we move forward. And right now, we're being conditioned to not be able to think outside the box, and I'm like, we can think outside the box, and we could work toward our collective liberation and freedom, and we have the blueprints and the Blackprints for that, not just for us as Black people, for everybody. So like, let's get to it.

Sanni Brown

I mean, everybody like Black culture. On June 27, Carbon Sound will be hosting a networking event at Griot Arts for local artists and creatives. What can we expect?

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

We can expect a time to come together as community to connect with one another to share resources. We need these resources. So, what are the resources out there in our region, in our community, and statewide for artists and creatives? And just a place to be. I'm really excited that it's being hosted at Griot Arts, because it's really part of what I built it for, for that connection and that sharing of resources.

Sanni Brown

What do you hope artists and community members take away from this event?

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

I hope that they recognize that there are resources; we're not alone. We out here, and that we can support each other, and that there's ways and opportunities for us to lift each other up and be lifted up and continue to do the work we want to do as creatives.

Sanni Brown

I love that you're from New York, and you came here and you did this. I love this, because I talk to young dream chasers, my show specifically, I talk to dream chasers. This is a great example for young people who need to know that the resources are around them and where to tap in. So, how can we find out more about Griot Arts? How can the young kids tap in?

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

Well, we out here on the social media, so you can follow us @griotartsmn. Come visit us, Rochester is not that far away. Get a group, come down and see what it's all about.

Sanni Brown

Especially on June 27. All you local artists and creatives, I be talking to you every day to chase your dreams. So make sure you're out at Griot Arts in Rochester, and go say hello to Nicole, or Cole, that's what she said off the mic, we can call her Cole. Thank you for coming in.

Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara

Thank you so much.

Jared Hemming stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about The Cedar Cultural Center and what the vibrant, historic, all-ages venue brings to Minneapolis.

Sanni Brown

Yeah, baby! We in Music Class for another Carbon Sound Community Voices Interview. And in studio today, we have a representative from The Cedar, which is a non-profit all-ages music venue located in the heart of Cedar Riverside, and has been presenting the world's music since 1989. And here to talk about it today, because we need to know, because y'all chasing y'all dreams, Jared Hemming. Welcome, yay!

Jared Hemming

Well hello Sanni, thank you for having me.

Sanni Brown

Thank you for pulling up. So, before we get into The Cedar and what you do with The Cedar, can you give us a pitch about who you are?

Jared Hemming

My name is Jared Hemming, I am a musician, and I work at The Cedar Cultural Center, so I'm a big-time music guy, love live music. I've been working at The Cedar for about 10 years, and in my spare time, I play drums in various bands in the Twin Cities. I just try to live, sleep, eat, breathe music, all the time.

Sanni Brown

I feel like people who chose drums to play, y'all got a little wild child in you. Is that true?

Jared Hemming

Yeah, kind of think Animal from the Muppets. I feel like that's representation for me when I see him on screen.

Sanni Brown

For those like myself who may not be familiar with everything that The Cedar does, what role do you feel like it serves in the Twin Cities?

Jared Hemming

You know, what really sets us apart, I would say — actually, it's a few things. First of all, we are a global music venue, so we love to present music from all across the world. We really try to emphasize bringing international artists into the Twin Cities, especially if it's an artist who might be touring North America for the first time, The Cedar is gonna be one of their first stops. We really try to host a lot of different artists, sort of national debuts here at the Cedar, and stuff like that, but I think obviously just with the way things are in the economy and politically, it has become harder for international artists to tour, so we do obviously supplement our calendar with a healthy amount of national touring artists and local shows as well. But what sets us apart from other venues in the Twin Cities, who we love, our venue is not designed simply just to make money; that's not the only business we're in. We're also a nonprofit, which means that we are able to take more of a risk presenting international artists who might not have a foothold in the Twin Cities market yet, debuting them live on The Cedar stage. We also do more than just host shows. We have a huge focus on support for emerging artists locally and internationally, and we also just love to present live music and dance from all different cultures, and we do a lot of different fun community outreach events as well, so we try to present free music as much as we can.

Sanni Brown

I heard you talk about the local scene. I'm always for the local scene. First of all, I think it's super dope that you create a platform for global artists, and I do think that feeds into the amazingness that is the music scene here. But what are you doing for the local artists? What's happening in Minneapolis?

Jared Hemming

In addition to hiring local artists pretty regularly to open up for headliners at The Cedar, that's often a spot that we reserve for different local artists across the board. Sometimes artists bring their own support acts, but for the most part, we try to hire local artists to be openers at our headlining shows. Honestly, for me, the biggest thing that we do to support local artists that I love is a project we have called The Cedar Commissions. It's this really amazing thing we do every year in partnership with the Jerome Foundation, where we give six different Minnesota-based musicians a grant, and then they have about six months to work on an original piece of music that they debut live on The Cedar stage.

Sanni Brown

Well, dang! That's for the local? I know y'all heard that, y'all better tap in! Music has a unique ability to bring people together across different backgrounds and experiences. How have you seen that happen through The Cedar's work?

Jared Hemming

One way I've seen people from different backgrounds and communities come together is the Cedar Commissions event. One thing that's kind of cool about it is, like I said, it's six different Minnesota musicians who each get this grant.

Sanni Brown

Is this yearly?

Jared Hemming

It's yearly, yep. And actually, it's just about to open up again. So make sure to check out thecedar.org if you're a Minnesota-based musician and you're looking to level up in your live music career or make something new, come work with us. But it's cool because we try to give it to a diverse set of artists, so it's a show that happens every February, it's like a weekend of shows, so we do three artists on Friday night, three artists on Saturday night, and we add two rappers, two different sort of folk-adjacent artists of very different disciplines, and then two sort of wild indie rock, weird art pop kind of experimental artists, as well. And each one of them brought a totally different vibe, totally different sound to The Cedar. So if one of them wasn't your vibe, there were two other artists performing who had a completely different style for you to listen to. One other thing, this is just kind of my go-to little snapshot of what The Cedar is like. We have a program called Global Roots, which is a series that goes on all year long, where we present different shows for free at The Cedar that are being performed by international artists. So that used to take form in something called the Global Roots Fest that we did a few years ago, and in 2022 we had a co-headlining set from two different artists, this folk, quirky, sort of They Might Be Giants-esque folk duo from Estonia called Puuluup, and this Ethiopian, sort of dance party band called QWANQWA. So they each performed at The Cedar on the same night and for the same audience, two totally different sounds. And I remember walking into the green room before we opened up doors, just to let the artists know, like, "Hey, we're gonna open up doors to the public and get the show started pretty soon." And when I walked in, I saw the two guys from Puuluup with their instruments, you know, they have just kind of handmade acoustic weird folk instruments, and they were jamming with members of QWANQWA. These are artists from Estonia, artists from Ethiopia, they don't necessarily speak the same language —

Sanni Brown

But the music speaks the same language. That's fabulous.

Jared Hemming

Yeah, that's the kind of connection you can only see at The Cedar.

Sanni Brown

How do you pick the artists? Somebody got they ear to the streets? How do you select the artists?

Jared Hemming

Artists come to us through all kinds of different ways. We have a lot of different series that we try to book regularly, so for a while, we were doing something called Minneapolis Afrobeats with this artist named Fanaka Nation, who's amazing. We love Fanaka Nation. And that was a really cool series that we did for a while. Currently, we're doing a sort of drone-adjacent series called Noise Party. It's fun, I highly recommend Noise Party. We just did Volume 14 this last week, and Volume 15 is coming up soon. But basically, it's seven or so different local artists, each doing a set, and the kind of hook of it is that we try not to have any break time between acts, so as one act is sort of winding down, the next act will set up and start up right away, so just trying to eliminate transitions between artists, so we can fit more music into our regularly scheduled programming. And that's actually kind of reminiscent of my single favorite show we do every year, called Drone Not Drones. It's kind of one of the things that makes Minneapolis and Minnesota unique, in my opinion. We love Drone Not Drones. It's a 28-hour nonstop drone music festival on The Cedar Stage. So, we start music at 7 pm on a Friday night, usually in January or February, and then the music goes all night long. You can come in and out anytime you want, and we wrap things up at 11 pm the next Saturday night.

Sanni Brown

That's insane, I love that.

Jared Hemming

Yeah, and with the post-pandemic society that we live in, there's not a lot of special events like that anymore, where you can be in a space after hours. People bring their sleeping bags and sleep at the Cedar and spend all 28 hours there. It's incredible.

Sanni Brown

A musical lock-in.

Jared Hemming

Yeah, and it's a benefit for Doctors Without Borders, and it's a celebration of both local music and national music. Some past headliners include Nels Cline of Wilco, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Haley Fohr of Circuit des Yeux. They've all done amazing sets at the Drone Not Drones, and often we have between like 30 to 60 different local drone artists just making noise on stage. And like I was mentioning with Noise Party, what kind of makes Drone Not Drones unique is that the drone never stops, so once that first artist gets the music started at 7 pm we have two stage setups, and you know, as one person's sort of winding down their set, the next person will start making a little bit of noise, and the music truly never stops for 28 hours.

Sanni Brown

Wow. Ok, so Juneteenth, word on the street is y'all got Hot 8 Brass Band playing. And first of all, for those of us who may not be well-versed in music language, what's a Hot 8 Brass Band?

Jared Hemming

I feel like what kind of makes a good brass band a good brass band is if they have brass in their name, you know what I mean? Like, I almost feel like the plainer the name, the better the band is gonna be. They just call themselves Hot 8 Brass Band; you know exactly what that is. It's gonna be hot players, hot brass, eight of them on stage, blowing the roof off the sucker, I'm pretty sure.

Sanni Brown

Aside from some hot brass, what else can we expect from this Juneteenth celebration?

Jared Hemming

I think it'll just be joy. If you enjoy music on any level, The Cedar's Juneteenth celebration with Hot 8 Brass Band will probably be the most joyous event in the cities. I mean, really, who doesn't love a hot brass band?

Sanni Brown

I love that. So, Juneteenth is both a celebration of freedom and an opportunity to reflect on Black history and culture. What does it mean for The Cedar to host events that intentionally center Black artistic expression?

Jared Hemming

Well, as music fans and Americans, I think we know how important it is to shine a light on different cultures and how representation matters, especially when it comes to live performance, media, etc. Minnesota is a much more diverse place than people give us credit for, and you can really look no further than The Cedar's calendar to see that mixing pot in action, in my opinion. Black Americans have basically been at the center of every single American musical art form's birth, right? Jazz, rock, country, folk, funk, punk, and these are all genres that we love hosting at The Cedar. None of these genres exist without the Black community in America, and we're proud of that. That's just something we want to highlight.

Sanni Brown

In case we just pulled up, and we like, "I want some hot brass!" How do we locate you? How do we find out and keep up with the events that you guys are putting on at The Cedar?

Jared Hemming

All of our events are on our website, thecedar.org. We're named after our home on Cedar Avenue and Riverside Avenue, right on the corner there in West Bank, Minneapolis. Come on by, we've got hundreds of shows every year. We're a volunteer-run organization, so I didn't mention that. So part of my role at the Cedar is that I'm the volunteer coordinator, and literally every single show we've done at The Cedar since 1989 has been run by volunteers. People who are just like you, just normal folks who are based in the Twin Cities or greater Minnesota, who just maybe want to experience live music, maybe they want to volunteer a little bit, maybe they just want to skip paying for a ticket and just serve a few drinks instead and then come enjoy the live music. I think a lot of people don't necessarily know about The Cedar, or maybe they've been to The Cedar once, but if you are craving live music and you don't necessarily — you're not sure, you're genre agnostic, you're like, "I want to try something new," The Cedar is really the best place for it. We love venues like First Avenue and, obviously, Live Nation; they've got your famous people covered, right? We try to shine a light on the more middle-class scene within the musical community, so try something new. Even if it's an artist you've never heard of, just come by, see a show at The Cedar, you're going to be pleasantly surprised.

Sanni Brown

Again, it's thecedar.org. Jared, thank you so much for coming in and putting me on, because I got some questions, we might have to link up after the fact.

Jared Hemming

Absolutely, please.

Sanni Brown

Thank you again, Jared.

Jared Hemming

Thank you.

Join Carbon Sound and Griot Arts for an afternoon of networking, collaboration, and community-building designed for Rochester's creative community.

Whether you're a musician, artist, creative entrepreneur, or simply passionate about supporting the local arts scene, this session is an opportunity to connect with fellow creatives and learn more about the resources available to help you grow.

During this networking session, attendees will:

• Learn how to submit music to Carbon Sound

• Connect with local artists, creatives, and community members

• Discover Rochester-based creative resources and opportunities

• Build relationships and expand their creative network

• Learn more about Carbon Sound's mission and programming

Click here to RSVP and reserve your spot for the event.

Mike Bishop stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about all things Public Functionary — including its free event, The Function “Block Party” on June 13.

Sanni Brown

Hey y'all, we back with another community voice. This person is the director of operations and a lead producer at Public Functionary. But before I get into this, Public Functionary is an artist-led space in Northeast Minneapolis to dream and live in a world where multifaceted identities are celebrated and centered. Young people, I'm talking about this all the time. Their mission is to support the expression of art and culture through studios, galleries, and performance space, and here to talk about that is Mike Bishop. Yay, welcome!

Mike Bishop

Thank you, thank you for having me.

Sanni Brown

For those of us who don't know about you, because I've heard of your name before, and I've heard of Public Functionary, but just give us an elevator pitch about who you are and what you do around town.

Mike Bishop

Yeah, absolutely. With many small organizations, you wear a lot of hats. So what I do would probably, at a larger organization, be like three or four people's jobs. So I am the director of operations at Public Functionary, which on that side of my work, is really kind of like behind the scenes, admin, making sure that things run smoothly, financial management, planning strategy. The stuff you gotta do to make it work, but you know, the things that I used to honestly procrastinate a lot on, but now over the years have gotten better at putting those things first on my to-do list to get out of the way, so that I can then get to the things that feed me a little bit more in the creative work with Public Functionary. But also with the Director of Operations position, I'm really kind of managing how we do things on a day-to-day basis in the space, and also making sure that that aligns with our vision and our mission as an organization. And then the other part of my job, which is really kind of what I consider to be more of my artistic practice, is the lead production role, which is working in space with artists of all disciplines, so from musicians to performers, dancers, visual artists, to help them take their ideas and their visions and materialize them and turn them into something that can happen, and to help them kind of think those things through.

Sanni Brown

Specifically in the Twin Cities, what gap do you feel like the Public Functionary is filling?

Mike Bishop

Yeah, so we started Public Functionary in 2012, that is just crazy to go back to. But prior to starting Public Functionary, my co-director, co-founder, and myself, Tricia Heuring, who I've been working with for that entire time, were working in two other art spaces, XY&Z Gallery, which was leaning more of like a commercial gallery space, and CO exhibitions, which was a little bit more of like a project-oriented space. And so between the work that we were doing in those spaces, we were both still relatively young and kind of figuring out where we fit into the ecosystem in Minneapolis, and it was bringing up more questions than really answers or necessarily us being able to say like, "Let's fill this hole," but it was kind of like, "Why are we not seeing particular artists shown more, particularly artists of color? Why are we not seeing more young people in spaces? Why are people not feeling comfortable in art spaces?" Like, all of these things were kind of percolating for us in our work, and Tricia, who is Thai, was kind of also like, "Where do I fit in as a curator of color in this scene, and where is the space for me?" We kind of created this space, but then I would say the community really kind of started to fill in the holes and help us understand what was really needed, and the more we saw the overlap between these different creatives working together, we started to see what ultimately would become Public Functionary in terms of this multidisciplinary production space, where we really support artists in whatever their visions may be. I've been reading a book recently called ‘The Land Knows the Way' by Ricardo Levins Morales, who is an artist, educator, activist, organizer in the Twin Cities, has been all over the place; he just published this book recently. He's like a gem to the city, the work that he does. You've probably actually seen a poster of his or something somewhere, if you look it up, you're like, "Oh, I've seen that" or heard that quote, you know. And so the book is kind of connecting ecological systems to organizing, and how the two kind of inform each other. One of the chapters is about the importance of soil, and as I was reading this, I had to go back and reread it, actually, because it started to bring up feelings for me and thoughts around what is Public Functionary in this creative ecosystem, and I feel like our role is kind of like being the soil. So, if you have a seed, healthy seed, and you plant it in bad soil, you're not going to yield the results that you're looking for. But if you have healthy soil and you plant that seed, all of a sudden it becomes something that is nourished and becomes something that then evolves and grows out of that. But the cycle of that, then, which I think is so beautiful, and where I think we really fit in, too, is that then what is nourished in that soil becomes something that then nourishes community. So if you're growing food, you're literally nourishing your body. If you're growing flowers, you're providing something that's aesthetically beautiful and something for bees to pollinate. And so I really think of what we do is like being the healthy soil. So part of the goal then is how do we create healthy soil? What does that mean in terms of our values, our beliefs, the culture that we create to foster these artists to help them nourish and grow?

Sanni Brown

What makes the creative ecosystem where music is and where visual art is, and fashion, what makes all of that special to you, in particular, not necessarily Public Functionary, but to you?

Mike Bishop

I mean, I don't know what I would do with my life without that, right? It's what's kept me in the Twin Cities for my life, it's what's gonna keep me here, and it's also something that I feel an obligation to, because of the way that it has nourished and fed me, to continue to nourish and feed it, so that it continues to grow and build into something for the next generation. I think a lot about that within my personal position in the work that I do. The space that is Public Functionary, I don't feel like really existed when I was a kid, so I didn't have that space to go to, and I think about that a lot, about how do we create the space for someone. When I see a young person walk into our space and their eyes light up, and something just clicked for them, of like, "Oh, this is a thing. This is real. I can develop a space, or work in a space like this, or I can just be part of community in a space like this." That's the value to me of what this is, and so I continue to keep trying to just push that further and further and further through the work that I do, and that, again, nourishes community, but that nourishes me as well.

Sanni Brown

Public Functionary got a function going on. It's called The Function Block Party, it's happening on June 13, and it is being described as a "Celebration of what makes our city so special, the resolve and creativity of our neighbors." Hear, hear to that. What inspired the vision?

Mike Bishop

It's particularly potent right now, and I think the reason why it tells you, and why you feel that when you hear it, is because of what the Twin Cities has been through to start this year. And so this is now the third year that we've done The Function. The first two years that we did it, it was definitely still celebration of creative community, bringing the people together that make Public Functionary happen, and just also an introduction to people who have never been to Public Functionary to learn more about what it is that we do. We've done it as a ticketed event in the past, as a way to fundraise for the organization, which is obviously still important, and I don't want to make it seem like we have the funds to just disregard that, because we don't — we're always like, every day trying to figure out where is it coming from, and that's just part of the process of doing this. But after the beginning of this year, it felt inauthentic to us to be pushing a ticket, when everything that was happening in the Twin Cities. And you didn't know what was going to be posted or seen on your feed next, so we just didn't feel okay about that as a team. So, as a team, we really sat with that and thought about, "Ok, we still want to hold The Function. The Function is still important. Joy, pushing back as a form of resistance is still very much needed. How do we do that?" My teammate and co-director, Tricia, had the idea of applying for some grants to look for funding to be able to offset what usually would be covered by the ticket cost. We applied for a grant through the City of Minneapolis; we were lucky enough to get that. Thank you so much to the City of Minneapolis, that, like, I think fulfills some grant requirements. Just use that as a sound bite. But that allowed us to then rethink how do we frame the function this year, and instead of it being just a way to support Public Functionary and a celebration of the work that we do, this year it felt like what we need is really a celebration of the community that showed up to fight back for their neighbors, to push back against what was happening here, and also we want to expand the footprint of the function, we want our neighbors, like our immediate neighbors in Northeast Minneapolis, who maybe don't always come to our events, or know much about what we do, to feel comfortable coming to this and just enjoying and having fun. So that was really where the kind of impetus of the conversation around what the function this year was going to be.

Sanni Brown

So we know the inspiration for why you're doing it. What can we expect the day of?

Mike Bishop

You can expect food, music, art, games. And I'll tell you a little bit more about each of those things. So food, we have an amazing food truck, the Angry Line Cook, coming. We have Beignet Queen coming, they're fantastic, amazing food, both of those. So you can get your food there. We'll have some beverages and other things as well to make sure that you're nourished and feeling good. And then, as far as music, which is kind of what The Function really is for us in the past, we really develop a lot around the musical programming. The artists this year are MMYYKK, so super excited to have him on the stage this year. M. Ada Jamison, who is a producer, does a lot of work behind the scenes, but M. is incredibly talented. She has been making music for film scores and doing production work with Kamilla Love and a lot of local artists, and so very excited to see what she brings to the stage. That's gonna be an incredible set. And then papa mbye, who you had in a couple weeks ago.

Sanni Brown

Yeah! He is a great personality.

Mike Bishop

He is a personality, absolutely. papa coming back is actually kind of a full circle moment. papa is a visual artist as well, very talented visual artist. And when papa was like 17 or 18, him and a group of friends pitched this idea of doing an overnight weekend kind of like residency at the old Public Functionary space, so they like slept in the gallery, and created work, and then turned that into an art show, and so now as papa steps into music and really pushes that medium forward, it's exciting to kind of have him come back into the fold to make things with us, and then a couple of DJs, Alexis Rose and Awa Mally, aka the Mayor, and then our hosts for the day are Lenora Magee and Fanaka Nation.

Sanni Brown

How can we find out more about this? Because you know, we might just be listening to this in passing. Where do we need to find out about Public Functionary, as well as The Function Block Party.

Mike Bishop

Absolutely, publicfunctionary.org, our website has a lot of the information about The Function Block Party, how to register, it is free with registration, but we are asking for registrations just so we have an idea of what to expect, so we know who's coming. Also our Instagram is always a great place to keep up with us too, @pfunctionary, information about the block party as well, and then also future programming, we have a lot of other amazing things coming up. We do The Function, and then we give our team a little break, but then coming back, like July, August, we've got some great programs as well.

Sanni Brown

Awesome. Well, thank you, Mike Bishop, and thank you, Public Functionary, for what y'all doing.

Mike Bishop

Thank you so much.

Andre Shoals, also known as DJ Afro, is a resident DJ for the queer party series Daddy Issues Minneapolis. In addition to his work as a DJ, which began in the early ‘90s in New York, Andre has a robust background in visual art, dance, acting, and musical theater. He joined us ahead of a busy month of Pride events, including the Daddy Issues Pride Block Party featuring Josh Steers on June 27 and the Pride Disco Block Party with Rebecca Black on June 28.

In his mix for Carbon Sound, DJ Afro delivers some soulful house and disco with high production and female-led vocals.

We chatted with DJ Afro about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Who are you?

My name is Andre Shoals, and I go by DJ Afro.

When did you start DJing?

I have a long history with music and DJing. I originally started back in the early '90s in New York, and then I moved to Boston, and I did some DJing, but back then I was primarily like '70s disco, '80s pop, '90s, some hip-hop and stuff. So that's sort of where I landed during the time that I was DJing, but also, I was just such a huge lover of house music, so I've been hitting the club since I was 18 years old.

What's your favorite thing about house music?

The beat. I used to say that I was a B-boy. Back in the day, it was like, "Oh yeah, are you a B-boy or a B-girl?" And that was just like you were really into the beats. But I typically love house music that has vocals, specifically female vocals.

You go by DJ Afro, but is it fair to say you're an interdisciplinary artist with your dance, theater, and graphic design background?

Yeah, I do a little bit of everything. I would say that I'm an artist overall, and that is the umbrella for everything. Early in my career, I started off as a modern dancer, then I transitioned into acting, and now I've landed in the musical theater space. So that's primarily what I do when I'm actually working in theater, but like you said, I also am a graphic artist, I'm a choreographer, so I like just art in general.

What do you like about expressing yourself through DJing?

Finding that hit that just moves you. And for me, it's about finding those pieces that are well-produced. What I found is that if you can find a piece that is well-produced, there's no need to do a lot of the extras. I'm just not an echoey kind of person, not that there's anything wrong with that. I totally respect and love all of that work, but I love for the music to speak for itself.

What is Daddy Issues?

Daddy Issues is a queer, non-binary, everyone's invited dance party that my friend Tyler Copeland and Dean Frisby are part of. I think we're heading into our fourth year now of doing these parties around town, and it's been really great to create a space where people can really just be themselves, and that we can actually give them a little bit of what the old-school club scene used to be.

Is that where the idea for Daddy Issues came from? Filling that gap of the old-school while also making it as inclusive and safe a space as possible?

Exactly, Tyler and a friend of his, Peter, were actually the two who started Daddy Issues. I joined on the third party, and that was the thing that Tyler had mentioned to me. He was like, "Man, I just want a night that's just gonna hit all those old-school vibes." And so that's what we've really tried to capture, and what's really wonderful about us three resident DJs, myself, Tyler, and Dean, is that our styles are different, but they marry in such a way that really sort of brings about an exciting and explosive night.

What's been your favorite part about being a part of the Daddy Issues experience?

This is gonna sound nerdy, but I think music people would really get this, is just filling your crate full of stuff. You're on the hunt for that next track, you're like, "Ok let me just go down this rabbit hole and see." And then you find those pieces that really work, and then when they marry together, you're like, "Ok yeah, I'm really into a groove." That's awesome.

Speaking of being on the hunt, what can the Carbon Sound audience expect from this set today?

Female vocals, heavy on that. And then, like I said, just pieces that I think are really well-produced, and that have a really good bump to it, so that hopefully when you're listening to it, you're just like, "Oh man, yes, I'm really into this," and really pay attention to how the songs are produced and the instruments and how things kind of come forward and then are pulled back. So yeah, that's almost always my focus.

Angel Beloved of MPLS HOUSE and Shardae Robinson of Power 104.7 stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about Urban Lights’ DJ Night & Fundraiser, the importance of preserving Black creative spaces, and more.

Sanni Brown

Hey y'all, Carbon Sound Community Voices Interviews. We got some folks in here, and they are in here for a wonderful cause. We have Shardae from Power 104.7 as well as Angel from MPLS HOUSE, and they are here to talk about a fundraiser for Urban Lights, which is a historical community Black-owned record store, and we got a fundraiser going on. So, first of all, thank y'all for coming in, especially on the back of something like this. This is dope, thank you. So we're gonna get right to it. Shardae, tell us about the work that you are doing in the community with Power 104.7.

Shardae

I am the morning host, Monday through Friday, from 8am to 10am at Power 104.7. It's called The Wake Up, so we wake the city up, you know what I'm saying. We give y'all your Minnesota updates, because you know, this is home, so we gotta keep everybody updated with what's going on in our backyard. And then a little bit of Hollywood tea, not too messy, just a little bit. And, of course, U.S. World news, so we are up to date on what's happening in our world. So we're in the community because we're giving back in the best way that we can, at least the best way I can, by keeping our community updated on things that's going on around us. Whether if it's fun, whether if it's political, whether if it's important, we want to make sure that those who don't listen to traditional news on the TV, or whatever, that they can tune in via radio, or even on our website, and get those daily updates. And then we're in the community, we have events that we do in the summer all the time. I'm sure we'll get into it, but yeah, that's how we kind of stay included.

Sanni Brown

Awesome. Angel, run the script. What do you do over at MPLS HOUSE?

Angel

We're a collective, so I have two other colleagues in MPLS HOUSE, so mainly DJ gigs around the Twin Cities, corporate DJing, producing some music. I established it in 2017 with one of my co-partners, and now I'm just the founder and running it just around the Twin Cities. I DJ a lot, and I also work with young people in the community, which is very important. I'm involved in the community, and I'm a youth organizer.

Sanni Brown

I love that. I always talk during the week, and let young people know, hey, these people are living out realities that back in the '90s they said this was impossible. So these are the people that y'all need to be pulling up to and listening to. Let's talk about Urban Lights and why this fundraiser matters. I am a super-duper fan of Urban Lights, you do not have to tell me. I want you to tell the young people who do not know. I love Tim Wilson. I love what he's doing. I am fascinated by all of the Twin Cities music history that he has, but I would like to hear it from y'all in particular. Why is the Urban Lights fundraiser so important?

Shardae

So the whole idea of it came — outside of doing radio, I also do a lot of content curation and curating, and I met Andre at Urban Lights through a mutual friend, and I was just like, "Yo, we should do some kind of like DJ fundraiser to help out Tim and all that he's gotten on, preserving the history of Urban Lights." And Andre was like, "Yeah, let's do it. My people will talk with your people, we'll figure this out." So, just coming together and doing that, and it's important because believe it or not, I actually did not know that Urban Lights had the history that it had. I didn't. I'm gonna be honest. So when I first stepped foot in that place, every day you're hearing a new story about something that has happened in hip-hop history and R&B history, all of that. I just go there and I leave with so much knowledge. So I think it's important because this is one of the few safe places that we have to preserve that history, to hear, like I said, different stories, and to even get a little bit of barbershop talk, which is beautiful. It's beautiful. So I think it's important because we got to keep that history strong, especially in Minnesota.

Sanni Brown

And Tim Wilson is one of the few Black record store owners in the country. So that's why this is extremely important. Ok Angel, let us know on the DJ tip, because I know Tim be having DJs in there.

Angel

Yeah, so this will be my first time DJing there, but I've been going to Urban Lights since the '90s. I went to Central High School, that's where a lot of hip-hop shows were popping off, met a lot of cool artists, emcees, DJs, community members, and just looking at the store, when you walk in, there's this warmth of posters, vinyl, CDs. So it's very important to have these sanctuary spaces for Black and brown folks, and just keeping the culture alive — the realness, the soulfulness. Yeah, it just makes me happy.

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Sanni Brown

What are you hoping to happen on the day of the fundraiser? What are you going to be doing? What is it gonna look like? Can you paint it for us? Or that's exclusive, you can't tell us yet?

Angel

For me, my hour vinyl set, I'm pulling out some funk, I'm pulling out disco records, I'm pulling out some early '90s, 2000s house music, so you're gonna get a little flavor of everything, of the soulful culture. So that's what I'm gonna bring. Some fun, come hang out, buy records, come on, we gotta get some support out there, people, come through.

Sanni Brown

Is there anything else that you feel like needs to be added to that, so we can color it and sprinkle it, and make sure the community's pulling up and showing up?

Shardae

I mean, vibing with the vibe that he brings. Bringing the excitement, making people happy to be there, making sure people know that, hey, we're here to have fun, but we're also here to preserve this history, like you said, fundraising, right? So, whether it's $1 — I don't know exactly how they're setting it up, but whether it's $1 or buying vinyl. We are doing a vinyl giveaway, I don't know which one, but yeah, just coming out to not just enjoy the music, but fellowship. So I'm there to make sure that that's happening.

Sanni Brown

You're gonna be hosting, right? So you're bringing your own set of vibes. What date is this happening? What are the details that we all need to know, so we can come pull up and support?

Shardae

June 12, that's a Friday.

Sanni Brown

If we missed this interview, and somebody was like, "Hey, they got a fundraiser for Tim Wilson and them over at Urban Lights." Where can we find all this information?

Shardae

Social media, Carbon Sound has posted the flyer. We're in collaboration on that flyer, so you can find it on my personal social.

Angel

Yeah, my personal social, @mplshouse, Facebook and Instagram.

Shardae

Oh, I didn't even give mine, @allthings_dae. And then, of course, go to Urban Lights, go to their social, you'll see it plastered all over theirs too.

Sanni Brown

Shardae and Angel Beloved, thank you so much for what you're doing. Thank you for being an inspiration, because the young people got to see y'all doing this. And they're also watching you come together and show support for community, so I just really appreciate what you're doing. It supports what we're doing here at Carbon Sound, so absolutely, we want to support you. Thank you so much for coming in today.

Shardae

Thank you.

Angel

Appreciate you.

papa mbye stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about his newest EP JAAKARLO, the Minnesota music scene, and more.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sanni Brown

Hey y'all, we back at it. It's Carbon Sound Music for Life. We have another guest in here for our Carbon Sound Community Voices. I like it because when I pulled up on him, I was like, "How do I say your name?" He was like, "papa." But before I get to that, he's an artist from Senegal and Gambia, raised in North Minneapolis, and you have a new project called JAAKARLO, and it released on April 24, it's out on all platforms. Carbon Sound Family, welcome, papa mbye. Yay, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome. Okay, so a pitch, I like everybody to do their pitch, and I think it's good because then young people who are listening, you gotta have a pitch. So, for those of us who don't know you, tell us about your background from Senegal. How'd you get here from Senegal? And you were raised in North Minneapolis, and now you got this project, give us the backup.

papa mbye

I was born in Gambia, and my dad won a green card lottery, so we came here with my mom and my big sister and my dad to Memphis when I was two, and then we moved to Minnesota when I was like three or four.

Sanni Brown

Wow, and been here since then. How does your background in Senegal and North Minneapolis, how do those influences come through into your sound and your work?

papa mbye

I feel like, my Senegalese influences come through at first very subconsciously, just because it's the music I listened to when I was a child. The name of the project is JAKAARLO, which is the name of my favorite song from a N'dongo Lo album. N'dongo Lo is one of my favorite Senegalese artists that I listened to when I was a kid, and he made a project called Adouna, which basically means life in Wolof, the tribal language in Senegal and Gambia I speak. And the fifth track, I think, is called “Jakaarlo,” which means 'to be close to,' and the lyrics basically translate there's nothing better than being close to someone, talking, laughing, and dancing. And the whole project is just him giving reverence to the people he loves. So I was really inspired by that.

Sanni Brown

Why is that important to you right now? It's one thing to feel that, but why is that important to communicate that with this EP?

papa mbye

I liked this girl when I started making it. And then we ended up dating, and the relationship ended kind of as soon as the project got finished, but it felt like my first time trying to write love songs, and then it also felt like a time capsule of the relationship, so even though it ended, I feel like I have that moment forever. Which was a more positive outlook at something ending for me.

Sanni Brown

Have you approached your previous projects like that?

papa mbye

All my previous projects have been premonitions for breakups, sadly.

Sanni Brown

Wow, so the previous projects have been premonitions for a breakup, and this most recent one, JAKAARLO, that was about this time.

papa mbye

Yeah, I was making it while it's happening, like while I was courting her, or whatever you want to call it.

Sanni Brown

What was your process of capturing your ideas? Because you're feeling it, but then how are you also creating the art that's expressing it?

papa mbye

At that time, me and my homies, Zak Khan, aka Young Dervish, Ben Farmer, FruitPunchLoverBoy, now Christian Music, and Huhroon, we all had a studio together on North Washington, and I was more intentionally going in during the daytime and just trying to get into that flow of work, really treat like a job, I guess. And I honestly didn't make that many songs for this project. It wasn't like, "Oh, I made 30 songs and I picked six," like I just kept going. The title track “JAKAARLO” on this project, I actually made after like a six month musical hiatus, like two years ago, and I remember I just made it on my computer, and I had like all the vocals are on my phone, and I think that was kind of the genesis for this project, that was kind of my north star. And after that, all the songs kind of just came.

Sanni Brown

I like that you said you treated it like it was a job, because again, if you're having this experience with somebody, and then you're feeling it, you're experiencing it. How do you capture that? Do you feel like you that you successfully captured that moment in time on this project?

papa mbye

I think, yeah. After we broke up, I literally could not listen to the project for like a month.

Sanni Brown

Like, listen back to it?

papa mbye

Yeah, I couldn't.

Sanni Brown

Oh, wow, why? It must have been too real.

papa mbye

Yeah it was way too real. Because I feel like I never meant to have music be my thing, I used to draw first. So that's kind of how North Minneapolis ties into me making music, because I was, and I still am, a visual artist, and I feel like that's what informs my music. I like to make music like how I draw, which is just like starting with a line.

Sanni Brown

That's what I wanted to know, what inspires you to really commit to whatever that moment is? Like what inspires you, and it's your drawing and your visual art.

papa mbye

Yeah, just like a commitment to feeling, and a commitment to relinquishing control.

Sanni Brown

That's scary.

papa mbye

Yeah, it is.

Sanni Brown

It's terrifying.

papa mbye

But it's also therapeutic. I make music because it helps me understand more about myself and the world around me, and I'm lucky that it has become what it has become.

Sanni Brown

That's perfect. So you have been a part of a wave of Twin Cities artists who are building community across music, visual art, fashion, and creative spaces. I've been watching you since I've been at Carbon Sound, and my question to you is, I get on the mic and I'm always talking about why y'all are dope. It's because it's the quality of the work that you guys — and when I say you guys, I mean musicians, the visual quality, the production, the audio production. What does the Minnesota music scene mean to you?

papa mbye

Oh, it means everything to me. It means more than music, it's like family, you know? I feel like, specifically with dudes per se, I feel like there's not a lot of spaces for us to be emotionally vulnerable, and so it's been really cool with me and my friends we're making music, I'm hearing their lyrics, we're singing in front of each other, and that gives us a space to be vulnerable, and it opens us up more. And I feel like that's just better for the world, you know?

Sanni Brown

I like that, y'all creating emotionally intelligent spaces.

papa mbye

We trying to.

Sanni Brown

I'm wondering if that's why the music, and if the things that you're producing is hitting so hard, because it's coming from a real place.

papa mbye

Yeah we're some crybabies, for real.

Sanni Brown

Don't call it that!

papa mbye

It's not a bad thing! I don't think it's bad.

Sanni Brown

I think the use of the term crybaby is bad, but I think it's important that young people see grown men like you, and other men who are — you guys are working together and coming together, and it's healthy, and you're creating art that helps people. My favorite song by you is "Pixel," by the way.

papa mbye

Oh, thank you.

Sanni Brown

So this community that you just talked about, do you feel like it creates the freedom for artists to experiment in ways that maybe you might not see in other cities?

papa mbye

Oh, 100%.

Sanni Brown

How so?

papa mbye

Since we're not a huge industry city, I feel like we're not really tied to a bunch of trends that we feel like we have to do to be seen. I feel like people really just be doing their own thing.

Sanni Brown

And yet it intertwines, though.

papa mbye

It intertwines, yeah. But then it's like, if I go to L.A. or New York or anywhere else, I'm playing music from Minneapolis, the thing I get all the time is like, "Where is this from? How do you guys get these sounds?" And I'm like, "We're doing everything that you don't want us to do." You're like, "Oh, record it this way." I'm like, "No, we finna record it on our phones, then record from our phone to our laptop, and then put it in Ableton, and then just go with it.

Sanni Brown

I love that. I have this invisible puzzle piece to help me understand the Minnesota Music scene, and I like that, everybody is kind of doing their own thing, but it works. It does work, and it does create an original sound. So, how can we keep up with your original sound? How can we follow you, if we want to work with you, if we want to support you, how can we do so?

papa mbye

Well, I be in Uptown, I be walking a lot, so you can see me. But also, you can just follow me on Instagram, papambye_. TikTok, same thing, I think it's the same thing on Twitter, I don't know, but I be around.

Sanni Brown

Well, we'll just start with the IG, you seem the most confident in that.

papa mbye

Yes.

Sanni Brown

We're gonna get back to the music, y'all. Thank you, papa mbye, thank you again for stopping by at Carbon Sound. It's The Message, Carbon Sound, Music for Life.

Chico Chi is a DJ, producer, and proud uncle based in Minnesota and California. His love for music and community runs deep, as seen through his creative projects like Tender Bois Club, Queer and Trans dance parties like Hunnies & Hot Sauce in Oakland, and global music nights like Take Flight in Minnesota. As a DJ, Chico Chi loves facilitating safer, more inclusive spaces where people can dance and lose themselves in the music.

In his mix for Carbon Sound, Chico Chi “Takes Flight” and brings back gifts: Afro House, Kuduro, Baile Funk, R&B, and a whole lot more.

We chatted with Chico Chi about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Who are you?

My name's Chico Chi, I'm a DJ, music producer, uncle, based in the Twin Cities. But I split my time between Minnesota and California.

Is there a ranking of those titles you just gave?

I'm newly an uncle, but I've been DJing for almost eight and a half years. It'll be nine years in the fall.

Where does the name Chico Chi come from?

So it's a culmination of my background, my roots, me as a person, identity. First off, my family, we're Chinese, but my grandparents on both sides of my family immigrated from China to Cuba, and so my folks were both born in Cuba, and so Chico — my aunt has called me Chico, it's just been a little thing. And also I'm trans, and Chico means boy in Spanish and Chi is my last name, so it's just a story within a name.

What got you started DJing?

I started DJing in Oakland, California, I was organizing queer and trans day parties for folks of color, and I was organizing with other DJs. I was just watching them do their thing, and I was like, "Oh, I can do that," and I definitely was a Napster kid growing up, so I had already just a hard drive full of music, and so once I got my hand on a controller, I was like, "Alright, here we go," and it kind of just snowballed from there.

What have you observed about the two different scenes, splitting your time between California and Minnesota?

To put it bluntly, they're just different. The crowds are different. When I play around Minneapolis and around the Twin Cities, I definitely try to throw in some Bay Area music, and it goes off and it's fun. Yeah, they're just different crowds. It's been a challenge, I'm not gonna lie, trying to figure out what the crowd's like here, and also just trying to throw in new music and test the crowd too, and see if I can get by with showing off new music and something that they're maybe familiar with, but with a twist. I like to push the crowd sometimes.

Do you ever throw in Minnesota music to the Bay Area?

Yeah, of course. Definitely. I'm definitely trying to play Prince out on the West Coast when I can and whatnot.

What would you say is the most gratifying part of DJing to you?

Oh man, so many things. I just love seeing people dance and let go, and just are fully in their body and having a good time. The world's a lot right now, and I definitely grew up going to the clubs as a young one, and the dance floor definitely saved my life, and so I know that music and the energy that surrounds it, I love being able to facilitate that and to create that vibe. And just seeing people really lose themselves in the music or just hearing people yelling when their song comes on, I love that.

Speaking of facilitation, you mentioned your start was facilitating events for the queer and trans community. Why is that important to you?

For many reasons. Especially right now, there's a lot of anti-trans legislation, it's getting worse and worse, to be quite frank, and these spaces are necessary. I believe that safe spaces aren't a thing, but we can create a safer space and try to figure out what that looks like, and I think that queer and trans folks, especially folks of color, need that. It's just important to feel safe, to be able to let loose and have fun and feel safe in our bodies, and sometimes that means that we create those spaces for us.

What can you tell me about Take Flight, Tender Bois Club, and Hunnies & Hot Sauce?

So Hunnies & Hot Sauce was the QTPOC day party that I was organizing and a resident DJ for in Oakland. And Tender Bois Club is a creative and music production house that I co-founded with my friend Wazi Maret. So, we started in Oakland, and now we're just all over. He's based in the East Coast, in New York City, New Jersey area, and I'm in the Midwest and California. We both DJ, sometimes we DJ together, sometimes we DJ separate, and we also produce Music, and he's a singer-songwriter as well. Take Flight is the baby of Talia Knight and I. It's a Twin Cities global music party we were doing over at the Red Sea the last year and a half, two years. It's a global music party where there's just literally no bounds to what we play, and so my set today is kind of a little taste of that, lots of global music.

You also just performed with Talia Knight at May Day. How was that?

Yeah, that was amazing. It was my first time DJing at May Day. I had been once prior, and I knew it was a very big and well-attended event, and this year it felt even bigger. We opened up the People's Stage, and that was really fun. My parents came through and got to play a lot of music for them, music that they enjoy. It was fun.

You mentioned global sounds today. Anything else you can tell the Carbon Sound audience about your set today?

My set also includes a couple original edits that I made. Yeah, we're going around the world, lot of Afrobeats in there, some Afro House, Amapiano, Kuduro, Baile Funk, a lot of Baile Funk. And then some R&B, R&B remixes, music that you are all probably familiar with.

James “Midwest James” Gavins stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about youth arts education through his work at Juxtaposition Arts, his music career as Midwest James, and more.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sanni Brown

Carbon Sound Community Voices. We are in with another voice. We have interdisciplinary artist, educator, leader, and director of programs at Juxtaposition [Arts]. We have James Gavins, also known as Midwest James. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Nice to meet you.

James Gavins

Nice to meet you as well.

Sanni Brown

Ok so first of all, before we get into what you do, tell us about who Midwest James is.

James Gavins

I've gone by a few names in the past, but I've also done a lot of moving around, and I pretty much stayed in the Midwest, so it got to a point where I was just like, "Imma just call myself Midwest James." Because I've lived here, I lived in Chicago —

Sanni Brown

You've moved that much? To where you're like, "Just call me this region."

James Gavins

And you know what, I've also left and worked on cruise ships, and moved to Atlanta, I've been to like all over the country, and I've realized that the Midwest is for me. I used to think, like, "Oh, I need to go there, I need to go to L.A.," but then the Midwest is just so my speed. So that's really where the name — just me kind of honing in on the fact that this is home to me, no matter where it is in this region, it feels like home.

Sanni Brown

I like that you said that, because there is sort of a push of, "If you want to make it in anything entertainment, you gotta go to the coasts, you gotta go to the east or the west coast. So I do appreciate that when people are like, "Nah, this coast is good for here, for me."

James Gavins

You got the internet, social media, most of them people leaving L.A. and moving to Texas, you know?

Sanni Brown

So you work at, and I'm new to this organization as well, Juxtaposition Arts. What is the work that you do over there? Because if I'm reading right, what y'all do is dope, you work with teens, you have spaces for them to learn, and then I read that you guys take the process of going from idea to actual prototype, and you guys are bringing that to the young kids, because that's what you basically need in life. So tell me about what you do over there.

James Gavins

I'm the director of programs at Juxtaposition Arts. I'm also an alum. I lived here for about three years, I went to North High School, somebody put me on a JXTA, and I was going to JXTA pretty much every day, every day that I could. I've done a lot of work in nonprofit leadership, and the call came for me to come up here and do what I do as a director of programs. JXTA is actually like way more than just a youth program; it's like an art and design hub. It's workforce development. We do apprenticeships where young adults and emerging artists, they come and work within our design labs, environmental design, graphic design, contemporary design, and they're able to get paid and also get a lot of experience. If you think about a person who's gone to JXTA, they've designed a mural that's in the city, they've designed seating or a bench that's in a building, they’ve designed structures, they've designed pocket parks. It's a lot of really great work, and there's a lot of alumni that's out in the world doing some amazing things, going to prestigious art schools, getting scholarships. And it's a really, really great place. So I'm honored to come back and serve, especially in a leadership capacity as far as programming is concerned, so yeah, JXTA is amazing.

Sanni Brown

So I'm a young person around the way, and I want to know more about this art world than I'm hearing people talking about. How would you pitch? Because you made it sound really big, and it might sound intimidating for young folks. So how would you pitch that to me? Like, "Hey, we cover that."

James Gavins

Oh yeah, and I mean, JXTA’s been around for 30 years, you know what I mean?

Sanni Brown

That's why y'all out here stomping with the big dogs.

James Gavins

Shout out to Roger Cummings and DeAnna Cummings. Yeah, JXTA’s been around for a while. I would tell them, like, hey, if you actually want to be trained and also led to a pipeline that could lead to a creative career, this is what you do. First off, you sign up for VALT, which is our visual arts literacy training. It's a free program, college-level drawing course, take it from 12 to 21. And then once you do that, you take that class, you build a portfolio. Then, at a point within that session, they interview with the labs, and you take that portfolio to the labs, and then by the end of that session, they make a choice of who they're want to hire as an apprentice, a paid apprentice, within that lab.

Sanni Brown

So you guys are putting the artists in front of the people who are booking them, or who need their work.

James Gavins

Oh yeah, and JXTA does a lot of in-house projects, but also a lot of client work outside, so it's like they're getting the real experience of doing this work, and they're getting their reps in. And it's invaluable, the amount of mentorship, and also just learning and skill building that's happening if you're there from 14, because you have to be 14 to be an apprentice. So if you're there from 14 to where you graduate, your resume looks insane, like your portfolio looks crazy. It's like "You built what? You did what? And you researched that and did what?"

Sanni Brown

And you take young people as young as 12, so the 12-year-olds got something to look up to when they turn 14. I love that.

James Gavins

We have a summer program called Free Wall, which is like our aerosol arts graffiti program. It's two weeks at a time, and there's about five of them running programmatically during the summer.

Sanni Brown

How do you even pull off something like that? I've just always seen aerosol as something illegal.

James Gavins

And it's more than that, right? It's not like a place where we have our artists spraying on the building, it's not that kind of thing. It's programmatic, it's constructive.

Sanni Brown

The work that you personally do at Juxtaposition, does that affect any of the work that you personally do as Midwest James?

James Gavins

You know, it's really interesting. I was on Facebook, and I got a flashback from like 11 years ago. And I was basically saying that I wanted to get into youth arts education because I want youth to feel as free as I do to do and make whatever they want, and that was such a crazy thing to hear young me say, because it's what I've been doing pretty much most of my career, no matter where I've been, is letting people know that their dreams are tangible, and I think even when I used to go to JXTA, you know, to see artists, they've built their own careers, like they have nice cars, they look nice, they dress nice. It's not this whole starving artist thing. Like, there is a way you can build a career in what you enjoy. And I learned that before I graduated, before I graduated high school, was like, this is real, it's not just a lucky thing, like, no, there's a process to how you can make this work, and there's so many different avenues. Because you could be the artist, you could be the artist administrator, you could be the facilitator, you could be the person that funds the arts, you can be the person that gives away the grants for artists. There's so many different vantage points.

Sanni Brown

Wow, that's so valuable what you're doing. I say this frequently on this stream that our Carbon Sound Community Voices are just people who are courageous enough to chase their dreams. I think when we think of dreams as this like, cloudy thing that's gonna happen off in the future, versus you can strategize and set this up, and then you putting it in a space like art, that's insane. Because a lot of us may still be dealing with the generation who said you can't do art as a career, and you guys are laying it out in front of the young folks. Do you have any events that are coming up, any projects we need to be watching? The young folks need to keep their eyeball on?

James Gavins

I would say follow juxta_arts on Instagram. This is probably gonna be out afterwards, but we're actually creating some adult engagements. We have an event called VALT for Adults, which is basically that drawing level course, but for 21 plus. It's on May 15.

Sanni Brown

I know some people that been wanting to get into drawing, and they feel like it's too late.

James Gavins

It's never too late. So we're jumping into creating some more engagements and furthering the reach. When it comes to the summer, summers get packed. So if anybody's looking to sign up for VALT at JXTA or looking to join any program in the summer, I believe there's some spaces left for the two-week sessions, but summer's packed, it gets busy. But always, you know, if people are looking to sign up for fall, fall is a good time to sign up too, it's never too late.

Sanni Brown

And the site for us to learn about Juxtaposition?

James Gavins

juxtapositionarts.org

Sanni Brown

And then before we go, you dropped music, you gotta project ILK, can you talk about it? Because I don't wanna miss out on that.

James Gavins

So ILK is the third project I've dropped since I moved here. I moved here like a year and a half ago. But I was already tapped in, I went to high school with L.A. Buckner, that's my guy. So when I moved here, most of the people on the album I knew already, I went to church with Jackson Hurst. I know Maya [Marchelle] because of L.A. —

Sanni Brown

Three projects and you just got here?

James Gavins

Oh yeah, I dropped, I got a project called Dante's Inertia, produced by hvlf, also somebody I went to high school with here. That was kind of like my intro to the city. And people just kind of know my writing style, how I get down. And then worked with hvlf again about, I want to say, like six months ago, and made READY UP. READY UP was more of like, "Ok, I can also make commercial stuff too, like I could do that too." And then I just recently linked up with Bushido.chop, and we created ILK, and ILK is kind of me standing in what I believe about myself, what I believe about the level of work that I do.

Sanni Brown

How can we keep up with Midwest James, the music that you're doing, the work that you're doing? Because you're a dream chaser, and I talk about dream chasers. How can the young future dream chasers keep up with Midwest James?

James Gavins

Just follow me @midwestjames on Instagram. Also, I co-host L.A.'s Monday Night at Icehouse every Monday night. Really great live music, plus jam session. I'll probably be there on the mic, so every Monday night at Icehouse, seven to around 11, slide through. It's a great time. Me and L.A. are also doing a residency, a two-day residency at Berlin, One-Man Shows & Immaculate Flows. So I directed a one-man show on him called Things You Can't See, and I'm doing my one-man show, Cicada. And then we're gonna end it with some music, so that's May 27th and 28th at Berlin, so tap into that. Very limited seating, make sure to get some seats. That's how you can get in touch with me now. Music's out on all DSPs. ILK is out.

Sanni Brown

Thank you for stopping in and chatting with us. And yeah, we'll holla at you on the flip side for that directorial. Alright, Carbon Sound, we got to get back to Music class. It's The Message, Carbon Sound, Music for Life. Peace.

Rah Fyah stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about the Minnesota Hip-Hop Street dance community, building experiences like the SOTA Movement, and more.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sanni Brown

Carbon Sound Community Voices interview, I kind of feel like I get to brag today, because I know you, so this is kind of cool, but Carbon Sound family, Maia Maiden — well I know as Rah Fyah, is a South Minneapolis native who has been a leader in the dance community for over 20 years, representing Hip-Hop culture. Background includes being a dancer and a choreographer. Carbon Sound family, welcome Maia Maiden, who I know, who we all probably affectionately know as Rah Fyah.

Rah Fyah

Thanks for having me. I'm so glad to be here. Good to see you, live in person. It's been a minute, right? But we go way back, so it's ok.

Sanni Brown

It's so dope to watch you become, and I'm really glad that we have this platform here, but I don't want to be selfish and act like this conversation between me and you. So introduce yourself to people who may not know you.

Rah Fyah

Absolutely, absolutely. Hey, what's up? My name is Maia Maiden, but you can and should call me Rah Fyah. I've been in the dance community scene for a long, long time, over 20 years, and just been doing the things and doing them well, and I'm still here doing the things and doing them well. And I'm so excited to talk to you today about our illustrious, fantastic Hip-Hop Street dance community, because we make the thing rock, and I'm super proud of us.

Sanni Brown

Who inspires you?

Rah Fyah

I get a lot of inspiration from my elders, people that poured into me when I was younger, Patricia Brown, Cheles Rhynes, Gesel Mason, Roxanne Wallace, Morris Johnson, those types of folks who were around in the beginning, because I've been doing this since I was in high school. When I say doing this, I mean creating platforms to elevate folks and styles that are underappreciated. So when we talk about the longevity of somebody or something, mine really stems back for creating spaces since high school. But I was a dancer, and dancing since I was young. I am Hip-Hop. I didn't grow into this, I grew up in this. So this means no dance studio Hip-Hop. This means we were dancing in the streets, in the clubs, and battle each other in schools. That's the Hip-Hop that I came from. Affectionately, my era is Golden Era Hip-Hop. So whenever I introduce myself, I say, "My name is Rah Fyah, and I come from Golden Era Hip-Hop." Because that is important to me.

Sanni Brown

I see now, I see Hip-Hop dancing all over the place, and there wasn't spaces like that. It was in the street. It was at the park up the street. Maybe the rec center if the rec center was cool like that.

Rah Fyah

Right, mostly cheerleading, though. We can get into that.

Sanni Brown

So those experiences is what inspired you for the SOTA Movement. Does that stand for anything?

Rah Fyah

Absolutely. We're in the SOTA, Minnesota. The SOTA Movement is something that I'm super proud of and super excited to talk to you about today.

Sanni Brown

Well, how did the vision get started? Tell us about the SOTA.

Rah Fyah

Imma tell y'all a little story. I like to tell stories. So basically, I have been doing ROOTED: Hip-Hop Choreographers Evening, where we highlight all the styles under the Hip-Hop umbrella, as I say, and the roots. And there was, at the time, this battle called Uprizing. We have an illustrious, fantastic, nationally and internationally renowned Krump community here. The Krumpers man, they have taken over, and they are fantastic. So the Uprizing is created by Ololade Gbadamosi, who is known as “Gambit,” and Herb Johnson, aka "Fair Warning." So they created the Uprizing. And I know them, of course, we've been interacting. I've known them for years. They've both been in ROOTED several times. They were in some other shows of mine, Sistah Solo | Being Brothas, all that kind of stuff. So they weren't gonna do it anymore, Uprizing, which is this Krump battle created by two Black men, and I said, "Oh no." So we had a meeting one day, I said, "Guess what we're gonna do?" And they're like, "What?" And said, "I need y'all to come on board and bring back Uprizing." Because they had decided either to put it on pause in perpetuity, or not do it anymore. But I felt that it was so important to our dance community. And in terms of dance community, I'm talking about Minnesota, nationally, internationally, like, this thing keeps going. So I was like, "And I will pay for everything. Because this is important." So we started off the first SOTA Movement, the prequel, it was just the SOTA Movement and IE ROOTED and Uprizing together. I should specify, these are really two separate events under one umbrella. Because we're not in competition with each other either. So we did it one time, that was in 2021, and the krumpers came down, and we had a fantastic time. It was all outside. ROOTED actually was at Park Square Theatre at that time with no audience, because we couldn't have an audience, it was during COVID and things like that. So ROOTED really was supposed to be in 2020. 2020 my mom passed away, and COVID hit, so there was no ROOTED in 2020, so we transitioned to 2021. We did ROOTED online for the first time ever, because this is a live event, live show, and streamed it to like over four or 500 households. And then we had Uprizing, which they did their thing outside. But one of the best parts of that whole experience is that we went to George Floyd Square, and they had a session there, and we started the session with Tamiko French. Tamiko French is a phenomenal dance instructor that has worked in several Minneapolis Public Schools, such as North High School, such as Southwest High School, and she's also a sound bath artist. So we opened the space up with the sound bath. And I said, "Yo, Tamiko, I need you to come through here, because this is about to be a powerful session." Because, again, this is the next year after George Floyd died, and the krumpers came out. And again, they had came out from all parts of the nation to come to this event. So they came out, and it was just such a powerful session, as they call it.

Sanni Brown

I was wondering, because you keep saying session.

Rah Fyah

It's a lab or a session in Krump language. That means they get together and they dance against each other, and they uplift each other. That's what a session or a lab is. I'm not a krumper, they won't accept me. They refuse to train me. That's okay, I still got love for them. I still work with them all the time. Imma stay in my lane. I'm over 40, and so some things you just gotta know. But the krumpers came, and it was such a beautiful experience for all the participants of ROOTED and Uprizing. So from then on, I transitioned it to the SOTA Movement: Minnesota Street Dance Festival. So again, that was the prequel to see if we this could work. Like, "Let's just try this one time. We don't have to do anything beyond this." But again, then it has elevated or grown to the SOTA Movement: Minnesota's Street Dance Festival. And again, we are highlighting all types of Street. We are not dancing in the street per se, but Street dance is a lot of art forms. It's Krump, it's Hip-Hop, it's House, it could be anything, any style created in the street. We all know, or we should know, that Hip-Hop first and foremost, created by Black people, elevated and architected by Black and brown people, but it was called Street dance. So when we're talking about Street, everything that I say has meaning or a connection to something. So Street dance, that's what Hip-Hop was known as, before we had a name to it. And it was in the street. It supposedly started at a house party. We always haven't been on the stage. We were in house parties doing this before it got any names or classifications. So now we incorporate all different types of street styles, including street styles, not only in Minnesota, but nationally and internationally. So it's really been fun.

Sanni Brown

That sounds so exciting. So what can we specifically expect from y'all? Because you done got me all hype.

Rah Fyah

You can expect a fantastic time. The first thing we rock out with the SOTA Movement is something called The Gathering, where we come together and we gather in the name of Street dance and just elevation and just getting together. So the first time we did The Gathering, we had the almighty, who has just been named a McKnight Fellow, Tish Jones, we had TruArtSpeaks in the building. And we had just a lovely, lovely time. And she cultivated a space, and we were there. The second time we had, The Gathering was focused on uplifting women in Hip-Hop and all the generations and all the styles. So that was fun. And now this third time, when we come back, I'm gonna tell y'all a secret. This is breaking news. For 2027, don't call me about this this year, we talking about 2027 because that's when the next one is. We are focused on the Golden Era of Hip-Hop, so we gonna have some surprises in there. But if you are Golden Era Hip-Hop, everybody's influenced by Golden Era Hip-Hop. So y'all all should be there for the elevation and celebration and honoring of Golden Era Hip-Hop. So that's the vibe for the SOTA Movement 2027 in June. So mark your calendar now. We sell out all shows. When I tell you this, I kid you not. This is something that some people say, but we actually do it. We have sold out every single show, every single time for the past 16 years. Every single show, every single time for the past 16 years. So let that resonate in your spirit. Big up Herb and O, big up my squad, Karina and Ashuna. And big up DJ Digie, because he is in the space too, and he is part of the SOTA Movement, and is the DJ for ROOTED, and is the DJ for Uprizing, and just an all around fantastic artist, DJ, and nationally known photographer.

Sanni Brown

So how do we keep up with all that? Because you talking about stop playing with the sold-out show. So how do we follow and keep up with that?

Rah Fyah

So you can go to two websites. You can go to my website Maia Maiden Productions. We are a performing arts presenter. You can go to maiamaiden.com, or you can go to sotamove.com. So either one of those websites will keep you informed about when the next SOTA Movement is going to hit, and you do not want to miss it, and you gonna see us all over the place. You heard it here at Carbon Sound first in 2026, that this is coming in 2027 and we play no games, and we're super excited to welcome everybody.

Sanni Brown

Thank you, Maia Maiden. Thank you, Rah Fyah.

Rah Fyah

Thank you for having me.

DJ Fawzi is a Somali DJ, musician, and radio host at KFAI. If you ask her, she says music has energy, and she wants to use that energy to heal herself and those around her. As someone in recovery, she expressed her desire to provide a healing presence through music and to show that those in recovery are strong and perseverant.

In her mix for Carbon Sound, DJ Fawzi provides some healing through music from Somalia and all over the globe.

We chatted with DJ Fawzi about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Who are you?

I go by the name of DJ Fawzi. I'm well known as the first international Somali female DJ, and I started in 2016.

You're also a rapper and producer, right?

Yes, I am. You know, when I started DJing, I didn't know I could rap. I didn't even know I could write music. But when I started falling in love with music, I started writing. And I started that in my recovery process. So I feel like being in recovery, somebody who's in recovery myself from alcoholism, that's where my music started more.

You said you started writing more during recovery, but where does your musical journey begin? When did you know you had that love for music?

When I was five years of age, and I was in a village, because I heard 2Pac's voice when I was very young. And when I was very young also, there was Japanese people that I used to go to all-girls school in Garissa, Kenya. I used to be in all girls-school, and people were from Japan, they used to play piano. And they wanted to do "Jambo Bwana," so they wanted to have girls who can play piano. At that time, I was taken away from my mom at a very young age, and I was in pain. I was abused from a very young age, so at that time, I didn't know how music affected me. So the principal told me this, "There's girl that doesn't want to go home, she's in the corner. Can you go talk to her?" And they gave me the piano, and I played it fast ("Jambo Bwana"). That's when they fell in love with me. They say, "You are the chosen one." So I started playing piano at a very young age.

Are you still playing piano now?

Yes, I still have a piano in my car.

What's the connection between music and healing to you?

I feel like when it comes to music, I will say one thing: music has energy. The energy is up to you. It's up to the artists who bring it forth. The music can heal, the music can destroy. It is your choice as an artist. Me, I'm a healer. I'm coming from a lot of pain, so I want to heal people. So I want to use music as a healing process. That's all.

Do you do that through your radio show at KFAI?

Absolutely. So KFAI every Sunday, I call it "Healing In The Mix." So my music is called Healing In The Mix when it comes to KFAI Radio. And I'm also dropping an album called Sounds of Recovery, because I'm somebody in recovery, and I'm writing music. All the time I talk about recovery.

Why is that so important to you?

Because people in recovery, we get judged, we get shamed, we get blamed. Families cut us off. Community shames us, everybody shames us. Even me as an artist, people tell me "You're an addict, you're ashamed" and everything. But I want to show people, as an artist, people who are in recovery are the most powerful people. You know why? Because we're facing ourselves throughout the day. You know why? Because I'm fighting myself 24 hours, everything can be triggering. If somebody hurt me today, I can trigger, and I can go back to drinking. I could do a lot of things, but I'm working on myself, and music is healing me. That's why.

What would you say is the most gratifying part of you being a DJ?

When I started as a DJ as a Somali woman, I was shamed. Now I'm a rapper; I'm still shamed. Because, number one, I'm a Somali female DJ, I'm a Muslim, I'm a single mother, I'm Black, and all the odds are against me, even in the music industry, males are dominated. Women are still fighting today, even if they are not Somali. We are still fighting as women in the music industry. But I want to tell them: women are powerful. People in recovery are more powerful. Because people in recovery are the most powerful because we're facing ourselves. Even today, I'm facing myself. I was nervous coming here. I was shaking coming over here, but I kept telling myself, "Healing is possible. Recovery is possible. Through God, anything is possible."

What can the Carbon Sound audience expect from your DJ set today?

I call myself the first international Somali female DJ, but I wanted to watch one word: International. That means I could play all types of music around the world. When I say Somali, because I always support Somali music first, when I say International, I could play Jamaica, Nigeria, Liberia, America, everywhere. Take me everywhere. I'm a musician. As an artist, I should play all types of music. And I should rap, and I should produce.

Anything else we missed? Anything else you want to share?

I just want to say shout out to Carbon Sound for having me here. Thank you guys. I bless you guys. We're gonna bless today. I go by the name DJ Fawzi, the first international Somali female DJ. I'm here with Carbon Sound, and today you're gonna hear Somali music and all good music.

Maija García stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about all things The Capri: a historic cultural arts center and vibrant community hub in North Minneapolis.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sanni Brown

Carbon Sound Community Voices, I am so excited. Carbon Sound family, in studio, we have a visionary artist. I mean, this lady got a resume, I know I got a little, you know, a little list to go by. She's recognized for her dynamic work across theater, film and television, music, dance and live installations. The Capri is a historic and beloved theater located in the North Minneapolis Community and situated on the popular West Broadway Street. And Maija García is going to come in and talk to us about all the work, or at least her most recent projects, because you got a lot of stuff going on. So Maija García, welcome to Carbon Sound studios, yay!

Maija García

Thank you so much. It's good to be here.

Sanni Brown

Thank you. Okay, so just real quick, can you familiarize us with the Capri and its role in North Minneapolis?

Maija García

Come on through. So like you said, it's right on West Broadway in the West Broadway corridor, and the Capri is about to celebrate 100 years in 2027. Which also happens to be our address, 2027 West Broadway, which I found wildly beautiful.

Sanni Brown

I don't ignore stuff like that at all.

Maija García

So the Capri is an historic space. It's an historic theater that has stood the test of time. It is the last of 13 theaters in the Northside. So there used to be 13 theaters in North Minneapolis, and now there's one. So we really hold an important space in our community. And in the last five years, the Capri was renovated and expanded. So it's a 250-seat house, which, you know, we present film, music, theater, dance, community convenings, panels, forums, all of the above, and now we have an open space with a black box theater. We can hold conferences, we can hold parties, we can do performance spaces in our black box. But we also have a Best Buy Teen Tech Center, so free for teens to come and interact with all kinds of technology, film, music. We have a podcast studio, recording studio, a film and TV studio. They can do 3D printing, they can do editing, etc. And then we also have classrooms and a rehearsal studio. So everything is possible at the Capri, and we serve people across the life cycle: youth, adults, elders, families. I just like to say, when people come to the Capri they get lit up, and they connect and they convene.

The Capri renovations

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Sanni Brown

My next question was gonna be, what makes the Capri unique from other theater spaces, but I feel like you already said. Could you be specific? Because I grew up in theater, so just hearing that you can do all that at the theater is crazy to me, but for people who may not know, they may have a young ear, they may not know what to expect from theaters. What would make Capri different from regular theater spaces?

Maija García

For a couple of reasons, I think we're distinct. One is that we are intergenerational. We serve youth, we have youth development programs for middle school and high school students. But then we also have apprenticeship programs for young professionals to learn all areas of production, sound, lighting, projection. And then we have programs for adults, like our Capri Glee, which is 100-person choir led by J.D. Steele. We also have the MacPhail Community Youth Choir, also led by J.D. Steele. We have a big band, a Capri big band, where musicians come to practice big band jazz. So we really have an intergenerational community. We have a multicultural community. It is a space that centers Black life and Black culture, and everyone is welcome. And it's also an interdisciplinary space. And so musicians know the Capri, and it's really a gateway for a lot of, especially Black musicians in the Twin Cities. You know, you better come through the Capri at least once, it's kind of a gateway for a lot of early careers. But we also celebrate musicians at the height of their careers, and celebrate musicians who have made an impact in the Twin Cities and across the globe. But we also present theater. We present film. We have a partnership with the Minneapolis Film Society, and so we present first Thursday films, the popcorn is popping. And then after the show, after the film, we have a community conversation. And that's really something that we thread throughout our programming, is that we're really about creating inspiring experiences for folks, but then also giving people a chance to talk, to connect.

Sanni Brown

That's awesome. I grew up in the theater, and I felt like the theater was just where you go to see performances, versus it sounds like, yes, you can come see performances, but you could also come here to learn. You can also come here to study. You can also come here to network.

Maija García

That's right, and finally, we're also a production house, so a lot of organizations and advocacy groups, they book our space to do their own thing. So we kind of lean in, and meet people where they are and bring our creative services, if you will, to whatever your vision is. You want to have a fundraiser — you want to do a Carbon Sound fundraiser, any number of events, educational events, networking events, marketplace events. We can do it all. We have a beautiful lobby space. We have a gorgeous art gallery, so we're also supporting visual artists as well.

Sanni Brown

I see why you've been open for 100 years. I mean, it sounds like you're really understanding the theater needs, not just performance, but also, we can also help you learn about the theater world. The Capri often pairs film centering Black stories and history with community conversation, like you just said, why is that important to have the conversation piece versus just going in there, seeing the show and going about your business?

Maija García

Yeah, it's such a great question. You know, when any of us have an experience where we're inside of a theater, we see a film, so much gets lifted within us, right? It's almost like our cells start to regenerate more quickly, you know, like we become more alive. That's what art does for us. We become more alive, as we were saying, we become more present, and then we become more available to one another. And so to engage in conversation, a community conversation, a dialog, to ask big questions, to dig in, to disagree. This is the practice of democracy in action, as far as I'm concerned. It's a civic engagement, but it's also an opportunity for people to really voice their opinions and their real feelings, their responses to what they're seeing on stage or on screen, and it's enlightening because it allows people to amplify their worldview by hearing the voices and the opinions of others, and it creates connections in our community that I think are so vital. We need to know one another, even if we don't know each other's names, our hearts have beat at the same pace next to one another in a theater, and when we see each other on the street, we nod, we smile, we connect, right? So that's just how we, I think, how we weave and embed culture in our community.

Sanni Brown

How does that help, in terms of feedback for the people who are putting on the programs, or the people who are the actors, everybody that's behind the curtain, how does the conversations help you guys?

Maija García

You know, when I first started out, I started this organization called Organic Magnetics. I named it Organic Magnetics because I see art as a natural way that we bring people together. And I had this big vision, "Oh, we're going to create transformative experiences for audiences." And after about five years, I had an epiphany, and I realized the transformation is happening among those involved in the art making, more than anything.

Sanni Brown

I think that's so hard to grasp, because I think we go into it like, I'm gonna help everybody, and then you find out, you get help.

Maija García

It's like being the change we want to see in the world, right? And the beautiful thing about theater, or any sort of collaborative endeavor, creative endeavor, is that collaboration is at the heart of it. And that transformative experience for everybody involved is the gift that you give, that you offer your audience, and they get a taste of it, but we are getting the real meal when we engage in creative endeavor. To answer your question, we want to fly the doors open for people to get more involved behind the scenes, right? Whether that's an apprentice getting involved in the tech booth, learning how to run a light board or a sound board, building real skills that they can bring into any corporate world. You know, production skills are life skills and transferable skills, but also just to have the experience of building something greater than yourself, right? Building something you couldn't do on your own, and you learn how to do it with other people. And anybody can learn that at any stage of life, right? So we like to fly the doors open and say, "Come create with us. Co-create with us."

Sanni Brown

I like that playfulness. There's a playfulness to it. How can we engage in the play? How can we support? How can we, well, number one, find out more about The Capri? Because somebody might just be listening and be like, "I wanna play too!" And then, how can we support?

Maija García

Well, I would say, first things first, just come by. You know, check out our calendar, thecapri.org. We have all kinds of events happening all the time. And so, you know, tap in. There are free events, there are really low cost events. We don't turn anybody away. So come tap in and check it out if you haven't been to the Capri or you haven't been in a while, if you haven't seen it since the renovation, you're definitely gonna wanna check out our gallery and our black box. And then if you sign up on our newsletter, you'll get regular updates. We promise not to blast you too often, but, you know, get involved, also. There are a lot of opportunities to volunteer, there's a lot of opportunities to sort of dig in on some community forums. We have a lot of town halls. Al McFarlane from Insight News hosts regular town halls about sort of the economic resurgence and renaissance in North Minneapolis. So there's a lot of beautiful things happening. Northside Forward, you know, African American Leadership Forum, there's a lot of organizations that are working concurrently to build North Minneapolis' wealth and well-being.

Sanni Brown

Website or any socials that we need to know about?

Maija García

Everything is @thecapri. @thecaprinorthmpls on Instagram. But if you check out our website, www.thecapri.org, you can find everything from there. Also, if you're interested in booking a space or rehearsal —

Sanni Brown

Dream chasers, I be telling you, there's opportunity sitting right in your face, right up the street, around the way.

Maija García

We got you!

Sanni Brown

thecapri.org. Thank you. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Maija García

Y'all rock.

Terresa Hardaway stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about building community through Black Garnet Books, the importance of Black and brown storytelling, and more.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sanni Brown

Carbon Sound family, we are in with another interview. I'm so excited to meet people from the community. It's the little girl in me. It's just so cool. But in studio, we have an abolitionist — it's so crazy how you look, because I feel like your reputation, I would be terrified to meet you because you look like you about that business. Abolitionist, design researcher, author, anti-racist facilitator, creative director, organizer, educator, and more. She's dedicated to the liberation, and I like liberation, of Black and brown people through art and design, from Black Garnet Books, Terresa Hardaway, welcome, welcome, welcome, yay!

Terresa Hardaway

Thank you so much for having me.

Sanni Brown

You look like you about that business on paper, baby.

Terresa Hardaway

I am, I am about that business. I am about that in person, if I need to be.

Sanni Brown

I gathered that, but you so pretty, so it's off-putting. So for people who may not be familiar, what is Black Garnet Books, and how would you describe it?

Terresa Hardaway

Black Garnet Books is a bookstore. We are a bookstore that I would describe as a place of imagination, creativity, abolition, a place where Black and brown people are centered, queer folks are centered, and it becomes this third space that people can really see themselves on the shelves.

Sanni Brown

Was that intentional? That it be a third space?

Terresa Hardaway

I don't know if it was intentional, necessarily, you know, it was founded by a completely different person. And so when I acquired it, I have always created like these organizing spaces that do become third spaces, where people are coming there to build community, build friendships, build relationships. And so for me, naturally, Black Garnet Books becomes a third space.

Sanni Brown

I like that. No, because I hear about adults needing a third space, shout out to y'all for that.

Terresa Hardaway

Thank you.

Sanni Brown

What inspired the creation of Black Garnet Books, and why was it important to build a space like this one?

Terresa Hardaway

So this space was started by a dear friend and fellow community organizer, Dionne Sims in 2020. She saw a need, she saw that the community needed to fight back and be able to expand and uplift the narratives of Black and brown people, especially during that time. And so she saw that need, and that's why it was created. And then when I acquired it in 2024, I continued on with that same mission, we have, I think, the same vision for what we'd see that bookstore being in community. It's to disrupt anti-blackness, it's to disrupt the racism that is prevalent in our publishing and book industries. It is for us to be able to bring folks together and hear new authors, hear folks who are speaking about our stories and telling the counter-story, frankly.

Sanni Brown

I like that. That sounds like storytelling, and when I was in school, I learned how important storytelling is to the human experience. So right now, we in a moment where people feeling overwhelmed and restless and angry. What role do you feel like storytelling and literature play in helping people to stay grounded during this time?

Terresa Hardaway

Oh, wow. Well, as an educator as well, I think it is super important for us to be able to talk about our stories, or talk about the narratives I think that especially underrepresented. When I was thinking about this question, I was thinking about this in the framing of like past, present, future. And so storytelling plays a role in those three areas. We have to understand the past, right? We have to understand the counter-histories that aren't being told so that we can understand what's happening today. So in order for us to get from that past piece, we have to then see authors who are talking about the real systemic oppression that is happening in this moment, and be able to help us define that and put words to it. Because when we begin to understand it, we can start to call it out, and we can start to actively move forward in changing that present-day reality. And then we move into future, I just think about the imaginations of Black and brown people and how we are constantly holding on to hope. We have to, in order for us to even be in this — to live a life —

Sanni Brown

Exist.

Terresa Hardaway

Exist, you know, we have to hold on to that hope and that future piece. And so when I think about the future with regard to storytelling, I think about all the authors who are giving us abolitionist futures, who are giving us what collective liberation could look like, who are giving us ways to build relationship and overcome all of these things. And so I think about storytelling in that way, that past, that present, that future being really highlighted so that we can understand where we came from, understand where we're living in now, and understand the future that we all should be trying to fight for.

Sanni Brown

I love that. That's a great segue into my next question. So how are you painting the future with the work that you're doing? What are the initiatives that you're taking? Any events? Anything we need to keep an eye peeled out, in case we want to get involved, we want to support.

Terresa Hardaway

We are constantly doing a ton of events at Black Garnet Books, we have a book club that we have every single month that is a different topic.

Sanni Brown

How do you join the book club? I've been talking about book club since I was a little girl. I've always wanted to join.

Terresa Hardaway

Well, at Black Garnet Books, it's the most accessible thing. Just show up. The book is going to be posted on our website. We also make a post about it on our social media. But you get the book for 15% off, and you just show up to the book club. You can show up having read a chapter, having read the whole book, but just show up and you build community and have conversation about that. So we have a fantasy genre book club. We have an abolitionist genre book club, and we have a graphic novel book club. So we have these kind of three separate areas that folks can join one of, they can join all three of them, but you would get that book for 15% off and build community. All the events that I'm talking about are going to be at the bookstore.

Sanni Brown

How can we support you? People who are listening, how can we support? How can we get the word out about you? Where can we follow you?

Terresa Hardaway

Yeah, you can follow us on all platforms, at Black Garnet Books, and you can support us by attending events, subscribing to our newsletter, shopping in-store or online, attending things that we're doing in community, because we're oftentimes, for instance, we'll be at Pride this year, and so, stopping by our table and supporting us there. There are many ways I think that folks can engage with us if you just pay attention to what we're posting on social and show up to the things that we're doing around community.

Sanni Brown

Terresa, thank you so much for coming in today. You're awesome, and I love your look!

Terresa Hardaway

Thank you!

abel. is a longstanding house DJ and vibe curator in the Twin Cities. To abel., DJing is all about setting the vibe in a room so people can come to the dance floor, move, forget what they're doing, and escape through the music. As a strong advocate for ‘less sections, more dance floors,’ he believes “more dance floors will equalize the way that we think about the music that we love so much, which is electronic.”

In his mix for Carbon Sound, abel. warmly welcomes you to the dance floor.

We chatted with abel. about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Who are you?

My name is Abel. I am a — that's a good question. It's very existential question isn't it? Who am I? Who are we? No, my name's Abel. I am a house music DJ, vibe curator in the city. I have been DJing since 2009, and I play all sorts of music. House music is kind of home for me. But yeah, music is kind of where I like to vibe.

What was your introduction to house music?

My introduction to electronic music in general was this compilation — oh, I cannot remember the name of it, but a friend of mine was just playing something in their car, this was back in college, and the song that really kind of got me was this track called — also cannot remember that. Wow, my brain — just when you have to talk about something, your brain just goes blah. But no, I was listening to a compilation CD in a friend's car, and the music was just so compelling. And I was like, "What is this?" And she was like, "Let me take you on a trip." And she loaned me the CD. And then following that, I actually went on a study abroad trip to Scotland, and I found a car boot sale, is what they call it, it's kind of like a rummage sale or garage sale. And I bought just tons of CDs, and I was just listening to all of it. By the time I came back, I had got all of it on my computer and just started DJing. Just started, like, stitching stories together, stitching songs together, with my little Trakor X1 controller. And I guess the rest is what they say is history, right?

So you started DJing because of that friend's CD, or did you just have a love and a knack for music?

I think I've always had a love for new music. Ever since I was a kid, you know, the stereotypical choir kid, I was one of the kids who would remake songs, like popular songs, and rewrite them so that they were choir-friendly. And then I found my way into a lot of just stitching music together, like making little track mixtapes from radio edits. Like, I'll put a cassette player into it and then hit record, and then get myself a mixtape from that. When I first moved here, back in 2003, I was chronically online. There was this promo that Coca-Cola had back in, like, 2006, 2005, 2004, something like that, and it was kind of like a Habbo Hotel, but it was for making music. And the currency in this was, they'd give you like preset music or whatever, and then you made a snippet, and then you'd perform it in front of all the avatars, and they'd vote for it and say if it's good or not. And then if it was really good, they'd give you currency and you got to buy like your furniture and your posters for your hotel room, and people came to the hotel room and hung out. And I really enjoyed it. So I found myself on Sony Acid, the DAW I used back then. And then I went into Fruity Loops, and then I went into Ableton Live. And then I was like, "I really like this music thing a lot." So I picked up DJing as kind of like my artistic and my creative outlet.

What's the difference between being a DJ and being a "vibe curator"?

I think the culture has changed the definition of what DJing is. I think when you think about the original definition of disc jockeying, it was really just grabbing songs, grabbing music together, and setting a vibe in a room. The greats did it. You know, Ron Carroll, Larry Levan, they knew how to control and set a room's vibe for hours and hours and hours. Didn't matter what they played. They played disco, they played funk, they played what was to be known as house, and people just danced. And that was DJing back then. You hear DJing now, and you think, big stage, you think Ultra Music Festival, you think that it's a viable way to make millions and millions of dollars. And you forget that at its core, it's about setting a room. At its core, the whole idea of making, of this thing that we do, is an art form, is setting a vibe in a room so people can come and forget what they're doing. So I still call myself a DJ because that's the vocabulary, that's the colloquialism. But at its core, I'm a vibe curator. I like to play music in a room and get people moving, dancing, forgetting where they are, what they're doing at that moment, and just like focusing on the fact that this is an escape for them, where they are at this moment.

Is that where "less sections, more dance floors" comes from?

Yes, I have a hate-hate relationship with sections. I hate sections. I think they take away so much from the dance floor. People are there for the wrong reasons. It is "show me" culture in its worst form. And I get it, venues and bars and clubs have to make money. I understand it. But you know, at its core, again, going back to the original reason for this thing that we call dance music, it's right there in its name — dance music. We want sweaty dance floors. We want to just get on the floor and just pound concrete or lawn or whatever the medium is that is under our feet, and just enjoy ourselves and not sit in a couch and look and watch people and pop bottles. I mean, that is not what we're here for, especially in electronic music. If you think about the history of it here, think about where it came from, it is such a departure from the club culture that we have now. And I think something around just more dance floors will equalize the way that we think about the music that we love so much, which is electronic.

Speaking of electronic, speaking of enjoying ourselves, speaking of dancing, what do you have in store for Carbon Sound today?

Good question, I don't know. I talked to a couple of friends a few months ago about this, at its core, like when I start playing, I don't know what mindset I'm in, I just hit the first song, and then the next one comes, and the next one comes, and the next one comes after that, and all of a sudden it's like an hour set, and I don't know which way I'm going. So it could be all house, it could be deep, it could be melodic, it could be a little bit of funk, it could be a little bit of hip-hop, I don't know. So we'll see where the vibe takes us today.