Sonia Denis is a standup comic who has been tearing up stages across the city. A member of the cast for The Second City's Afrofuturism show, Sonia gracefully and gleefully dances the fine line between confessional and silliness. She hops on the show to talk standup, the city's comedy scene, and more.
HELP SPREAD THE WORDS OF THESE STRONG YOUNG VOICES BY BECOMING AN AMPLIFIER WITH A MONTHLY DONATION THROUGH PATREON, THE ARTS PATRONAGE SITE.
Jasmine Sanders is a writer from the South Side of the city. Her work explores generations of family, and is remarkably and thoroughly grounded in the streets, stories, and histories of place in a way that the "internet writing" world often is unable to accomplish. She's been published in Rookie Mag and Buzzfeed, and has a twitter name more stellar than most.
Pidgeon Pagonis is an intersex activist and artist whose work, art, and joy, centers "their community’s human right to bodily autonomy and justice." From Chicago, Pidgeon facilitates workshops, discussions, and presentations around the world about the medical violence and stigmatization for intersex folks. They are a shining, unrelentingly positive face and voice in the city, encouraging and empowering artists and organizers alike to imagine new worlds. They also design and sell some of the coolest merch in the world, which you can cop at their online store.
A couple weeks ago, when we put on We 'Go Vol 2: A Chicago Showcase and Celebration, we were fortunate enough to have the good folks over at Postloudness come through and record the show in its entirety. On this week's episode we share the audio from the exciting, soul-restoring evening, including performances by AirGo alumni E'mon Lauren, Fati Asghar, Kevin Coval, Adam Levin, LA VanGogh, Via Rosa, and Jamila Woods.
When Avery R. Young gets going, joy starts shining, and it's next to impossible to stop it–not that you would want to. A Cave Canem fellow, he is a fixture of Chicago's creative community, and has been reshaping language and community in new, remarkable ways on stages and in classrooms for years. Combining song, poetry, and interviews about race and politics, his most recent project "booker t. soltreyne" is an album and archival project that reflects on how old pedagogies and processes of racism still exist in the Obama Era.
Dorothy Holmes has found her way into the movement through the most terrible of circumstances–her son, Ronald "Ronnieman" Johnson was murdered by CPD officer George Hernandez on October 12th, 2014. Dorothy has emerged as an organizer and activist, coupling the fight for justice with a loving campaign to provide resources, support, and love to others who have had to face violence as she has. She joins AirGo to talk about her own path, Ronnieman, and more.
Vanessa Sanchez is the Director of Yollocalli Arts Reach, a remarkable organization and branch of the National Museum of Mexican Art that works with youth, primarily in the city's Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods. In a city full of of nonprofit efforts that talk the talk, and ultimately take up space and resources without fostering dynamic spaces for young people to create, Yollocalli stands tall as a welcoming, unpretentious home for free art and new media programs, including street art, mural internships, experimental video, music, storytelling, radio and journalism. Vanessa is also one of the creators of Villapalooza, a fantastic annual festival, community celebration, and block party in Little Village.
Tweak Harris is an MC and activist whose forceful bars and warm smile have been central to the movement across Chicago, especially in the victorious fight for a trauma center on the South Side of the city. Coming off an electrifying performance at the magnificent "Ain't No Mothership: An Expedition of She" event last month, Tweak comes by the studio to talk about her new music and more.
Sol Patches is an actor, rapper, poet, organizer, and gender abolitionist from Chicago. Under the guidance of AirGo alum Ricardo Gamboa and Coya Paz at the Free Street Theater, Patches has tackled roles on stage and screen, including Louder Than a Bomb as a member of the Goodman Theater team and in Pronouns, a new film that has been accepted to the Tribeca Film Festival. They are also an activist and organizer, working with the Let Us Breathe Collective and other organizations across the city.
Shani Crowe is an interdisciplinary artist from the South Side of Chicago. Her newest exhibition, Braids, is a series of portraits of Black women whose hair has been braided and styled into "a variety of original looks and wearable works of art." She joins Damon and Daniel to talk about the project, her lineage as a visual artist, and more.
Felonious Monk is a comedian and commentator who has built some of the city's most vibrant, subversive comedic rooms. His work with Dave Helem on the Blipster Life comedy series, produced in venues across the city, has brought comedy into the movement, and has created in-between spaces for one of America's most segregated art forms. He is a regular contributor to The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.
L.A. VanGogh is a multitalented rapper, vocalist, producer, and musician whose fantastic new collaborative project with producer and DJ Ambi Lyrics is entitled safensound presents L.A. VanGogh. The project's sound, birthed from both artists' hands, ears, and minds, is grounded in this sonic moment more completely than most, and in self reflection that dodges Drake-like corniness in favor of honest thoughts and declarations.
This week's episode is a rebroadcast of AirGo's conversation with organizer and educator Mariame Kaba, whose decades of work in Chicago have unceasingly pushed the city toward the more equitable. As she prepares to leave the city, we return to our conversation with her from a few months ago.
As a moment continues to transition to a movement, one of the most pivotal questions is how a generation of people fighting for liberation can maintain their spirits, bodies, souls, and presence while still actively doing some of the most difficult work one can do. Black Girl in Om is an organization that creates "spaces for women of color to breathe easy" through their online publication and pop-up wellness experiences across the country. Founder/Creative Director Lauren Ash and Art Director Zakkiyyah Najeebah join Damon and Daniel to wellness, art, and more.
Summer Fields is a student at the University of Chicago, where she has seemingly been making cool stuff since she first showed up. She is the founder of The Quad, a podcast telling the stories and sharing the voices that are often unheard at UChicago. She also works as an intern at Hearken, "an audience-driven framework and platform enabling journalists to partner with the public throughout the reporting process." A former ABC News Politics Fellow, she's currently writing her thesis on race and public media. Plus she's as much of a Larry David fan as Daniel is.
Highness is a band and collective whose unique sound, which they call omnisoul, lights up stages and eardrums across the city. With each show, their appeal and energy becomes even more undeniable. Daniel and Damon go offsite to interview the band at the rehearsal studio as they prep for the release show of their new The Highness Collective EP.
Poets are expected to be in touch with their emotions. A stoic poet is viewed as holding back or guarded. As a result, some folks tend to manufacture the markings of emotion–a crack in their voice, a tear down their face, shoulders shaking with emotion. When real passion is performed, however, the result is far more impactful. Emon Lauren Black doesn't hold back, on stage or off, and is becoming a forceful and important voice in the city's poetry community.
This week's guest has been mentioned on AirGo more than anyone else, for good reason. Kevin Coval is a poet, educator, and community builder who is the artistic director of Young Chicago Authors and the co-founder of Louder Than A Bomb, the world's largest youth poetry festival. He has worked to center the stories of strong young voices from Chicago and beyond for decades, and the legacy of art and community that trails him is unmatched in this moment and city.
Fatimah Asghar is a poet, photographer, and writer whose forceful presence and fierce work from stages, on pages, and behind lenses have made her one of the city's strongest young poetic voices. She is a member of the Dark Noise Collective, a teaching artist at Young Chicago Authors, and is the creator of Let Me Love Me, a "a nude photo project for people of color to talk about [their] bodies and [their] journeys with self love." Her chapbook After dropped last November through YesYes Books.
Akenya is a singular talent in the Chicago music community. She commands the stage like a combination of James Brown, Billie Holiday, and a hungry MC conquering a cypher. She has collaborated both with Chicago hip hop stalwarts including Chance the Rapper, Noname Gyspy, Mick Jenkins, Eryn Allen Kane, Donnie Trumpet, and the O'My’s, as well as performed alongside contemporary luminaries like Esperanza Spalding, Fred Hersch, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, Luciana Souza, and Dave Holland. She is preparing to drop her first LP, titled Moon in the 4th, this year.
