Reel Notes w/ CineMasai

My guest this week is Roper, one-half of the New Jersey-based production duo Roper Williams. We spoke about the Western film Bone Tomahawk, the times we’ve walked out of movies, cult horror films like Await Further Instructions, Chopping Mall, and Skinamarink, the jazz anime Blue Giant, how he and his partner Sanz first met, came up with their name, and their creative process, highlight a handful of their standout beats, how producers are gaining more recognition in the indie scene, and break down the process behind their latest project Infinite Victory Loop, featuring Fatboi Sharif, YL, AKAI SOLO, and Pootie.Reel Notes stands in solidarity with Palestine and the people of Gaza. Please consider donating to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund or to Islamic Relief USA.Reel Notes stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!Infinite Victory Loop is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from Bandcamp. Follow Roper Williams on Instagram and Twitter: @roper_williamsFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  Support the show

My guest this week is California rapper, producer, DJ, and one-half of the group KWAMZAY, ZAYALLCAPS. We spoke about size 8 and up fitted hats, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Space Jam, romantic comedies, Like Mike, Curb Your Enthusiasm, the legacy of Friday, how rap cured his loneliness, going from producing to embracing rapping, Soundcloud remix and mash-up culture, forming KWAMZAY with Kwame Adu, and the creative process behind his debut album BALLING OUT OF SPITE.  Reel Notes stands in solidarity with Palestine and the people of Gaza. Please consider donating to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund or to Islamic Relief USA. Reel Notes stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!BALLING OUT OF SPITE is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Check out ZAY's backlog of music on Soundcloud.Follow ZAY on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @zayallcapsFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is New Jersey-based singer, songwriter, and producer Fielded. We spoke about No One Will Save You, Silence of The Lambs, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, the work of Ari Aster and Todd Solondz, why we’re attracted to dark and disturbing movies, their journey from a musical family to creating the Fielded project, linking with Backwoodz Studioz, and the creative process behind their latest album Plus One. Reel Notes stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!Plus One is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen.  Consider copping directly from Fielded's Bandcamp.  Follow them on Instagram and Twitter (@_fielded_)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  Support the show

My guest this week is Boston rapper, producer, and saxophonist DiZ. We spoke about The Other Black Woman, Natural Born Killers, Balto, Carmen: A Hip-Hopera, his early beginnings as a musician, figuring out his sound, linking with Ovrkast, juggling a burgeoning music career while studying at Berklee, constantly navigating the line between honesty and oversharing in his writing, and the creative process behind several projects, including his breakout Black Water, ULTRA.VIOLET, and this year’s the way forward is not the way home.Reel Notes stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!the way forward is not the way home is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping from Bandcamp to directly support DiZ. Follow DiZ on Instagram (@diz.47), Twitter (@DizDaDelinQuent), and TikTok (@DizDaDelinquent) Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is New York-via-Maine photographer, director, and designer Alexander Richter. We spoke about Top Boy, the James Bond series, how both his parents inspired his early love for film and photography, his career as a music photographer, including stories shooting Sean Price’s Jesus Price album cover and a 50 Cent cover story, his extensive history with billy woods and Backwoodz Studioz, and the creative process behind Dark Brother Rise, his 2020 short film about the eponymous hip-hop photographer from Queensbridge.Reel Notes stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order! Check out Richter's portfolio here and watch the Dark Brother Rise documentary here. Read my piece "How billy woods' Backwoodz Studioz Became New York's Best Underground Rap Label" for Pitchfork hereFollow Richter on Instagram (@alexanderrichter) and Twitter (@AlexandeRichter)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is New York rapper, poet, performance artist, and member of the band Poetic Thrust, Nakama. We spoke about They Cloned Tyrone, our favorite recent anime, The Matrix, Pan’s Labyrinth, our feelings on the series finale of Atlanta, his rap origin story, forming Poetic Thrust, his work on the multimedia piece Places, and the creative process behind a handful of projects, including human_error and Kindling.Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!Kindling and human_error  are both available exclusively through Nakama's Bandcamp. Follow Nakama on Instagram (@nakama.wtf) and Twitter (@nakama_wtf)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is California-based journalist, artist manager, A&R, curator, chef, and musician Walasia Shabazz. We spoke about Kelis’ Cooking with Cannabis, growing up around Hollywood royalty, her family’s roots in film and music, her love for Star Wars and Almost Famous, cheffing for your favorite rappers, her journey through the worlds of music journalism and music management, her relationship with the late MF DOOM, the art of service, and more stories and anecdotes than I can count. Tap in with all of her work at Drums & Ammo, including her new music and sex column Talk Like Sex, and her Medium page. Follow Walasia on Instagram (@noorscience) and Twitter (@WALASIA)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is New York rapper Yoh. We spoke about the Portugese show Sintonia, City of God, Bottoms, our mutual love for anime and Hayao Miyazaki, the pros and cons of listing your favorite music or movies, his comeup as a solo act and his role in the band Poetic Thrust, linking with producer and musician CARRTOONS, and the creative process behind his 2016 solo project Tales Over Tea and Mirrors, his 2022 collab with CARRTOONS.Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!Mirrors is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping it from Bandcamp. Follow Yoh on Instagram (@yoh.holo) and Twitter (@yoh_holo)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is Chicago rapper SKECH185. We spoke about Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Bardo, They Cloned Tyrone, his love for A League of Their Own, Juice, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, how his passion for drawing eventually mingled with his passion for rapping, a brief history of Chicago hip-hop and of the Tomorrow Kings collective, the benefits of regionalism in rap music, his history with Backwoodz Studioz, and the creative process behind his latest album He Left Nothing For The Swim Back, produced entirely by Jeff Markey. Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!He Left Nothing For The Swim Back is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping it directly from Bandcamp. Follow SKECH185 on Instagram and Twitter: @SKECH185Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  Support the show

My guest this week is Los Angeles-based rapper, producer, poet, teacher, and multi-instrumentalist Rhys Langston. We spoke about kung-fu films, Warrior, Jet Li, The Matrix, Monty Python & The Holy Grail, the nature of meta-narratives, balancing entertainment with knowledge, pulling inspiration from Migos and others, and the creative process behind his latest project To Operate This System, produced by Pioneer 11.Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTA as they strike for better working conditions and better pay for the people who power the movies and TV we love. Please consider supporting them directly by donating to the Entertainment Community Fund or The Snacklist mutual aid fund to get food and drink to strikers across Los Angeles.   Visit Dreadsock.com and use promo code "CINEMASAI" for 10% off your first order!To Operate This System is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from Bandcamp.Follow Rhys on Instagram and Twitter: @rhyslangstonFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  Support the show