
Reel Notes w/ CineMasai
Reel Notes is a space for conversations about the relationship between rap and film with rappers, producers, journalists, directors, and more. Intro track via JWords (follow her @_jwords on Instagram & Twitter) Art direction via Big Flowers (Instagram: @watermichaelguy, Twitter: @michaelfornow_)
Latest episodes

Nov 9, 2022 • 1h 35min
S2 Episode 37: Wiki
My guest this week is New York rapper Wiki. We spoke about Smile, the Netflix documentary Descent, the early work of Martin Scorsese and Harvey Keitel, the musical and cultural diversity of New York, being consistent over a decade-long career, a selection of his best songs, starting out young, being ahead of your time and paying it forward for the next generation, and the creative processes behind his last two albums—the Navy Blue-produced Half God and the Subjxct 5-produced Cold Cuts.Cold Cuts is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from Wiki's Bandcamp page here.Follow Wiki on Instagram and Twitter: @wikset Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Nov 2, 2022 • 1h 21min
S2 Episode 36: Mavi
My guest this week is North Carolina rapper and regular human Mavi. We spoke about The Woman King, Bullet Train, Nope, Paid In Full, Menace II Society, Lilo & Stitch, discovering music through video games and movies, the creative process behind his latest project Laughing so Hard, it Hurts, how producers monte booker, Wulf Morpheus, and Dylvinci helped bring the vision together, processing emotions and manhood, and why he feels his music is innocent.Mavi's sophomore album Laughing so Hard, it Hurts is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Mavi on Instagram and Twitter: @mavi4mayor Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Oct 26, 2022 • 1h 31min
S2 Episode 35: Wulf Morpheus
My guest this week is producer Wulf Morpheus. We spoke about all things anime—our old and new favorites, the impact of Toonami, anime’s growing presence in pop culture, and its mix with hip-hop culture—Max Keeble’s Big Move, Disney Adventure magazine,Cartoon Network, the lo-fi aesthetic, being inspired by every form of rap music, why Knxwledge is a GOAT’d producer, his placements with Chuck Strangers and Mavi, his Instagram clips, and his general creative approach to making beats. Wulf's latest album, Feelings and Crazy sensations, is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Wulf on Instagram and Twitter: @WulfMorpheusFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Oct 18, 2022 • 1h 33min
S2 Episode 34: Soko
My guest this week is artist manager, independent label head, streaming account manager, and former DJ Soko. We spoke about Atlanta, Ghostbusters, Batman, the art of collecting, growing up in Michigan, the greater Detroit rap scene, his work with Journalist 103 and Apollo Brown as The Left for their 2010 debut album Gas Mask, the life, death, and rebirth of his indie label Left Of Center, and how the many different jobs he’s had within hip-hop led him to where he is today.Follow Soko on Twitter (@DJSoko) and Instagram (@djsoko85) Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Oct 12, 2022 • 1h 3min
S2 Episode 33: Brian Ennals
My guest this week is Baltimore rapper Brian Ennals. We spoke about the MCU, Doctor Strange, why Robocop is a perfect movie, House Party, being influenced by Stevie Wonder and Pusha-T, his early rap career, valuing the art of writing over the art of technical rapping, connecting with producer and multiinstrumentalist Infinity Knives, and the creative process behind their latest album King Cobra.King Cobra is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Brian Ennals on Instagram and Twitter: @brianennalsFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Oct 5, 2022 • 1h 54min
S2 Episode 32: Papo2oo4 (with special guest Subjxct 5)
My guest this week is New Jersey rapper Papo2oo4. We spoke about Titanic, Good Will Hunting, white classics, hood classics, Get Rich Or Die Trying, the lack of imagination in Hollywood, why he prefers realism over fantasy, listening to the youth, inspiration vs. biting, rap regionalism, hot takes about the 90s, and his creative process. Follow Papo2oo4 on Twitter (@paposwish) and Instagram (@papo2oo4) Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Sep 21, 2022 • 1h 52min
S2 Episode 31: Infinity Knives (with special guest Brian Ennals)
My guest this week is Baltimore-via-Tanzania producer and musician Infinity Knives. We spoke about Ancestry.com, whether hip-hop is political, Severance, Pan’s Labyrinth, our favorite anime, fantasy novels, video games, and comic books, growing up between Tanzania and Madagascar, merging classical music with hip-hop, trusting the process, and the creative process behind he and Brian Ennals’s latest album King Cobra.King Cobra is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from their Bandcamp page here. Follow Infinity Knives on Twitter (@infinitykniives) and Instagram (@InfinityKnives) Follow Brian Ennals on Twitter and Instagram: @BrianEnnalsFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Sep 14, 2022 • 1h 45min
S2 Episode 30: Meechy Darko
My guest this week is Brooklyn-born rapper and one-third of the Flatbush Zombies Meechy Darko. We spoke about Idiocracy, Asian horror films, our favorite bad movies, District 9 and the movies of Neil Blomkamp, how Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) changed his perspective on film and music, the origins and legacy of the Flatbush Zombies, finding new ways to show off his trademark raspy voice, and the creative process behind his solo debut Gothic Luxury.Gothic Luxury is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Read my 2018 interview with the Flatbush Zombies for DJBooth here. Follow Meech on Instagram and Twitter: @MeechIsDead Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

Sep 7, 2022 • 1h 48min
S2 Episode 29: Duncecap
My guest this week is New York rapper, producer, streamer, and video editor and director Duncecap. We spoke about Bodies Bodies Bodies, his changing relationship with horror movies, The Cabin In The Woods, opinions on a few retroactively problematic movies, the history of defunct New York rap collective the Karma Kids, the importance of humor in his music, finding his voice as a rapper, producer, director, and editor, and the creative process behind his latest album Go Climb A Tree, produced entirely by Hajino.Go Climb A Tree is available wherever music is sold, steamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from Bandcamp here. Follow Duncecap on Instagram and Twitter: @duncecap_Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)Support the show

Aug 31, 2022 • 1h 37min
S2 Episode 28: Messiah!
My guest this week is North Carolina rapper Messiah!. We spoke about Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, Catfish, reality TV, King Richard, The Rugrats Movie, The Truman Show, the influence of Chief Keef, how ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron changed his perspective on music, forming Killswitch with Mavi, ScoSzn, and Ahmir, crafting his style, a melancholic look back on his older music, and the creative process behind his latest project Perfect 7 Perfect 7 is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Messiah! on Instagram and Twitter (@1of1messiah) Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show