Reel Notes w/ CineMasai

My guest this week is California-based producer and archivist Mars Kumari. We spoke about Squishmallows, Xavier: Renegade Angel, the timelessness of Adult Swim, the Earl Sweatshirt short film Nowhere, Nobody, piracy, how her transition influenced the way she creates music, the pros and cons of musical archiving, and the creative process behind a handful of her projects, including her upcoming album I Thought I Lost You.Her latest album I Thought I Lost You is coming soon. Read my interview with Nowhere, Nobody co-director Naima Ramos-Chapman here. Follow Mars on Instagram (@mars.kumari) and Twitter (@marskumari) Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  Support the show

My guest this week is South Carolina-born producer, vocalist, and composer Contour. We took a critical look at Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the MCU and spoke about The Brave Little Toaster, the 2001 Japanese film Pulse, the pros and cons of Letterboxd, the art of film scoring, combining sample-based beats and traditional instruments to find his sound, and the creative process behind his latest album Onwards!Onwards! is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from his Bandcamp page here. The three films Contour has scored--Half Day, directed by Morgan Matthews, One Magenta Afternoon, directed by Vernon Jordan III, and Deprivation, directed by Katie Arthur--will be available in various forms at some point in the future.  Follow Contour on Instagram (@ccontourr) and Twitter (@khariayo_)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  Support the show

My guest this week is Atlanta-via-Richmond rapper, producer, and co-founder of Mutant Academy, Fly Anakin—our first returning guest in 80 episodes. We spoke about fashion shows, identity in hip-hop, the ending of Atlanta, being an introvert, working through anxiety, food, the creative process behind his latest album Frank and Skinemaxxx, his upcoming full-length with producer Foisey, and more stories than I can count.Frank and Skinemaxxx are both available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from his Bandcamp page or via Lex Records. Follow Fly Anakin on Instagram and Twitter: @flyanakinMy first book, Reel Notes: Culture Writing on the Margins of Music and Movies, is available now, via 4PM Publishing. Order a digital copy on Amazon.Join the Reel Notes Patreon today for as little as $5/month to get early access to episodes, our Discord server, exclusive bonus interviews and reviews, and more!Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the oppressed peoples of Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Tigray, and Haiti. Please consider donating to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund,  The Palestinian Youth Movement, Medical Aid for Palestinians, HealAfrica, FreeTigray, and/or Hope For Haiti.  For information about contacting your representatives to demand a ceasefire, finding protests, and other tools, check out CeasefireToday!Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)Support the show

My guest this week is Florida-based rapper and producer Gat$. We spoke about money, songs in movie trailers, a spoiler-filled breakdown of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the malleability of horror, making music videos based on his favorite movies, building his career and rebuilding it from the ground up twice, a brief tour of his discography, and the creative process behind his latest albums Robbed and 2 Much 2 Robb and his upcoming compilation album Robbers.2 Much 2 Robb is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Gat$ on Instagram and Twitter: @gats813Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is Chicago-born rapper, author, writer, chemist, and activist Psalm One. We spoke about Abbot Elementary, The Muppets, growing up as the child of a journalist, when older favorite movies don’t age well, how chemistry applies to real life, the #BoycottRhymesayers movement, battle rap, and the creative processes behind her latest album Bigg Perrm and her memoir Her Word Is Bond: Navigating Hip-Hop and Relationships in A Culture of Misogyny.Bigg Perrm is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider buying from her Bandcamp here.  Her Word Is Bond: Navigating Hip-Hop and Relationships in A Culture of Misogyny is available wherever books are sold. Consider grabbing a copy here. Watch Defunctland's mini-series on Jim Henson here. Read Psalm One's review of Smino's latest album Luv 4 Rent in the Chicago Reader here. Follow Psalm One on Instagram and Twitter: @psalmoneFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

My guest this week is Virginia-based producer, DJ, animator, and director Dirty Bird. We spoke about The Bear, Drive My Car, Austin Powers, the work of Maasakai Yuasa, the beauty of animation, our love for anime, how racism and orientalism can ruin your favorite movies, creating his own animation studio, how Chief Keef and Odd Future inspired him, his journey through rap and dance music, and the creative process behind his latest project Wagenmuzik.Wagenmuzik is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Gum Animation Studios is hard at work on their debut feature. Read more about the studio here. Follow Dirty Bird on Instagram and Twitter: @dirtybird0_oFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) Support the show

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

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

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

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