Reel Notes w/ CineMasai

My guest this week is New York rapper Marcel Allen. We spoke about Shutter Island, Halloween Kills, Scary Movie, his love of horror movies, watching the movie Cornbread, Earl and Me for the first time, our favorite hood movies of all time, his appreciation for every subgenre of rap, getting Havoc and Boldy James on his debut album, his relationship with producers Thelonious Martin and Jacob Rochester, and the creative process behind his debut album Ebony Goddess.Ebony Goddess is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping it directly from Marcel's Bandcamp page.Follow Marcel Allen on Instagram and Twitter: @marcelallennotgFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)        Support the show

My guest this week is Chicago rapper Vic Spencer. We spoke about Power, The Waterboy, his love for standup comedy, the power of world-building in music and movies, making music during his time in a group home, the legacy of his breakthrough project The Cost of Victory, the idea behind he and rapper-producer Sonnyjim’s Spencer For Higher series, the artist-to-fan relationship, and the creative process behind he and Doc Da Mindbenda’s collab album Still Here. Still Here is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Vic Spencer on Instagram and Twitter: @VicSpencerFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)       Support the show

My guest this week is Baton Rouge-based rapper Wakai. We spoke about Snowfall, Atlanta, The Wire, Menace II Society, the beauty of local businesses, why binging TV is a privilege, how the video for Kanye West’s “All Falls Down” changed his life, his journey through the hip-hop rabbit hole, how his experience as a film editor has informed his experience as a musician, how COVID affected his approach to putting out music, and the creative processes behind his debut solo album To A Dark Boy. To A Dark Boy is available everywhere music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Wakai on Instagram and Twitter: @wakai007Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)       Support the show

My guest this week is Georgia-born singer, artist, and label head BOSCO. We spoke about Snowfall, Insecure, having her songs featured on Insecure, what sync licensing means, Love & Basketball, Forrest Gump, Raven-Symone, Lauryn Hill, our respective relationships with music and movies as children, founding the creative community Slug, and how it’s influenced her creative process. BOSCO's latest project Some Day This Will All Make Sense is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. You can also hear BOSCO's music on the Insecure soundtrack and official playlists.  Follow BOSCO on Instagram and Twitter: @helloboscoFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)       Support the show

My guest this week is Buffalo rapper/singer/producer Chango4. We spoke about the documentary You Can’t Kill Meme, the prevalence of meme culture on and offline, The Ring, Being John Malkovitch, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain and Santa Sangre, her fascination with carpentry, the Buffalo music scene, genre-blending, her relationship with rapper-producer way2wavybaby, and her general creative process.Check out Chango's solo Bandcamp page here and her work with way2wavybaby here. Follow Chango4 on Instagram (@changofour) and Twitter (@4chango) Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)      Support the show

My guest this week is Brooklyn rapper Chelsea Reject. We spoke about the Hulu original movie Fresh, Black Mirror, veganism, the Final Destination series, Dragonball Z, growing up in the church, watching non-secular media in secret, realizing that we both attended New York college SUNY Purchase at the same time, New York hip-hop during the rise of Pro Era, the pros and cons of recording music in 2022, and the creative processes behind all of her projects, including her latest album This Is Not My Final Form.Both This Is Not My Final Form and Chelsea's latest single "Woe" are available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen.Watch the music video for "Woe" here.  Follow Chelsea Reject on Instagram and Twitter (@ChelseaReject)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)     Support the show

My guest this week is North Carolina-based rapper, producer, and label head Cheeno Ghee. We spoke about Kanye West, jeen-yus, the power of a good music documentary, true crime, Belly, the legacy of Hype Williams, growing up between Atlanta, Brooklyn, and North Carolina, what it means to freestyle in 2022, the art of battle rap, founding GCE Tha Label, and the creative process behind her projects Child and To Whomever It Concerns.  Child and To Whomever It Concerns are available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Check out Cheeno Ghee's appearance on Bars on I-95 here.Follow Cheeno on Instagram and Twitter: @cheenogheeFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)    Support the show

My guest this week is rapper, businesswoman, boxer, and healthcare worker Chanelle Kazadi. We spoke about Love Is Blind, Baking Impossible, horror movies, the nuance behind villains, Jeen-Yus: A Kanye Trilogy, being a first-generation immigrant, falling in love with the music of Mos Def and Common, starting her Harvest Hooligang clothing company, the trials of being an independent artist in 2022, and the creative process behind her latest project Make It Work.Make It Work is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider checking out the Harvest Hooligang website and copping some merch here. Follow Chanelle on Instagram and Twitter: @chanellekazadiFollow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)   Support the show

My guest this week is Kansas-born rapper and podcast host Stik Figa. We spoke about Ozark, Euphoria, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, American Beauty, the art of appreciating art, how Kansas became a mixtape hub for several different kinds of rap, whether Kendrick Lamar is an all-time great, and the creative process behind several of his projects, including the August Fanon-produced Heresy.Heresy drops March 4 on Bandcamp. Consider pre-ordering it here.The City Under The City and Central Standard Time are available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from Stik's Mello Music Group Bandcamp page.Follow Stik Figa on Instagram and Twitter: @Stik_FigaRead my 2017 DJBooth piece "Holding Back Tears: Rap's Role In Redefining Black Masculinity," which features a short interview with Stik, here.  Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)   Support the show

My guest this week is New Jersey rapper, producer, and DJ Brainorchestra. We spoke about Batman, growing up playing real-time strategy and role-playing games, The Black Cauldron, myths about life in New Jersey, our mutual love for survival movies, how playing instruments influenced his beatmaking, turning his love of rap into a business, and the creative process behind a handful of his projects, including his latest album Big Brain.Big Brain is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from his Bandcamp page here. Follow Brainorchestra on Instagram (@brainorchestra_) and Twitter (@_brainorchestra)Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)      Support the show