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A radio show, podcast, and radical media hub showcasing culture workers reshaping Chicago for the more equitable and creative. Listen to longform humanizing conversations with artists, organizers, performers, comedians, scholars, and more who are reimagining Chicago and beyond toward liberation. Hosted by Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger.
Add-2's debut album Prey For The Poor, released on 9th Wonder's Jamla Records, is settling into playlists and headphones across the city in the week since its release. The Chicago emcee couldn't be happier. Every social media post seems to be a grateful and relieved celebration, which he has certainly earned after years of consistent bars and beats on the vanguard of this era's Chicago renaissance. Aired live 9/10/2015 at WHPK 88.5FM Music from this week's show: Untitled 108 - @bruceleekix Young Black Boy - @add2themc feat. Jamila Woods Stop Play Rewind - @add2themc feat. Rapsody Use Me - Bill Withers Heartbeat (Instrumental) - Kanye West
After a last-minute switch last week, we welcome singer and rapper @ThatsJeanDeaux to the program. Some of Chicago's Strongest Young Voices are also some of the city's sweetest and most somber. Jean's most recent project Soular System Vol. 1: Dark Matter[s] feels like weaving on Lake Shore Drive in a moment of reflection, grounded and free at the same time. Touted as one of Chicago's "Next Big Things" for a couple years now, Jean has stayed patient, releasing quality work of her own and lending her voice in collaboration with colleagues Mick Jenkins, Chance the Rapper, Noname Gypsy, Isaiah Rashad, Alex Wiley, and more. Hear "Soular System Vol. 1: Dark Matter[s]" at @ThatsJeanDeaux Recorded Live @WHPK 88.5FM Sept. 3, 2015 Music on this week's show: Chicago - Oddisee Glow - Jean Deaux Voodoo - Jean Deaux Pusher Man - Curtis Mayfield Who Am I - Jean Deaux Thanks to @neonpajamas for curating the show's instrumentals.
How does a Strong Young Voice from the city of Chicago reshape the culture of spaces and institutions across the country? Eve Ewing is a teacher, writer, artist, research scholar, and BreakBeat Poet whose voice has taken her into middle school classrooms, through Ivy League lecture halls, onto stages, and to the alternative learning spaces across the country. Currently working on her doctorate from the Harvard School of Education, where she co-chairs the Harvard Educational Review, Eve returns to her old stomping grounds at University of Chicago, where she went for undergrad, and shares her story. Recorded 8/27/15 at WHPK 88.5FM Music on this week's show: Hot Sugar - Trapper Keeper (feat. Baghdaddy) Ravyn Lenae - Greetings Roy Ayers - Everybody Loves the Sunshine Thanks to Ben Niespodziany (@neonpajamas) for curating the episode's instrumentals Read and listen to Eve's piece "Requiem for Fifth Period and the Things That Went On Then" at Bird's Thumb: http://birdsthumb.org/february-2014/2014/1/10/requiem-for-fifth-period-and-the-things-that-went-on-then
The first non-native Chicagoan to be showcased on AirGo, Reginald Eldridge, Jr. is a writer, multidisciplinary artist, curator, educator, and artist who plays an integral and interesting role in Chicago's contemporary renaissance. Whether on the canvas, behind the lens, on stage, in front of a classroom, or with a pen in his hand, RJ doesn't shy away from challenging himself or his students, and has become one of the city's Strong Young Voices by exploring the spaces between ideas and media. Recorded 8/20/15 Music on this week's show: Them Changes - Thundercat Ace Da Vinci - God Bless Erykah Badu - Out of My Mind, Just in Time William DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got http://airgoradio.com http://twitter.com/airgoradio http://facebook.com/airgoradio
Ethan "Ethos" Viets-VanLear is a poet, organizer, peace-circle keeper and prison abolitionist hailing from Rogers Park on the north side of Chicago. Whether he's performing on stage or marching through the streets, Ethos has established himself as one the boldest voices in the city. His organizing work has allowed him to travel the world at a young age, including a trip to Switzerland where h testified on police torture at the United Nations as a part of the delegation We Charge Genocide. Ethos is also the lead vocalist of the new band Thy Neighbors, who are set to release their debut EP. Aired 8/13/15 Music on this week's show: Through the Way - Blazo Pray 2 God - Goodbye Tomorrow I'd Rather Be With You - Bootsy Collins Black N Mild - Thy Neighbors Meat Grinder - Madvillain Thanks to: WHPK 88.5FM Ben Niespodziany (@neonpajamas)
What illuminates the people who bring light into the world? Jasmine Barber has found a light source that she shares as a writer, educator, friend, and pillar of the Chicago creative community, and she carries her torch with honesty and openness. A Young Chicago Authors teaching artist, Jasmine is working on her first children's book. Aired live 8/6/15 Music on this week's show: HC Saba - Temporary (feat. Tink) The Joy - M&O People Make the World Go Round - The Stylistics Thanks to Ben Niespodziany (@neonpajamas) for curating this week's instrumentals. http://twitter.com/airgoradio http://facebook.com/airgoradio http://airgoradio.com
Nate Marshall is from the Hundreds. He stands in front of his house on the far south end of Chicago, completely at home in a stretch of the city often overlooked in the city's narrative. Marshall is bringing the city's triple-digit stories forward in his new poetry collection Wild Hundreds. In addition to his poetry, Nate is a Visiting Professor at Wabash College and a rapper, whose project Grown is due later this summer. NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, the live show didn't record. In it's place, you have a 10 minute mini-AirGo featuring some live poems and freestyles from this week's guest. Aired 7/30/15 Thanks to Ben Niespodziany (@neonpajamas) for curating the instrumentals on this week's show: Mastermind - Apollo Brown Eclectic Relaxation - The ARE Drippin' Swagu - Woody http://airgoradio.com http://twitter.com/airgoradio http://facebook.com/airgoradio
Prison abolitionist and hip hop artist Ric Wilson is a Strong Young Voice working in the studios and streets of Chicago. He has also moved across national borders in his activism, heading to Switzerland as part of group We Charge Genocide last fall to testify about police torture in front of the United Nations and traveling to Cambodia to transform harm caused by state and interpersonal violence and create community healing. He's also one-half of rap duo FYI (Fuck Your Institution), and released his debut full-length project Penny Raps in April. Hear AirGo live Thursday at 12PM CST on WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago, or on the WHPK livestream. The show will be available as a podcast on Soundcloud and iTunes on Friday. Find out more about the show and corresponding We 'Go Mixtape Series at http://airgoradio.com, and stay linked on Twitter & Facebook @AirGoRadio. Help spread the words of these Strong Young Voices by becoming an Amplifier with a monthly donation through Patreon, the arts patronage site. Aired live 7/23/15 Music on this week's show: The Funk - Dr. No's Ethiopium If I Ruled The World - Nas & Lauryn Hill Into the Water - Jean Deaux feat. The Mind Baby, I'm Scared of You - Womack and Womack
Raych Jackson is a teacher in every sense of the word. From the classroom to the stage, her nurturing buoyancy shines through, turning every person into a thoughtful student and every space into a home for joyful learning. An educator, poet, and member of Chance the Rapper's #STAFF, Raych engages every day in reshaping the stories and communities of Chicago. Find out more about the show and corresponding We 'Go Mixtape Series at airgoradio.com, and stay linked on Twitter & Facebook @AirGoRadio. Help spread the words of these Strong Young Voices by becoming an Amplifier with a monthly donation through Patreon, the arts patronage site. Aired live 7/16/15 on WHPK 88.5FM Best I Could - JCW Time Machine (feat. Michael Anthony, Via Rosa, & The Mind) - THEMpeople Sun - Jhon Myquale Hey Love - Delfonics
AirGo premieres this week with Malcolm London, one of the most vocal voices in Chicago's rich arts and activism community. Called the "Gil-Scott Heron of this generation" by Cornel West, Malcolm is an internationally recognized Chicago poet, activist & educator. He shares his thoughts, spits a great new poem, and shares a track off of his upcoming mixtape. Aired live 7/9/15 Thanks: Ben Niespodziany WHPK 88.5FM Jake Austen Songs: Floating - BIGfoot Beats Other Side of the Game - Erykah Badu Bee Good (Lion Song) - Gregory Porter http://airgoradio.com http://twitter.com/airgoradio http://facebook.com/airgoradio
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