

Deetranada’s Debut Showcases Fiery Raps, Clear Motivation [Interview]
“DEEvsEVERYBODY!” is a personal album. As depicted in the project’s lyrics, cover art, website, and personal explanations, it’s a representation of how she feels as a young black woman growing up in an oppressive world. Deetranada is unapologetic at every moment, showing the world who she is without compromising one bit. After making waves in the Baltimore and beyond with her new album, “DEEvsEVERYBODY!” we … Continue reading Deetranada’s Debut Showcases Fiery Raps, Clear Motivation [Interview]

What Kind of Music Do We Need to Create Change?
In order to create change, a soundscape based in talent, experimentation, and compassion must undergird, motivate, and reflect social movements. Creating change is a long process with many steps along the way, but timeless and exciting music is absolutely helpful in changing ideology and then policy. The music and ideology of Erykah Badu, Ric Wilson, Slauson Malone, and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah provide a high … Continue reading What Kind of Music Do We Need to Create Change?

“Kersaia” by Matana Roberts: An Abstract Black Protest Song
Matana Roberts is an avant garde jazz musician and composer, a conceptual artist that focuses on creating narratives and stories that represent her experience and those of lived experiences of Black folks in the anthropocene. Her song, “Kersaia,” is the third song on the first installment of her Coin Coin series: Coin Coin Chapter 1: Gens de Couleur Libres. It’s a winding, shifting song with … Continue reading “Kersaia” by Matana Roberts: An Abstract Black Protest Song

Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam,” Paved a Way for Contemporary Black Protest Music
Producing a song about racism and society’s unwillingness to see it is a difficult task, but Nina Simone did so with her song “Mississippi Goddam,” taking it to the biggest music stages in America. The song is one of her biggest bouts of protest, a loud, passionate song reacting to senseless violence against Black folks. It specifically comes right after the politically motivated assassination of … Continue reading Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam,” Paved a Way for Contemporary Black Protest Music
AUDREY L. REYES
Audrey L. Reyes (she/her) is a digital content specialist and former early childhood educator whose favorite workplace activity is raising hell. Her work appears or is forthcoming in QUINCE magazine, Marías at Sampaguitas,and DEAR. She resides in Manila, Philippines. Continue reading AUDREY L. REYES
SHAREEN K. MURAYAMA
Shareen K. Murayama is a Japanese-Okinawan American poet and educator who lives in Honolulu, Hawai`i. She spends her afternoons surfing and her evenings with her dog named Squid. She’s a reader for The Adroit Journal, a Featured Poet at Negative Capability Press, and her art is forthcoming in Puerto Del Sol, Bamboo Ridge, & Agapanthus Collective. You can find her on IG & Twitter @ambusypoeming. Continue reading SHAREEN K. MURAYAMA
ROSELINE MGBODICHINMA
Roseline Mgbodichinma is a Nigerian writer whose works have appeared or are forthcoming in The African writer Magazine, The Hellebore, Serotonin Poetry, West Trestle Review, X-ray lit mag, JFA human rights mag, Serotonin poetry, Indianapolis Review, Artmosterrific, Kalahari review, Blue Marvel Review & elsewhere. She won the Audience Favorite award for the Union Bank Campus writing challenge – Okada books, she is the third prize … Continue reading ROSELINE MGBODICHINMA
NATALIE MARINO
Natalie Marino (she/her) is a poet, physician, and mother. Her work appears in Barren Magazine, Capsule Stories, Dust Poetry Magazine, Literary Mama, Moria Online, Re-side, and elsewhere. She also reads poetry submissions for Bracken Magazine. She lives in Thousand Oaks, California with her husband and two daughters. Continue reading NATALIE MARINO
THOMAS MAR WEE
Thomas Mar Wee (they/them) is a writer, poet, and editor based in New York and a senior studying English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. A writer of poetry, fiction, and mixed-media work, their work seeks to explore liminality in literary forms and the ambiguities they inhabit as a mixed-race, genderqueer person. They are currently at work on a short story collection and a novel. Continue reading THOMAS MAR WEE
NORA HIKARI
Nora Hikari (she/her) is an emerging poet and Asian-American trans lesbian based in Philadelphia. Her work has appeared in Perhappened Magazine, Ogma Magazine, and Dust Magazine, among others, and her poem Deer-to-Fish Transition Timeline has been nominated for the Best of the Net award. She can be found at @norabotbot on Twitter or at her website norahikari.com Continue reading NORA HIKARI
ANGELIKI AMPELOGIANNI
Angeliki Ampelogianni is a Greek writer and poet. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University. She currently lives in Oxford with her favourite human and their favourite house plants. In her spare time she enjoys a few too many decaf coffees, and quinoa cheese puffs. … Continue reading ANGELIKI AMPELOGIANNI