AirGo

Mother Nature is up and running. The Chicago rap duo, consisting of emcees Klevah and T.R.U.T.H., has brought forth some banging recent releases, just rocked the Reggies stage, and just got back from a New York-area run of shows. The pair pops up to AirGo to talk movement, creating as artist-educators, and more. Recorded live 12/7/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: baaf - Ch...

You might be able to spot Cqqchifruit from a mile away. The DJ, visual creator, and space-creator wears an aesthetic that sparkles, shines, innovates, and reimagines concepts of gender, Caribbean diaspora, and nightlife. The cofounder of Pilsen party standout Trqpiteca, she DJs across the world. She is also a certified Reiki Master. Recorded live 11/30 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this wee...

Brandon Breaux is a visual artist whose dynamic work across media has become immensely recognizable across the city and beyond. He is the visionary behind Chance the Rapper's album artwork, and has recently created painting, sculpture, web, video, print, and interactive media projects. He also appeared as a gallery contributor at AirGo's very first We 'Go Chicago Showcase and Celebration, way back...

Coriama Couture goes there, without any fuckery. She is a writer, style envisioner, activist, and host/creator of Sex KiKi, a regular gathering and podcast in different areas of the city at which open, moderated, and meaningful conversation around sex and sexuality flourishes. She's also getting ready to launch a new talk show, which she discusses with Damon and Daniel, who may be out of their dep...

Jacinda Bullie and Jaquanda Villegas are the co-founders of Kuumba Lynx, a hip hop arts collective and community based in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. The squad leads all kinds of to-the-root liberation-based collective creation, including: the annual Hip Hop Theater Festival, Half-Pint Poetics, a perennial contending team at Louder than a Bomb, and much more. From the classroom, to the stage, t...

Rich Jones knows everyone, and they smile when you mention his name. He's a Chicago music scene veteran, rapper, and curator of the ongoing concert series All Smiles at the Tonic Room. Straddling the line with indie pop, he brings bounce to his music and the spaces he builds. He is performing Thursday evening as part of a Puerto Rico benefit show at Chop Shop, alongside AirGo alum Ravyn Lenae, the...

It's a Chicago radical podcast meeting of the minds as Ashley Tribble comes on AirGo. Tribbz is the host and producer of P Power Radio, a podcast that shares stories of millennial women and the history that has shaped the world they are working to change. Ashley currently holds a residency at AMFM, the Pilsen studio and gallery founded by AirGo alum Ciera McKissick, and does standup across the cit...

Juliana Pino sees how it all connects. She's the Policy Director at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), bringing the organization's activism, organizing, and advocacy in the La Villita community and beyond to policy struggles at the city, state, and federal level. She brings the connections between the outside and inside, the macro and micro, the personal and the global...

Maya Schenwar is a journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Truthout, an independent social justice news website that takes on the pretense of objectivity and reimagines the ways we can tell the stories of our struggle. She's the author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better, and co-editor of Who Do You Serve, Who Do you Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the...

This week, we talk with the perfect rapper. Joseph Chilliams' debut project, Henry Church, just dropped, and the rapper/icon gets DEEP into it with Damon and Daniel about the project and much more. Plus a special birthday shoutout to Dame! Recorded 9/18/2017 in Chicago, IL Music from this week's show: Happy Birthday (KikupJ Remix) - Stevie Wonder Shake My Ass (feat. Jamila Woods) - @JosephChilliam...

Matt McLoughlin has done it before. The Philly native is an activist and accomplice in the best sense of the word–from the streets of Occupy, to the transformative lot of Freedom Square, to the courtrooms and offices of his current work with the Chicago Community Bond Fund, Matt's open-eyed commitment and love shines through. He comes on the show to talk about the campaign to end cash bond in Illi...

For the second time in AirGo history, a scheduling snafu leaves Damon and Daniel on the air with no guest. Good thing they like to talk to each other. They check in on how they're reimagining the show, wrestling with depression, laughing at the cosmic joke, and much more, plus some great music from Jamila Woods, Saba, Noname, Joseph Chilliams, Qari, Phoelix, and Elton Aura. Recorded live 9/7/17 at...

This week's guest is Ciera Mckissick, the founder and voice behind arts and culture multiplatform space AMFM. A Milwaukee native, she brought her AMFM brand to the city and worked to build a home for it, an effort that led to her new performance space and gallery in Pilsen. Recorded live 8/31/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Rollercoaster - Roger Plexico Follow AirGo - ins...

We #runitback one more time with Chicago's nouveau disco rap superstar, Geneva-visiting activist, and community goofball Ric Wilson. Since his (late) appearance on Episode 3, the musical world has opened up for Ric–he's sold out Schuba's, performed at a bunch of festivals, and opened for Chuck D, DRAM, and The Roots. Together, we delve into the mystery wrapped in an enigma with a side of dance tha...

This week we run it back with the guest who started it all. AirGo first guest Malcolm London returns to the show to talk growth, masculinity, raggedy growth, and much more. NOTE: this is the third episode of #AirGoRunItBack, a five-week series featuring return conversations with folks who have been on the show through the first 100 episodes. Share your favorite episode on social media with hashtag...

The Champ is here! Eve Ewing returns to the airwaves as part of our #AirGoRunItBack series. Since she was on all the way back in 2015, she got her doctorate from Harvard, became a tenure-track professor at UChicago, launched a bajillion community-based creative projects here in the city, and gained MANY twitter followers. She goes the distance on the longest episode of AirGo we've ever done–we cou...

As part of AirGo's #RunItBack Series, Ricardo Gamboa comes back to the show to catch up and bring some more gems to the airwaves. Since previously appearing, Ricky has returned full-time back to the city and launched numerous projects, including web series Brujos, bimonthly talk show and podcast The Hoodoisie, and community theatre project Meet Juan-ito Doe. The dimple chin remains unchanged. NOTE...

As AirGo hits 100 episodes, we run it back with the parent of Chicago's radical renaissance Mariame Kaba. The wonderful organizer, educator, and community creator talks about her move back home to New York, angry old Socialists, a shift in battlefield since the election, and more. NOTE: this is the first episode of #AirGoRunItBack, a five-week series featuring return conversations with folks who h...

Sadia Nawab creates across media as an arts educator, youth educator, artist, curator, DJ and organizer. She is the Youth & Arts Manager of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), an organization aiming "to serve as the model of the Muslim tradition of facilitating transformational change in urban communities, by inspiring others towards critical civic engagement exemplifying prophetic co...

Elgin Bokari is a multidisciplinary artist, creator, and Program Director for Free Write Jail Arts & Literacy, an organization that teaches writing and creative arts at the Cook County Juvenile Detention facility. A St. Louis native, he DJs, produces, raps, and makes visual art. He is a member of the Elephant Rebellion creative collective. Recorded live 7/13/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music...

The Stitch Gawd is here. Emma Mckee is a cross-stitch artist whose work has blessed the sleeves and jackets of pretty much every rapper and singer you know and love from the city of Chicago. She breaks down her craft, talks getting kicked out of Canada, her love for Pivot Gang, North Korea vs. Mormons, and more. She has a mixtape featuring many of the hottest acts in the city coming soon. Recorded...

Jorge Mikell is a true veteran of the Chicago Renaissance. He just released Soliloquy, his debut full-length album, which is available literally everywhere. He is also deep in the Chicago urban agriculture game, facilitating all types of programs through his role at the Experimental Station to connect Chicagoans with affordable, delicious, fresh food. Recorded live 6/29/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicag...

Terrence Thompson is a filmmaker and Chicago native who's been documenting, shaping, and retelling stories throughout the city. His most recent film, "Drive Slow," just premiered through the Chicago Track program, an initiative of Free Spirit Media and DCASE. It also stars one of your favorite podcast cohosts (it's Damon). Recorded live 6/22/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show...

Rachel Leider understands momentum. She's a central organizer for the Chicago chapter of IfNotNow, a national community of young American Jews committed to erasing American Jewish support for the Israeli occupation. She stops by the show to talk movement-building, Jewishness, and more. Recorded live 6/8/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Bird On A Wire (Instrumental) - Harry...

This week, we're doing something a little different–an AirGo doubleheader featuring two one-on-one interviews. Daniel's back in New York for the week talking with an old friend, while Damon holds down the on-air slot. Enjoy all of the conversation! Back in Chicago, Damon sits down with Ayinde Cartman. Ayinde is a poet, organizer, and caretaker, who actually was featured with a live performance all...