Back To Reading Credits

For the sixth and final episode of Back To Reading Credits, Wes Jackson spoke with legendary artist Lady Pink about getting an education from painting trains, making a name for herself as a woman writer in the 70s and 80s, and straddling the worlds of street art and fine art today. Lady Pink started writing graffiti in 1979 and soon became well known as the only female capable of competing with th...

For the fifth episode of Back To Reading Credits, Wes Jackson spoke with artist and advocate Lachi about how she and her peers are fighting to make the music industry more accessible. Lachi is a globally touring recording artist, award winning social entrepreneur, GRAMMYs Chapter Board Governor, and host of PBS’ American Masters series ‘Renegades’. Born legally blind, Lachi uses her platform in mu...

To appreciate The Culture, you need to understand where it all began. This summer, I kicked off BRIC’s new Master Class series with a lecture on the origins of Hip-Hop in New York City and the ripple effect it has had worldwide over the last 5 decades. Today, we’re sharing the audio from my master class with you, our listeners. We hope you enjoy this look back at the origins and evolution of Hip-H...

Hip-Hop has arguably centered the male gaze since its birth 50 years ago. In this season of Back To Reading Credits , we have chosen to focus on the unsung women of Hip-Hop, sometimes operating in obscurity, often bumping up against misogyny and racism, always innovating, undergirding, and defining the culture. This May, we hosted a BHeard town hall on the subject of Misogynoir in the genre, and t...

For the fourth episode of Back To Reading Credits, Wes Jackson sat down with old friend and fashion legend April Walker to talk about her early years at The East and Uhuru Sasa Shule School, originating streetwear silhouettes, and her favorite print of all time. April Walker is a fashion icon, entrepreneur, educator, and author whose work has been featured in Forbes, In Style, Essence, The New Yor...

** You’re Invited to a #BHeard Town Hall on Thursday, May 23rd! Be part of the audience for a town hall at BRIC House in Downtown Brooklyn about confronting misogynoir in Hip-Hop. Doors at 6:30PM, Show at 7:00PM.** For the third episode of Back To Reading Credits, Wes Jackson and Nadhirah Simmons met up at BRIC House to talk about the state of Hip-Hop journalism, archiving your old magazines, and...

For our second episode, Wes Jackson sat down with Sophia Chang live, onstage at BRIC House in Downtown Brooklyn as part of BRIC’s Hip-Hop Weekend in February. Sophia is a public speaker, mentor, screenwriter, and author of “The Baddest Bitch in the Room: A Memoir”. Sophia calls herself a “matriarchitect”. Over the course of her career in the music business, she managed Ol’ Dirty Bastard, RZA, GZA,...

On August 11 1973, 15-year-old Cindy Campbell threw a back-to-school party in the Bronx that forever shaped music history. 50 years later, August 11th is commonly celebrated as the birth of Hip-Hop. Women have always been there, influencing, promoting, and creating Hip-Hop culture. For our first-ever episode, Wes Jackson spoke with Kathy Iandoli live, onstage at BRIC House in Downtown Brooklyn as...