Banquet Hall Podcast

Keepin' it Authentic is back! And what better episode to start with after an extended absence rather than about preserving ourselves as humans and taking our own hibernation this winter. Capitalism and the news cycle are running rampant, how do you set aside time and space for YOU to exist how YOU want?

The Banquet Hall is back once again with an amazing young writer, photographer, and future Nobel Prize Winner Zaria (along with Julian behind the lens).Zaria joins us to talk about her Hair Notes - the moving story about her journey and relationship with her hair, and how she has navigated all of these different iterations of herself.

Grab your favorite wine glass because we are pouring some homemade wine with Queen Dom! Dominique joins The Banquet Hall to discuss her journey as she is on the onset of her journey creating and perfecting her own wine. She brings us a bottle of a new cran-mango flavor and gives the audience the first official taste test.

Shana Schoone joins the podcast to talk about her unique journey in becoming an amazingly talented author, writer, and healer. She shares an in-depth look at the near-death experience that inspired her first collection of poems, A Life Lived - What Matters In Our Final Moments, followed by a lovely conversation on her latest, love, the one that got away. This podcast is for real lovers and real lo...

In part two of a multi-part conversation, it's time to DUEL! Domonique and Kyler sit down for a game of Yu-Gi-Oh, a game which both love, but only one of them has found continued success within this storied rivalry. Between magic cards and trap cards, enjoy a conversation on nuance, losing, and creating space for difficult dialogue.

A 2-for-1 special, IVK Film Club is back and taking a look at 2 of the summer's first action blockbusters, From the John Wick Universe: Ballerina, and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. We get started with spoiler-free reviews of both movies before doing a deeper dive into specific plot points, before closing it out with the 7 standards that every great action movie needs to meet.

Film Club is back and we hope yall came ready to chat! This time around, Kyler shares some SINNERS takes from Instagram comments and hilarious phone conversations. In addition, he takes a deeper look into SINNERS and why it works, including discussions on representation, allyship, complex characters, and trust.

In part one of a multi-part conversation, Domonique, who many know as Kovu, shares perspective on a recent life journey filled with learning, unlearning, and matcha. Part one of our conversation provides appetizers into boundaries, masculinity, community spaces, as Domonique and Kyler prepare to d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duel.

Somethin' I been wanting to tell you... The IVK Film Club is finally hear with the main movie everyone is talking about in 2025, SINNERS, directed and written by the great Ryan Coogler. From sexy moments, to authentically Black ones, IVK gives his perspective and analysis on a multitude of moments in SINNERS, don't forget to share your own thoughts in the comments! Check out @TheFourthKyler on Let...

Zay Monae is a cultural photographer who aims to highlight freedom, warmth, love, joy, and so much more as she captures moments in time that you can feel through the 85mm lens. Our conversation begins with a trip down memory lane as Zay and Kyler reminisce about going to elementary school next to a liquor store, prior to diving deep into this incredible artist's unique vision, perspective, and tal...

The Banquet Hall is blessed to be joined by another first-time podcast guest, Jamilah, who is a multihyphenated artist/creative with skills ranging from nutrition/cooking, to yoga, to poetry, and so much more. Join us for an in-depth conversation on the creative process as 2 artists discuss navigating the world from a creative, human-centric perspective.

The Banquet Hall is back on Earth Day (aka Kyler's birthday) with a brand new interview with SoulTree, a multi-hyphenated artist/creative with roots in West Philadelphia and Oklahoma. Sit in on our conversation as we walkthrough SoulTree's "BBL Journey" as she navigates being, becoming, and living, in pursuit of her goals.

BRING IN THE DANCING LOBSTERS because the Banquet Hall is back with another banger. We are joined by Mari, a current law student at Georgetown who is doing incredible work in the community toward prison abolishment. Mari & Kyler go back a decade, back to when Mari was an intern at UCSD's Women Center, and Kyler at the Black Resource Center. Their conversation spans the intricacies of law schoo...

A tale of OG's, Uncs, and Young brothas. The Banquet Hall is back with another one for the music lovers. We are joined by Desmond, a multi-hyphenated artist who is currently studying Music Technology at UC San Diego. Desmond updates Kyler on the state of Black culture at UCSD before they dive into Desmond's journey as an 11-year-old making his first beats, to working on upcoming projects w...

Happy New Year! Asha and Kyler link back up for the first time since 2024 to discuss the intentions set at the beginning of the year, fashion do's and don'ts, vacations, relaxation, and much more!

Happy New Year, Black History Month, and whatever else we missed! The Banquet Hall is back with a brand new episode featuring Alexandria, a proud mom, model, and much more, who is back on the podcast now that the GNX dust has settled. Alex and Kyler talk about everything from the best fried rice and chicken strips EVER, to words of wisdom (and love) for her beautiful son that deserves to be heard...

It is holiday season at The Banquet Hall which means Asha and Kyler had to take time to have an authentic conversation about what it means to celebrate the holidays in our late 20's. We talk about holiday traditions, whether or not our kids will be introduced to Santa Clause, navigating budgeting time with loved ones, and much more! Let us know your traditions in the comments!

An album as iconic as GNX deserved more than one episode to break it down. Alex makes her first appearance on The Banquet Hall Podcast to join Asha to discuss the emotional responses to GNX and break down what it means to them as 2 Black Women from the heart of Los Angeles.

A special edition of The Banquet Hall Podcast featuring Jessica and Monique, two Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists (LMFT) joining the pod to give listeners valuable insight to the ongoing National United Healthcare Workers (NUHW) strike. They go into depth about what NUHW is, what they are asking from Kaiser, what some of their counterparts in other regions have accomplished, what's it lik...

Kyler is blessed to be joined by his little big sister, Monique, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist ( @talks.with.monique ), who gifts listeners with a look back at their friendship which originates back to the yester years of the mid-2000's where they both showcased their talents at the academic decathlon. In addition to walks down memory lane, Monique also shares tips on how to maximize...

Have you ever passed by a mural and wondered what its story was? Where the artist is? Or why it looked that way? Kyler sits down with Destiny, ( @ifiqueart ) to talk about her family's rich cultural roots, the zone she gets in before embarking on a journey to paint a mural, and much more in this colorful conversation all about the intricacies of what goes into creating her beautiful art.

Not a lot of Black Boys from Oakland get to backpack around the world, but Derek is one of them. The Banquet Hall is back with an interview from one of Oakland's finest who shares with us inspirational stories of photography, traveling to lesser known parts of the world, and paying proper homage to those who paved the way for him.

Where were you when your friend from LA texted you that Kendrick dropped? Asha and Kyler have thoughts, and kept it authentic to how that album drop made us feel on this Feel Good Friday.

The Banquet Hall is back with a fresh interview with Nella, another one of Kyler's high school classmates, but this interview is unique because Kyler & Nella have not seen each other, nor have had an extended conversation since high school (and even then, they didn't chat much back then). We ended up having a stellar conversation on those trademark stories of youth that shape the people we are...

Keepin' it Authentic is back! We hope you missed us! We have been busy to stay the least. New jobs, new apartments, big transitions, and we are ready to catch you up on all of it. Grab you a Big Gulp from 7-11 because we spend a surprising amount of time talking about that to start the episode! Stick around for DoorDash/Instacart stories (including how Asha became Dasher of the YEAR), a recap of t...