Conversationalists

Jaden Dueñas is a longtime friend. I've seen him grow as an artist and he's seen me grow as an artist. We once worked together as creatives. Now, we are both in our own lanes and striving to accomplish our dreams. We hadn't seen each other in a while, so I sat down with him to talk about where he was at as an artist. Now, he's a documentarian who directs, edits, films, and aspires...

For this episode of conversationalists, I sat down with Julian Garcia. Garcia is an aspiring director and screenwriter who goes to Columbia College in Chicago. His work covers the fringe emotions of humanity, the moral grey area. I took an interest to the stories that he tells, and had a conversation with him to get a deeper insight on them, and him. If you want to check out Garcia's work, cli...

The career path of styling isn't one that's always chosen, but those who do choose it find that it's a fulfilling craft filled with elegance and calculation. As is the case for Shaunna Phillips, a Chicago-based stylist who is determined to make it big. Her styling is unique, and her inspirations are just as skilled. As it stands, her pursuit into styling is turning out to be the perfec...

Isaac Sosa is a hometown friend. He's always been about his money, so it was no surprise when he launched his brand Plottin & Schemin. I've been keeping my eye on him ever since I found out about the brand, and when he reached out to me about a pop-up he was attending, I knew I had to head out and sit down with him. If you want to check out his brand, head over to his website using the...

$teg is a musician out of Chicago who has been making music since he was in high school. We met in college where we built a friendship around music and parties. $teg left college to pursue the trades, which put a hit on his music as it took away all his time. Throughout our conversation we talked about how long it takes him to make a song, why you need to learn how to market your music, loneliness...

For this video, I had a conversation with the Chicago rap band, Amycherz. Although there are all types of musical characters throughout the band, the main three are Nano, Jinko and Deo. Throughout our conversation, we cracked some jokes, talked about how they keep the recording process fun, how that reflects in the music, bouts with struggle, and so much more. This was a long one, but there are lo...

Ajani is someone I went to high school with. We didn't run in the same circles, but we were aware of each other. After graduating, I still saw him on social media. He's been doing his thing with the music, making clothes, and living with an honest and open philosophy, at least from what I saw. That's what made me want to sit down with him. We touched on a lot, but the best part was tha...

On April 23rd, 2024, Dom's Kitchen & Market & their sister store Foxtrot abruptly closed all of their locations nationwide. Residents have been left without their favorite shop, while workers are left without jobs. I was left with a lot of questions, so I sat down with two former employees to understand what led up to the close and where they're going to go from here. There are sti...

Honcho OSO and I sat down towards the end of 2023 to talk about his music, life and aspirations. We had been meaning to have a conversation, but things didn't line up until he was in the studio one night. I took the train up, got the cameras rolling and we produced what you see here. If you want to check out Honcho Oso's music, click here . If you want to find us on other platforms, click...

LILBOYROC is one of the more interesting artists bubbling out of Chicago. He's been working for years, transitioning between sounds and finding himself along the way. Alongside his journey, he's been with a lot of women, learning about the hardships of being a nice guy along the way. These moments inspired his track, "Mr. Nice Guy," in which he talks about learning how to live li...

Turning creativity into a career has always been the dream of the free-spirited. In 2023, it is more possible than ever. With increased access to technology, people have begun chasing their dreams now more than ever. Carter Slade is one of those people. I've been following him since he was Jiggly J/Superstar Jig, and his name change has tracked with his career elevation. Slade is jumping to ne...

Back in April 2023, Gagi and I had a conversation about how he makes music. I've been friends with him for a while, so seeing his progression as an artist throughout the years made the conversation that much more endearing. He's been making music through college and beyond, and he's making a wave for himself. Love to my brother! If you want to check out his music, check out the link he...

During my last month in Bloomington-Normal, I made sure I sat down with Alex Rengers, aka The Reng. He's a producer/musician that I learned about through Bigelow T. Seeing the chemistry that they had made me want to have a conversation with him. I know T's good energy, so I figured Alex would be, too. And I was right. Throughout our conversation, I was able to get a good grasp of who he is...

Back in February, I got the chance to sit down with a longtime friend, Connor Rogan, to talk about his journey as a photographer. Throughout his journey, he has been interested in capturing the humanity of his subjects and how raw they are in their spaces. Being able to talk to him about that helped shed some light on my own journey as an artist & creative, and I hope it can do the same for yo...

This conversation was something special. I sat down with ATL artist, Michael Bahsil, over Zoom to have a conversation about his music. What began as a convo about his music turned into one about art, community and everything in between. If you want to check out what Michael's been up to, click here . If you want to check us out on other platforms, click here .

Budlocco. An artist I briefly met during a recording session at UTK's studio in Normal, IL. During the session, we briefly chopped it up about his musical career and the artistry that drives it. Being able to talk to him encouraged me to keep my star shining, and hopefully it does the same for you. If you want to check out Budlocco & his music, click here . If you want to check us out on o...

Mason is someone I met early on in my time at Illinois State University. Throughout the years, I've seen him transform into a sports journalist while keeping his options open for other career paths. His work ethic was particularly inspiring since I had known him for so long, so we had to sit down and have a conversation. If you want to check us out on other platforms, click here .

For this segment of Conversationalists, I sat down with my freshman year roommate, Yves Jean, who has been a producer and YouTuber since I've known him. We were able to talk about his journey as a producer, YouTuber, and creative, diving into the growth he has experienced during his journey. You can find his social media and other links here . You can us on other platforms here .

At the end of 2022, Bigelow T and I sat down to talk about music and live performances. I had attended a show of his earlier in the year and noticed that he was making a lot of show appearances. My curiosity pushed me to talk to him about some of the feelings behind those shows, the music, and his career. It turned out to be an excellent conversation. If you want to check him out, click here . If...

Over the summer of 2022, I sat down with a good friend of mine, DSP. He has been responsible for various music leaks throughout the years, so we sat down to have a conversation on how leaks impact musicians and the industry. Over the course of our conversation, we talked about his opinion on leaks, the business behind them, and what artists think about leaks. Personally, it gave me a lot of insigh...

Before his show at Golden Dagger in December 2022, we sat down with Chicago artist, Cash$tarr, to catch up and talk about his career as a musician. We touched on the performing that comes with it, his growth since our last conversation, and a host of other things. It had been a while since we’d last spoke, so this conversation was refreshing, to say the least. If you want to check out Cash$tarr&#3...

This was initially recorded back in June 2022. For this showing of Conversationalists, I sat down with Emily Heneghan, a creative from Glen Ellyn, IL who specializes in art, fashion and film. During our conversation, we talked about her relationship with art, the makings of a special outfit and more. Our conversation gave me some insight on her clothing creation process and opened my eyes to the p...

I sat down with Stan $tax, an artist from Bloomington-Normal, IL, to have a conversation about his career. I originally met Stan at a show hosted by a mutual friend named Bigelow T. I had been filming recap footage for the show and got to meet the artists performing. Stan and I connected on the basis of music and creative work, immediately getting pictures shot and clips recorded. After a few mont...