club emotions: pisces (inspired by kelela's raven)

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I’m back making zodiac mixes, y’all. Gonna be cycling through a few mix ideas with my interpretation of each sign’s energy. This season I’m introducing Club Emotions, a mix series exploring sentiment & interiority on the dance floor. In my head it’s a movement oriented evolution of my Feelings Radio series (old heads know).

For Pisces, I took inspiration from Kelela’s new album Raven. This one is a half hour of deep driven 130BPM aqueous club sounds. In addition to four tracks from Raven, I’ve got some SZA, Beyoncé, Azealia, Tems, Tinashé, Brent Faiyaz, Bryson Tiller, et al in there for all your feels.

Tracklist:

1. K.P. & Envyi - Swing My Way (Remix)

2. Kelela - Washed Away (RedOnDance ReEdit)

3. AUTO - N***** WANT ME TO GET RATCHET [SZA EDIT]

4. Erika De Casier - Intimate (Club Mix)

5. Brent Faiyaz - Wish You Well (KND x Mvntana)

6. DJ Problem - I Wanna Be Dxwn (2k15)

7. Bryson Tiller - How About Now (DJ Webtwerk Rmx)

8. Alicia Keys - You Don’t Know My Name (Traps N Trees Remix)

9. Pharrell - Frontin (Hot Rod bmx)

10. Kelela - Contact

11. ESQSOUND - AMERICA HAS A CRUSH MIX BEY X CI

12. Ojerime - Give It Up 2 Me (Mr. Carmack remix)

13. Kelela - Let It Go (DJ GAY-Z Edit)

14. The Weeknd - Rolling Stone (Diephuis Afrosoul Remix)

15. AUTO - D.A.L.B (tina she edit)

16. Tems - Trouble (Kev Christopher Edit)

17. Kelela - Bruises

18. Azealia Banks - Along The Coast

nts: club aerobics w/ bianca oblivion

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Made my debut on NTS2 with the mega talented Bianca Oblivion on 1/18, here’s the recording.

TRACKLIST:

1. SZA - Kill Bill (Gafacci Remix)

2. Riko Dan - Gun Take (ODF Edit)

3. Diam's - DJ (Pura Pura Club Edit)

4. haifa wehbe - mosh adra istanna (estoc remix)

5. CLIPZ - SHORTY

6. Y U QT - Just Wanna Rock Dub

7. Sade - I Still Really Love You (AbJo Remix)

8. Sade - Cherish the Day (DB Cooper's Concrete Jungle Edit)

   INTERVIEW

9. Purelink - Butterfly Jam (xphresh Bad Girl version)

10. Sade - Love Is Stronger Than Pride (Kaytra Edit)

11. Sade - By Your Side (Cottonbelly’s ‘Fola’ Mix)

12. Michael Jackson - Butterflies (Olefonken Remiks)

13. Frank Ocean - Nights (swell remix bounced by Chinua)

14. Sade / Red Rum (FALCONS Bounce)

15. Outkast - Prototype (Sean Sébastien New Orleans Bounce Remix)

16. Deniece Williams - Free (Sean Sébastien New Orleans Bounce Remix)

17. SZA - The Weekend (DJ Hitz Bounce Mix)

18. Messy Mya - NOLA, Houston, & ATL

19. kkinkshamerr (suicideyear) - DO IT FOR U

20. Tamia - So Into You (Omar Duro NOLA Bounce)

21. Juls - Lokoto Riddim

22. JD. REID - WHEN I’M IN YOUR AMA

23. Hiatus Kaiyote - The Lung (Paul White Remix)

24. Sade - Cherish The Day (Andrew. x Eric Bee Remix)

25. Tshego - No Ties (Amapiano Remix)

26. Kelvin Momo - Say Yes (Vocal Spin Mix)

27. Kanye West - Jesus Walks (Lil Manna Remix)

28. Nala & Yanda & Tjune - Tyrone (edit)

29. Rihanna - James Joint (TheYoussoufor Afro Remix)

main character: an ascendance short film

I’ve been wanting to get into video editing for a while now, so after I got back this excellent slo-mo footage of the Sagittarius Season Ascendance from my videographer friend LaRon I knew I wanted to try to make something out of it. Over the years, many of y’all have said that it feels like a movie, so I decided to see how far I could take that concept. Expect to see more video editing/cinematography type stuff from me in 2023, this was a very enjoyable experience!

Captured by LaRon Mathieu

Edited by me

Track: Jian Wang, Göran Söllscher, Jean Sibelius - 13 Pieces for Piano, Op.76 II. Etude

reminisce: vintage house music 1991-2001

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On this mix you’ll hear some of my favorite house & deep house producers like Frankie Knuckles, Masters at Work, Todd Terry, Booker T, David Morales, & Ron Trent remixing Zhané, Bobby Brown, Chaka Khan, De La Soul, Tony Touch, & Kirk Franklin.

What I love most about house is its stubborn sincerity: It’s here to move your body and your soul. It has no interest in scenes or trends or being too cool. It is earnest joyous timeless queer, Black, and Brown artistry and no billionaires singing about things they couldn’t possibly understand can take that away from it. (There are some definite jams on Renaissance though, let’s not kid ourselves)

This is for the old heads, the true blue partygoers, the catharsis seekers, the toothy grin on the dance floor types, and maybe those a little exhausted by the tongue in cheek, too cool for school, trend escalator energy out there. I had so much fun recording this one.

Tracklist:

1. Shane - Hey Mr. DJ (UBQ’s Underground Dub) [1994]

2. Eternal - Stay (West End D’Rhythm RMX) [1994]

3. Frankie Knuckles - Love Can Change It (For Those That Like to Dub) [1996]

4. Kirk Franklin - Stomp (Booker T Spiritual House Mix) [1997]

5. Bass Hitt - Hey! (The Rhythmized Dub Rub) [1993]

6. NY’s Finest - Do You Feel Me (Club Mix) [1993]

7. Schatrax - Keep On Loving (Original Mix) [1997]

8. Amel Larrieux - Get Up (Röntgen Trent Vox Mix) [2000]

9. Louie Vega & Marc Anthony - Ride On The Rhythm (Funky ’92 Re-Edit) [1992]

10. Simply Red - Thrill Me (The Masters At Work House Mix) [1992]

11. Tony Touch - I Wonder Why (He’s The Greatest DJ) (MAW Dub Mix) [2000]

12. Teletype ft. DJ Cisky - Gimme Some Soul [1991]

13. Martha Wash - Carry On (Vocal Bass Dub Mix) [1992]

14. Bobby Brown - Every Little Step (CJ Mackintosh 12” RMX) [1996]

15. Chaka Khan - Never Miss The Water (Frankie Knuckles Remix) [1996]

16. Janet Jackson - Alright [Todd Terry Tee’s Club RMX) [1996]

17. De La Soul - A Roller Skating Jam Named “Saturdays” (Morales 6AM Mix) [1991]

18. Playin’ 4 The City - Atmosfear’s Vibe [2001]

feelings radio vol. four (w/ bell, audre, & james)

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’ve decided to return to Feelings Radio and make volume 4 as a sort of release from all the emotions I’ve felt during the last couple weeks in transition. This time around I read excerpts from bell hooks, Audre Lorde and James Baldwin that have resonated recently. 

As for the music, if you’ve ever wanted to hear what it sounds like transitioning Bad Bunny into Musiq Soulchild, Kool & The Gang into Duke Ellington, or Ghostface Killah into Kelela this may be the mix for you. As per usual I have absolutely no genre discipline. It’s got afrobeat, hip hop, R&B, house, amapiano, club, et al. You know the vibes.

Tracklist:

1. A.R.T. Wilson - Sun Sign Cancer (w/ bell hooks)

2. Aaliyah - Rock The Boat (GINAJEANZ Edit)

3. Duncan Gerow - Mary J. Blige + Devin Morrison = Love Is All We Need

4. Zhané - Crush (k15 Remix)

5. Jorja Smith - Be Honest (BGRZ x StillNas Remix

6. LOVELASH - Fountains (Tems)

7. CKay - Love Nwantiti (Cabu Edit)

8. Kool & The Gang - ‘Bossa’ Summer Madness (CMAN Edit)

9. Duke Ellington - Caravan (Pura Pura Edit)

10. Alewya - Play

11. Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z - ’03 Bonnie & Clyde (Bavr R’ton Edit) (w/ Audre Lorde)

12. Esty - 7heaven

13. Rema - Soundgasm (Pura Pura Edit)

14. DJ KAYSMART - Dance Body Breaker

15. DJ Raff - Momentos

16. Ghostface Killah - Cherchez La Ghost (Pura Pura Edit)

17. Girl Unit ft. Kelela - WYWD (Remix)

18. mistico dubs - Sad Gurlz Luv Bae

19. PinkPantheress - Just For Me (Amapiano Edit)

20. Alewya - Zuggy

21. Lego - El Ritmo De Verdad (Swag’s Machacado Dub)

22. Hagan - Acid Attack

23. Black Motion ft. Brenden Praise - Ome

24. D’Angelo - Betray My Heart (Benny Bridges Edit)

25. Tupac - Do For Love (Double Dragon Rework)

26. nuance - sol y playa

27. Musiq Soulchild - Love (OSSAMMOT Flip)

28. Selecta - Alright

29. Drake ft. The Weekend - Crew Love (Soulchyld Remix)

30. Robert Grasper - Better Than I Imagine (DJ Tunez Remix)

31. Web We x Max Herre - Satori Ways (w/ James Baldwin)

sunset house spring 2022 (abortion fundraiser)

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For this mix I’ll be fundraising for Porch Store and New Orleans Abortion Fund to provide community reproductive medical support in New Orleans. The mix is obviously free to listen to, but if you do listen and would like to support, Venmo me $10 to @djchinua or CashApp to @innerversions, 100% of funds will be split evenly between them.

Tracklist:

1. Nicola Conte - Arabesque (Micatone Remix)

2. Sade - I Never Thought I’d See The Day (Emotional Tourist & Interlude Revisit)

3. The Possé - Season’s Greeting

4. Björk - Alarm Call (French Edit)

5. Amy Winehouse - Stronger Than Me (DJ Dharma 900 Remix)

6. Baldacci - Say My Name (Extended Mix)

7. Casey Spillman - 10th Flavour

8. Aroop Roy - Quem Vai Querer

9. Björk - Human Behavior (Dmitri From Paris Le Touch Remix)

10. Kali Uchis - telepatia (Sergio Villanueva Remix)

11. Angie Stone - Wish I Didn’t Miss You (Groove Station Edit)

12. DJ PSYCHIATRE - Sensitive Girl

13. Slim Steve - Morphine (Yeah, you know I like to sip)

ww new orleans 1/17/22 (worldwide.fm amapiano mix)

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This mix for WW: New Orleans is an hour long exploration of South African deep house and Amapiano inspired by the New Orleans sunset.

Photo by Gabriela Maj

Tracklist:

1. Tsuduku - Eh!

2. Emotionz DJ - Intense Emotions ft. Alie Keyz [Sony Music Entertainment Africa]

3. Manu Worldstar - Choko ft. MFR Souls (Amapiano Remix) [Sony Music Entertainment Africa]

4. Good Days - SZA (Amapiano Remix)

5. Mashakes CPT - Love Nwantiti (Amapiano Remix)

6. Wizkid - Amapiano Essence ft. Tems (Jerry C Remix)

7. Dave - Law of Attraction ft. Snoh Aalegra (Rxwntree Amapiano Remix)

8. Jill Scott - It’s Love (Kazam Deep Edit)

9. Goapele - Closer (Uncle Scroogy’s DJ Edit)

10. Sade - Cherish The Day (Andrew. x Eric Bee Remix)

11. Wildkatz - Sunday (DJ Polo Remix) [Molly House Records]

12. Kabza De Small - Congratulate [Sony Music Entertainment Africa]

13. Ubuntu Brothers & Sandza De Keys - Summer Daze [Ubuntu Brothers Records]

14. Amaarae - Spend Some Time ft. Wande Coal (AfricanJedi Amapiano Remix)

15. Sampha - Too Much (Tropical Yanos Mix)

16. Kanye West - Jesus Walks (Lil Manna Remix)

17. Jill Scott - Golden (Uncle Scroogy Edit)

18. SUA - deadtome

19. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe ft. Emeli Sandeeps (KVRVBO Remode Bootled)

20. KVRVBO - Ginger Smacks [Stay True Sounds]

21. FKA Mash - Another Glitch Dub [Stay True Sounds]

22. Oscar Mbo - Asambeni ft. C-Blak [The Ashmed Hour Records]

23. Euggy - Westside Warriors (Hypaphonik Derived) [Stay True Sounds]

24. Buddynice - Me Before You (Chymamusique Remix) [Collenchyma]

25. Nwson - Nova [IMPLSV]

26. Kid Fonque - Inertia ft. Jonny Miller & China Charmeleon (Nutty Nys Remix) [Stay True Sounds]

awaken (music for morning)

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Awaken is 48 minutes of beatless, sometimes formless, often wordless early morning inspired music. Good for waking up, meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, bathing, journaling, reading, walks in nature, or any part(s) of a morning routine.

Photo by Len Sr.

Tracklist:

1. Laraaji - Introspection (edit)

2. Sea Oleena - Untethering

3. Djrum - Creature, Pt. 1

4. Arooj Aftab - Baghon Main

5. Erika De Casier - Insult Me

6. Ryan Teague - Artifact 3

7. Ana Roxanne - Nocturne

8. Stars of The Lid - Hiberner Toujours

9. Sea Oleena - Portugal (A Lift)

10. Jon Hopkins - Dawn Chorus

11. Mary Lattimore - Mary You Were Wrong

convalescent sound

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My intention with this mix is to soundtrack active healing from any of the number of things we’re all going through. Making this mix was convalescent for me, hopefully listening to it does something for you.

Photo by Jose Cotto

Tracklist:

1. J Dilla - Players (DJA1 House Breaks)

2. Souls of Mischief - 93 ’til Infinity (Smochi & Excez Edit)

3. Toro y Moi - Say That (Ken Mac’s Slowed Edit)

4. Hiatus Kayote - Red Room (Mo Serious Edit)

5. Cleo Sol - When I’m In Your Arms (DJ Geena Marie Remix)

6. Jamie Woon - Sharpness (Kaytranda Edit)

7. RSCO - PIANO TING

8. Diamantero x Kaysha - Kyana

9. Burna Boy - 23 (Kevin Kofi & DJ Kwamzy Amapiano Remix)

10. anaïs - Woman (Petit Piment Remix)

11. Gina Jeanz - Amagroove

12. Aaliyah x KG - Rock The Boat (Obsession Mix)

13. Gina Jeanz x Mumbi Kasumba - Tropic City (Simbad Suite)

14. Afronaut x Jorja Smith - On My Mind (Nautz L8 Nite Rican-struction)

15. D’Angelo - Spanish Joint (Osage Remix)

16. Antigua Deep - War of the Edit

17. Nelly Furtado - Say It Right (Burna Bootleg)

18. Slim Shae - Give It Up 2 Me

19. Erykah Badu - Telephone (Nora Zion Edit)

20. Hiatus Kayote - Fingerprints (Mo Serious Edit)

21. Reel People - Can We Pretend (Tall Black Guy Samba Remix)

22. Pell ft. Dave B. - Flight

23. Blackalicious - Make U Feel That Way (See Dee Edit)

cancer season (live amapiano from couches)

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Here’s a live recording of the mix of the awesome awesome South African house genre Amapiano that was the opening set for Couches on 7/2 at Cafe Istanbul. If you’d like to know more about this sound my dear friend Mankaprr just had a big piece on it published in Rolling Stone featuring DJ Moma and Busiswa.

Photo by Hope Mora

Tracklist:

1. JazziDisciples - Weyo

2. YUNGEASY & ip passport - LIFE (kiss Of Life Amapiano Edit)

3. DJ Stokie - Superman (ft. Kabza De Small, Masterpiece YVK & Madumane)

4. BRII - Rock With You (Amapiano Remix)

5. Fiso El Musica - Family Matters (Love Filtered)

6. Drake - Passionfruit (DJ Kwamzy Amapiano Remix)

7. TO Starquality & Sekiwe - Hulumeni ft. Mas Musiq & DBN Gogo

8. Groove Theory - Tell Me (WaxFiend Amapiano Remix)

9. MFR Souls - Bathandwa (ft. Bassie)

10. Sha Sha - Going In (feat. DJ Maphorisa & Kabza De Small)

11. De Mogul SA X Donell Jones - U Know What’s Up Edit

12. Wizkid, Terri, Ceeza Milli, & Spotless - Soco (DJ Kwamzy Amapiano Remix)

13. Ballads - Tadow (Amapiano Edit)

14. Kelvin Momo - Say Yes (Vocal Spin Mix)

15. Tshego - No Ties (Amapiano Remix) (ft. King Monada & MFR Souls)

a gemini word

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In keeping with Gemini in general, this one is kind of all over the place, with lots of dancehall and afrobeat, some house, hip hop, Amapiano, jazz, funk, reggae, and some extra fun stuff from Haiti, the Bahamas, T&T, and elsewhere. I’ve got both Juneteenth and summer on my mind at the moment, so some of this is serious, some is fun, but it’s all very Black. 

Photo by Carlos Silva

Tracklist:

1. Meek - Sensimillia

2. Wayne Wonder - Saddest Day Of My Life

3. Beenie Man - Slam

4. General Degree - When I Hold You Tonight

5. Cham - Vitamin S

6. FS Green - Isley Riddim

7. by.ALEXANDER - Trumpets

8. Sault - Don’t Shoot Guns Down (Daniel Haaksman Samba Edit)

9. Vanna - To The MA

10. Amaarae - Sad Girls Luv Money

11. Don Toliver - No Idea (Jabair Remix)

12. DJ Tunez & Olamide - Require

13. Oxlade - Away

14. Kizz Daniel - Currently

15. Tyla - Getting Late

16. Black Star - Respiration (quick Tele Edit)

17. Mos Def - Umi Says (Nick Monaco Edit)

18. Meek - Burnin & Lootin

19. James Stewart - Where Are You Goin? (SMBD People Dub)

20. Taty Camps - Sossego (mashup)

21. Jok’air & Naza - Oh nana

22. WSTRN - Mama Stay

23. Mr. Eazi - E Be Mad

24. Michael Brun & Naïka - African Sun (Remix)

25. Teddyson John - Leave (Kité Sa)

26. Marzville - Wuk 

27. Beken - Kote’w Te Ye

taurus flow

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Inspired by my recent trip to see family in the beautiful verdant PNW, I made this mix for my season with the intention of getting lost in the woods to it. As Taurus is all about stillness, deliberate pace, and patience, these are slow peaceful ambient, R&B, soul, and indie rock sounds (mostly made by Black women).

Photo by Len Sr.

Tracklist:

1. Nathan Bahar - Purple Hearts Interlude

2. Jamilah Berry - Reflection

3. Leuca - Never Give Up

4. Talibah Safiya - Ten Toes Down

5. Foushee - Single AF

6. Fana Hues - Icarus

7. Kelsey Lu - Morning Dew

8. Brandon Banks & Mereba - SELF

9. Eco Virtual - Nimbostratus

10. Adanna Duru - Please Don’t Waste My Time

11. Ojerime - Mansur’s Interlude

12. Kiran Kai - FF

13. Kelela - A Lie (Fybe.one Refix)

14. Daniel Haaksman - Vem (Beatless Version)

15. Dianna Lopez - So I Don’t Feel Useless

16. Rook Monroe - Jolie

17. Brittany Howard - Short and Sweet (Bon Iver Remix)

18. Sea Oleena - On Possession

19. Versus - Chennai Bliss

20. Jamilah Berry - midtro_2_my.soul

aries riddim

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As my relationship to the Zodiac and the concept of formal belief structure in general evolves I thought it would be interesting to see what comes of redoing these, and I have to say I am so happy with the results. This Aries mix is perfect for a sunny spring day and has a Diasporic feel, meaning Reggae, Afrobeat, Baile, Bossa Nova, Reggaeton, Moombah, etc.

Photo by Fernando Lopez

Tracklist:

1. Burning Spear - The Ghost (Baru edit)

2. Lady Donli ft. VanJess & The Cavemen - The Corner

3. Lil Uzi Vert - XO Tour Llif3 (edit)

4. Pobvio - Symphony Dembow

5. akash - ELASTICO

6. Mo’ Horizons - Foto Viva (Nicola Conte remix)

7. Robert Glasper - Better Than I Imagined (DJ Tunez remix)

8. Sotomayor - Morenita (Disque DJ remix)

9. Gaspar Muniz - Boa Tarde Povo

10. YUNGALVARA - VENTE NEGRA

11. Lil Nas X - Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

12. Samba de Coco Raízes de Arcoverde -Seu Maia (Micheletti MST edit)

13. Baden Powell & Vinicius de Moraes - Canto de Ossanha (M.RUX edit)

14. jmac - Odunsi Vibe

15. Tiwa Savage - Koroba

16. Ice Prince ft. Olamide - Kolo

17. Victoria Kimani & Stella Mwangi - Number One

18. Fiokee X Teni X DJ Coublon - Osan

19. Mojvki & DJ Kwamzy - DRAFTS

20. Sauti Sol ft. Sho Madjozi & Black Motion - Disco Matanga (KNVL. edit)

21. Belofox - Friends

22. Sarz - Spiritual Riddim

23. Buju - L’enu

24. SpydaT.E.K - So Anxious (Baile Funk remix)

25. StillNAS - Thong Funk

26. Kevin Kofii x Vitus Tribe - Laugh Now Cry Later

27. Pop Kassav’ - Byenveni nan fèt la

28. Mix Premier - Ton téléphone sonne

29. 112 - N-E-Where (Uki remix)

30. Rastronaut - Azinhaga

31. MORiLLO - Yea Yea

32. dinamarca - hablamos mañana <3

house meditations volume one

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Throughout the panini I’ve been listening to mostly house and afrobeat, so I’m going to be alternating releasing mixes between the two genres over the next couple months. This mix has a deeper more meditative feel and is good for getting work done, driving, being creative, etc. It makes me think about beach sunsets and space discos, both of which we can hopefully all experience sooner rather than later.

Photo by Hope Mora

Tracklist:

1. Red Rack’em - In Love Again

2. Tour-Maubourg - Ode to Love

3. Rischke - Subdivisions

4. COEO - I Can Never Be Yours

5. Kelvin Momo - Say Yes (Vocal Spin Mix)

6. Vikter Duplaix - Morena Remix

7. Reece Madiisa & Zuma - JazziDisciples (Zlele)

8. Zero12Finest - Baby Are You Coming?

9. No Moon - Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way

10. KX9000 - MilleniumCivic

11. Felipe Gordon - (To) Get My Shit Together

12. Elisa Elisa - Drum Love

13. ben & dylan - Bipedal Bears

14. Futuro Pelo - Nefertiti (Red Axes Remix)

15. Atjazz ft. Dominique Fils-Aimé - See-Line Woman

16. Peppe Citarella - Bailando De Too

17. Lexa Hil - Niños

18. Ricky Razu - Alive

19. Jesse Bro - Summer Rain

20. Jus Jam - Late Night

21. Rory No-Mates - Hard Liquor

22. Daniel Leseman - Time to Go

23. Retromigration & Nephews - Kindness

vernal soul & psychedelia (1972-1981)

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I was going to hang on to this until the equinox but I feel like spring is as much a mentality as it is a season and maybe some of y’all would like to be in that headspace a little sooner. It’s all r&b, soul, jazz, and psychedelia from the 70s and early 80s that feels like spring.

Tracklist:

1. Dexter Wansel - Prelude #1

2. Norman Connors - Invitation

3. Angela Bofill - Under The Moon And Over The Sky

4. Chaka Khan - Night Moods

5. Sharon Bryant - When Love Calls

6. The Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody

7. Patrice Rushen - Music Of The Earth

8. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Baby You Give Me A Feeling

9. Minnie Riperton - Memory Lane

10. Lonnie Liston Smith - Peaceful Ones

11. Weldon Irvine - Turkish Bath

12. The Equatics - Santana Part I

13. Gloria Ann Taylor - World That’s Not Real

14. Tom Browne - Charisma

15. Phyllis Hyman - Don’t Tell Me, Tell Her

16. Ronnie Laws - Just Love

17. Deniece Williams - Free

18. Delegation - Mr. Heartbreak

19. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Day Dreaming

groove therapy vol. vii (for self-love)

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Volume VII is my last mix of the year and I made it to encourage self-love ritual in those moments when you feel a bit lost and need to rediscover yourself within yourself. It features a lot of R&B, a lot of soul, a little hip hop, a smidge of ambient and classical, and—most excitingly—me reading one of my favorite Kwame Dawes poems.

Tracklist:

1. Dianna Lopez - To The Man Who Reminds Me Of The Ocean

2. Jai Paul - All Night

3. Summer Walker - Come Thru (Miracles Remix)

4. Pink Sweat$ - Honesty (DJ Royale Riddim)

5. QSTN - Luv U More

6. Taylor McFerrin ft. Anna Wise - Memory Digital

7. Mr. Manuvers - Keep Cool (Cool Out Edit)

8. Yasiin Gaye - Anna’s Love Song

9. H.E.R. - Avenue (Jared Jackson Remix)

10. HANS - Still Driving Round In My Old Whip

11. Monte Booker x Smino x Ravyn Lenae - Karpoo

12. Coastal - After Midnite

13. Cleo Sol - Why Don’t You (Mo Serious Edit)

14. The Internet - Dontcha (Remix)

15. Metro Boomin - Dreamcatcher (Gravez Remix)

16. Frank Ocean - Godspeed

17. “Horns” by Kwame Dawes (read by me) / Sea Oleena - Portugal (A Lift)

groove therapy vol. vi

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Making mixes has taken a backseat in my life for the past month or so. Work has picked up, I’ve had some virtual gigs, and I’ve been doing a lot of pleasure reading. To be honest the break has been nice. I’ve been listening to a lot of music for pleasure as well, and Jessie Ware’s new album What’s Your Pleasure? has me so inspired by its originality and sheer danceability. It may be my favorite record of the year and has been the soundtrack to the late night solo dance parties that have carried my spirits through the last couple difficult and isolating months.

I put together this short 20 minute mix of upper mid tempo disco, house, and soul grooves to hopefully provide that same intimate experience for y’all. Everybody loves a good solo bedroom dance party: no audience, no gaze, no posturing, no facade, just unabashed self-love and whatever moves your body needs to make in that moment.

Tracklist:

1. Prins Thomas - Feel The Love

2. Jessie Ware - Step Into My Life

3. Dua Lipa - Break My Heart (Moodymann Remix)

4. Erykah Badu - Honey (N-You-Up & Nick Studer Remix)

5. Earth, Wind, & Fire - Beiko (Big Makk Moombahsoul Edit)

6. Aluna & KAYTRANADA ft. Rema - The Recipe

7. Frank Ocean - Pink + White (Mo Serious Edit)

8. Solange - Almeda (New Orleans Bounce Remix)

9. Tkay Maidza - 24k

10. Hiatus Kaiyote - The Lung (Paul White Remix)

feelings radio vol. three

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Volume 3 is the result of a desire for personal growth in my relationship to and understanding of Africa inspired by reflection on some conversations I’ve had recently. It features a long overdue spoken word collaboration with Vally O, cover art from Keysha Rivera, and 45 minutes of Afrobeats, Afropop, & Amapiano from South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, DR Congo, Cameroon, Senegal, Rwanda, Kenya, Guinea, and Ghana.

This month we’re supporting New Orleans Workers Group, specifically in acknowledgment of their August 14th action protesting the indefinite detainment of 48 Ugandan, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Senegalese, Burkinabe, and Cameroonian asylum seekers on hunger strike at the ICE Processing Center in Pine Prairie, LA (click here for more info). If you’d like to support black art as well as NOWG’s continued advocacy and direct action, please send $10 to Venmo/CashApp @djchinua with ‘feelings’ in the description, 50% of funds will go to them.

TRACKLIST

unlearning transphobia: my ancestors are black trans women

In early June I attended a press conference on the steps of City Hall led by trans activist and member of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s LGBTQ Task Force Mariah Moore that featured a number of powerful trans activists and speakers. I left inspired and mobilized to do deeper digging as to my personal relationship with Black trans people, their identities, and the ways I can be of better service to our bound liberation. The result has been a good amount of research, a lot of reflection, a few vulnerable and important conversations with Black trans friends, and this essay. This is the first in a planned series of three reflections, addressing my relationship to Black trans women, Black trans men, and Black trans non-binary/non-conforming people and identity in turn.

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CW: historical and current depictions of sexual and physical violence

In the fight against White supremacist capitalist patriarchy, there is perhaps no statement nor sentiment more subversive or essential than Black Trans Women Matter. In a country and culture which continues to devalue Black lives wholesale, centering the safety and thriving of those most endangered is a necessary act in this fight for liberation. In order to meaningfully engage in this work, however, I must first understand my own relationship to trans identity, to trans women, to my trans ancestors, and to transphobia. I must unpack the relationship between my identities and experiences to those of Black trans women. I must unearth and acknowledge my own transphobia, my own complicity in trans violence, and the ways the environment which encourages transphobia and violence towards trans women has shaped my beliefs and also harmed me.

As a cisgender Black man, I exist in a singular position in this reality: I stand oppressed by the very same racism and anti-Black violence which befalls all Black people in the White supremacist West, but I also stand in much closer proximity than others to the patriarchy that differentiates racialized experiences between the different gender identities of Black people. The facts are clear and undeniable: Black trans women experience higher rates of economic and physical violence than any other demographic of Black people. Disturbingly, a startling amount of interpersonal violence that contributes to this fact is perpetuated by cisgender Black men. We may not have control over broader systems and institutions, but we do have control over our communities and our bodies, both of which we are far too often using to do harm. As much of our societal worth comes from our ability to perform conventional Westernized masculinity as defined by long dead White supremacist colonizers, cis Black men often have an inclination to reject any person or idea that we feel threatens our manhood, and violently in far too many situations. Many Black men, including myself, have long seen it and heard it and stood by idly while it has happened: the misgendering, the deadnaming, the insulting, the exclusion, and in many cases, the outright physical violence, murder, and rape. 

This has to end. I must assume the same responsibility for the self-determination, safety, and joy of my Black transgender sisters that I assume for myself and other Black men. I wish to speak into the world, however, that these toxic and damaging behaviors are not my natural state of being, rather they are a weaponization of restrictive White supremacist Christian ideations on gender and sexuality that continue to be socialized into my culture and community for the express purpose of harming and dividing it. My people, historically, roll a little different.

In Recreating Africa: Culture, Kinship, and Religion in the African-Portuguese World, 1441-1770 (2003), professor of History at UNC Chapel Hill James H. Sweet explores expansive gender identity in pre- and early colonial Central and West Africa. In his research, he found local records of a trans woman and slave named Vitória, who was brought to Terceira Island (a Portuguese colony at the time and island in the Azores archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean) in 1556. A native of what is present day Benin, Vitória was a sex worker by trade and by all accounts very popular, as her business became widely known and ultimately drew the attention of the Inquisition. While being interrogated in Lisbon, she admitted to having five clients who were men. When asked whether her clients believed she was a woman, she replied in no uncertain terms that she was a woman and that these men paid her for her services. Importantly, she also remarked that there were many like her in her native culture. She was arrested and imprisoned for “abominable sin of sodomy against nature”, a victimless act criminalized by White supremacy and Christian puritanism.

There is further evidence of not just the existence of pre-colonial African people with expansive gender identities but also culture-wide acceptance and normalization of such people. Both James H. Sweet’s research and that of Roberto Strongman, associate professor in the Department of Black Studies at UC Santa Barbara, support the existence of an important group of 17th Century spiritualists and political actors in various Central African kingdoms known as the jimbandaa. Records describe these people as a “discreet and powerful caste” in pre-colonial Angolan society. I do not wish to assign modern gender identities to these ancestors as, unlike Vitória, I have found no evidence of them identifying directly as women, but research indicates that their assigned sex at birth was male and they wore traditional women’s garb, engaged in women’s cultural roles in their societies, and their chosen name, jimbandaa, is a feminine engendering of the word mbándá, which translated means “medicine man.” More information about the jimbandaa and the ways their cultural and gender identity creolized in Brazil and across the Diaspora can be found in Strongman’s book Queering Black Atlantic Religions: Transcorporeality in Candomblé, Santería and Vodou (2019) as well the research of Brazilian anthropologist and LGBTQ rights activist Luiz Mott.

The conclusions I draw from this research are twofold. First, some of my ancestors are certainly trans women. Second, trans womanhood and expansive gender identity were accepted and normalized in a diversity of the indigenous cultures of African people who were colonized, enslaved, and forcibly transported across the Atlantic. Africa is a huge and pluralistic continent, so I have no doubt that there is great variance in the expression and acceptance of these people across the various tribes and cultures therein, but the fact remains that Central and West African societies held real cultural and societal space for trans womanhood as well as expansive gender identity nearly a half millennium before the United States required the justices of the highest court in its land to don their robes just to consider the legal implications of gendered bathroom usage.

I must honor these ancestors by fighting with Black trans women, not just against violence and harassment at the hands of police, White supremacists, gender fascists, and deeply misogynistic historical revisionists, but also against my own socialized transphobic inclinations and internalized White supremacy. Furthermore, I must learn to love myself and love Black trans women in the very same way. I do not have to be transgender or a woman to recognize that their liberation is my liberation. I do not have to be transgender or a woman to recognize that their safety is my safety. I do not have to be transgender or a woman to recognize that their joy is my joy. Recently, I have been engaging in correspondence (from which some of this essay has been adapted) with a friend of mine who remarked, “Our liberation is yours. This is partly why I don't like the word ally, especially from other Black ppl, as if this issue has nothing to do with them and as though they too are not suffering.” I am not an ally in this fight, this is my fight.

And make no mistake, Black trans women have always fought in the battle for Black liberation in this country. The friend mentioned earlier is Sultana Isham, and her speech/essay, “The Holy Presence of Frances Thompson” (2020), introduced me to another very important ancestor. Through it, I learned of Frances Thompson (??-1876), a Tennessean Black trans woman who was born enslaved and fought for Black liberation. She testified before a congressional committee (the first known trans woman to do so) about the Memphis Riots of 1866, in which she was raped and assaulted. The testimony of her and four other Black girls and women (the youngest was 16 year old Lucy Smith) is widely seen as a key part of the genesis of the Reconstruction Era and subsequent passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868, which guarantees citizenship to all Black Americans. I owe my citizenship status and all of the rights afforded to me therein to Frances Thompson’s bravery and activism. Unfortunately, her trans womanhood was outed without her permission in an 1876 issue of The Pulaski Citizen (CW: this clipping is highly transphobic) and she was fined and arrested for "being a man dressed in women's clothing" and sent back into enslavement on a chain gang where her health deteriorated. This discovery of her transness was subsequently used to attempt to discredit the testimonies of all of the other Black girls and women who testified before Congress, which serves as proof of just one of the many ways transphobia and violence against trans women negatively affect cis women first via their common womanhood. She died shortly after her release.

There also is Lucy Hicks Anderson (1886–1954), a Black trans woman from Oxnard, California via Kentucky, who was a chef, hostess, madam, and socialite, and should be remembered in history as one of the great Black entrepreneurs of the Prohibition Era. She started living as a girl at a very young age with the support of her doctors and family. As an adult, she received much acclaim for her dinner parties and events and, eventually, founded and ran her own highly successful speakeasy and brothel. In an investigation of her proprietorship following an STI outbreak, her assigned sex at birth was discovered and she was arrested and imprisoned for perjury for identifying as a woman on her marriage certificate and collecting a pension as a soldier’s wife. I owe my freedom of entrepreneurship and successes therein to Lucy Hicks Anderson. More information about this ancestor can be found in Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (2017) by C. Riley Snorton, professor of English Language and Literature at The University of Chicago.

So, to summarize, I, a cisgender Black man, come from African trans woman ancestors. My freedom, as a cisgender Black man, was and continues to be fought for by Black American trans women. What does this mean for me? Why is this important? Not knowing this history and having been raised with such restrictive gender ideation have been immensely stifling to my development, my ability to express my own personal feelings and needs in a variety of contexts, and my ability to identify and be in solidarity in thought and action with those of all genders who have expressed even the smallest amount of femininity. 

For those who do not know, I spent my late childhood and teenage years as a competitive figure skater. I have so many stories (good and bad) from being a part of that world. Among other things, I experienced relentless teasing from classmates, violence (I was once stabbed in the neck with a pencil at school by one of the only other Black boys for being 'girly'), and was witness to the ubiquitous sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and body shaming inside of the sport. Being a boy and thin I was not subjected to the monthly weigh-ins, but being “too thin” it was not uncommon for my body to be compared to the girls in an insulting manner. All of this happened with me being a cisgender Black boy and teen. I internalized these beliefs, all of them. They affected the way I saw and treated myself and they affected the way I saw and treated girls, women, and as a result trans girls and trans women, in both cases into adulthood. A large part of me knew these beliefs were wrong, but what was the replacement? Who was going to teach me who my ancestors were and who fought for me and how or why I should fight for them? 

I believe little Black boys (and White boys and all color of boys in the White supremacist West) learn these toxic beliefs and behaviors as we are treated largely as receptacles for the insecurities, shortcomings, and lack of societal expectation to improve and seek accountability found in many of our fathers and brothers and uncles and elders who are men, the very men who dominate control over our communities. We are socialized to exalt these character defects and violent maladjustive behaviors. This is where the proximity to patriarchy I referenced at the beginning of this essay takes effect. Women are simply not afforded this latitude, neither are non-binary/non-conforming people. I am fortunate in that my father, while in no way explicitly radical in this regard, is a man who has always at least tried to give me the space to feel and express, but I know far too many cisgender Black men who were not afforded such freedom. It often feels like, among cisgender Black men--as a subsection of all cisgender American men--masculinity is more commonly seen as a means to get what we want than a part of our identity to vulnerably explore, reflect upon, evolve, and expand. 

I must see these conclusions less as an admonishment and more as a call to accountability, a call to healing, and a call to action. I must commune, as a cis Black man, with other cis Black men, to unlearn the ways this poisoned culture and society has distanced us from ourselves, our ancestors, and our sisters, and begin to take inventory of the ways in which we can reconnect with them and work towards our mutual liberation, safety, and joy. Make no mistake, I love my Black manhood and I love my Black masculinity, but for that love to fully serve myself and my community, a defining feature of it must be to uplift and stand with Black trans women rather than harm and exclude them. We most certainly need them in this fight, and they most certainly need us to do better. They need me to do better.

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I would like to thank Mariah Moore for her leadership and advocacy, Sultana Isham for her research, conversation, feedback, and personal interest in my education and thriving, Blaze Heru for helping jump start the process of these mid-pandemic reflections, and Spirit McIntyre for the original call to action to do this work last year at their Spiritwerks event. My hope is that other Black people and all people, in particular cisgender men, see these reflections and are mobilized to do their own work to this end. It is far overdue. I have begun reaching out to other Black men to hold conversations around these issues in our community, if you are interested in that work, please reach out using the contact tab. If you are looking for an immediate and material way to support Black trans women, please visit https://houseoftulip.org/ and consider becoming a sustaining donor to help create permanent housing solutions for transgender New Orleanians.