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Janelle Monae's Wondaland Arts Society goes far beyond music. From fashion and literature to film and TV, they're working to tell stories across all mediums. Chuck Lightning, co-founder and creative director of Wondaland, talks about the expansion into film and TV. Then, musicians Nate Wonder and Roman GianArthur provide a glimpse into the execution of that expansion, sharing their approach to composing music for the screen. Mentioned this episode:“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” tops the box officeBET+ renews the “Ms. Pat Show” for a fourth seasonHulu's “The Other Black Girl” canceledStay at the house from “The Idea of You” This episode of The Boom was produced by Kevin Rinker and Jewel Wicker. Additional production and editing by Scotty Crowe. Original music by Matt Owen. For more information, visit wabe.org/theboomSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Felicia Bennett is a tour manager, manager, and founder with over seven years of experience in the live side of the music business working for companies like Sony ATV, Sarm Studios, Live Nation, and now Janelle Monáe's Wondaland Arts Society. Bennett is an Atlanta native turned Los Angeles resident, who is a passionate advocate for artists and women of color in the live music scene. She founded Get A Room Productions to expose more people especially, women of color to tour management and help them become successful in the entertainment industry. Join us for the Girls That Create podcast anytime and learn more about Bennett and Get A Room Productions at getaroomproductions.com. Host Erin Prather Stafford launched Girls That Create in 2019, a site supports the parents and caregivers of creative girls while encouraging greater female representation across the arts. Go to www.girlsthatcreate.com for parenting tips, women empowerment, and everything in between. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. Please support UnsilencedVoices.org. We thank Smith Sisters and the Sunday Drivers for our theme song, "She is You". Connect with Word of Mom on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter . WordofMomRadio.com - sharing the wisdom of women, in business and in life.
Deep Cotton is an American funk duo based in Atlanta, whose members are Chuck Lightning and Nate “Rocket” Wonder. Part of the Wondaland Arts Society, they are also sometimes called the “Punk Prophets”. Lightning and Wonder met in 2002 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The pair were roommates and began collaborating when Lightning overheard Wonder playing music and started shouting to his music. Wonder said this became a competition to see who could “out-crazy” the other person, and their musical collaboration is basically a chance to do “whatever the hell we want.” They produce music, including that of Grammy-nominated artist Janelle Monáe, another co-founder of the Wondaland collective. They began to gain notoriety of their own after their song “We’re Far Enough from Heaven Now We Can Freak Out” was featured in a Sonos commercial featuring Monáe. The single was released in October 2012. Wonder is the older brother of Roman GianArthur, another member of the Wondaland Arts Collective.
I sat down with Roman back in 2015 and I knew he was a star years before that. Since then, he's appeared alongside labelmate Jidenna in the smash "Classic Man" and he's toured around the world extensively. I think this was a good episode to bring out the vault in case you missed it the first go 'round. I hope you enjoy the convo as much as I had having it. Roman continues to inspire me til this day and I look forward to the world discovering all of the genius (and I don't say that lightly) that's housed within him. "Roman is someone you’d want to lock into a studio for a week and wait for him to reemerge with our generation’s Songs in the Key of Life. He’s that skilled. He’s that gifted. And perhaps most importantly, he’s that free." The SetList is a music podcast hosted by Forth District’s A&R, Adan Bean, and features artist from every part of the musical landscape. The SetList seeks to reveal an artist’s interests, influences, and background in music like no other interview has done before. On this episode Adan sits down with Atlanta’s own Roman GianArthur! Roman is a producer/writer/singer/composer who has been cutting his teeth in the afro-futuristic space camp collective that is the Wondaland Arts Society (helmed by Rebelutionary soul singer superstar Janelle Monae).
St. Beauty joined me in the Lounge during New York Fashion Week where they were front row regulars at the Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung shows amongst others.Both ladies are paving the way and turning heads everywhere they go. Its' no wonder they caught the attention of Janelle Monae who snapped the pair up and signed them to her label The Wondaland Arts Society.Sought after by the likes of Vogue magazine and high end fashion designers this is a duo you want to know.If you are looking for new music, be sure to get a hold of St. Beauty's EP 'Running to the Sun'. It's hard to put this one in a box; it doesn't fit any one genre of music. A few words that spring to mind to describe their sound are: Fluid | Space | (he)Art. You just have to listen for yourself.St. Beauty on their 'Running to the Sun' EP:"This project is just the beginning for us," said St. Beauty. "We have so much more to say, and we're so excited to continue to share our story with the world. Thank you to Janelle Monáe and Wondaland for being such an inspiration and believing in our vision" A big thank you to both Alex and Isis V from St. Beauty for being our first muses of 2018.Check out the podcast interview to get the lowdown and follow them on instagram at @stbeauty for more.
Welcome to “The SetList” The SetList is a music podcast hosted by Forth District’s A&R, Adan Bean, and features artists from every part of the musical landscape. The SetList seeks to reveal an artist’s interests, influences, and background in music like no other interview has done before. On This Episode: St. Beauty On this episode of The SetList, Adán had the opportunity to sit down with Alex Belle and Isis Valentino, better known as the luminous duo St. Beauty. Hailing from Atlanta, GA, these two gifted singer/songwriter/musicians are members of the Wondaland Arts Society and inaugural artists on Wondaland Records (joint venture partnership with Epic Records). Founded by Janelle Monáe and home to rising “Classic Man” star Jidenna, Wondaland Records has been making seismic waves across the country as they just finished up their nationwide tour promoting the recently released Eephus EP. Get to know the lovely ladies of St. Beauty much better in this in-depth conversation. Enjoy this special episode of the SetList.
Fall is in the air, and that means IdeaFestival, and jokes about pumpkins and white people. Luckily, we cover both on this week's show. One of our favorite people, Janelle Monáe, came back to Louisville this week for IdeaFestival, and brought along some folks from her Wondaland Arts Society. We caught up with them in the green room just before they caught their plane out of town (she had to perform at Madison Square Garden a day later - totally no big deal). We talked to the artists about their recent visit to a drag ball in New York, and about "Hellyoutalmbout," the police brutality protest anthem that's been ringing out from rallies and marches all summer long. "We wanted to use it as a vessel, and as a tool," she says of the song. "We're speaking out against the abuse of power because we believe that silence is our enemy, and sound is our weapon." As a team of folks trying to make a difference through the power of radio, we could not agree more! In Juicy Fruit this week, America loses its warm fuzzy feelings about the Pope when it's revealed that he met with Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis during his recent U.S. visit. Since we recorded, the Vatican has downplayed the visit and said Davis was just one of many in a greet line. Elsewhere in Christian news, a 5-year-old girl was barred from returning to her school in southern California, because she has two moms. A spokesperson for the privately-run Christian school told KGTV in San Diego, "The Bible says homosexuality is a sin. We don't condone any sinful lifestyles." And Azealia Banks called said the LGBT community is like the "white KKK's." Banks has been criticized by gay activists recently for her use of the f-word slur. We talk about how her black and queer identity plays into her troubles with the press. And finally, what's up with white people and pumpkins? A mic.com article looks at the political history and symbolism of the seasonal food. Did you know pumpkins had a political history? See, you learn something new every week on Strange Fruit. Happy Fall!
We've always been proud of how cutting-edge Louisville is on LGBT rights issues (and can often be overheard bragging that our Fairness law included transgender protections even before New York's did). But what about the rest of Kentucky? We went to the Rural LGBT Summit this month in Lexington to find out. The USDA has been holding these summits throughout the country, both to shine a light on issues faced by rural LGBT Americans, and to make sure those same folks know about the assistance they can get from the USDA. We can't deny our status as city slickers (though we temporarily daydreamed about gay farmers), so the summit was a great learning opportunity for #TeamStrangeFruit. Jai and Doc co-hosted a panel featuring folks who are "champions of change" in their communities, and we bring you an excerpt of that conversation in this week's show. Stay tuned to our Soundcloud page for the whole thing. Also in this week's show, we go about as far from rural as you can get: Broadway, in New York City, where Hedwig and the Angry Inch is closing early after a poor reviews of Taye Digg's performance in the title role. Are white audiences resistant to a black man playing Hedwig? Did Broadway fans turn against him after he reportedly broke Idina Menzel's heart? Or... was he just not that good in the show? We discuss. One artwork that seems like an unmitigated success is "Hell You Talmbout," the protest anthem released last week by Janelle Monae and the Wondaland Arts Society. The verses of the song recite the names of black victims of police shootings. Half vigil, half battle cry, it's already finding its way to protests all over the country, and we listen to a group of trans rights activists adapt it to commemorate trans victims of violence. And finally, "Straight Outta Compton" came out, and it made a ton of money. We haven't seen the film yet, but we talk a little about some claims that it erases the abuse of women perpetrated by its subjects.
Allan Cole is a true polymath. Whether it's graphic design, web development, or music, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the table and produces mind-blowing results. You may know him as one of the co-authors of Build Your Own Wicked WordPress Themes, but he's also done websites and designs for big names like Nike, Okayplayer, Kanye West, Jay Electronica, and Janelle Monáe's Wondaland Arts Society! (And speaking of music, he's one half of the music duo The Stuyvesants. Highly, highly recommended!) We talked about his current path to success through WordPress, creative collaboration, and of course...the music. According to Allan, there are ways to do what you love and make a living, and he's a prime example of that! Allan Cole's Website Allan Cole's Work The Stuyvesants "Build Your Own Wicked WordPress Themes"
Janelle Monáe with Chuck Lightning and Nate ‘rocket” Wonder, Wondaland Productions Janelle Monáe is a Grammy Award -nominated singer-songwriter, performer, producer and CoverGirl spokesperson. Monáe is known for her unique style and groundbreaking sound. In 2010, Monáe released the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed album The ArchAndroid, which earned her two Grammy Award nominations. In 2013, her celebrated album The Electric Lady reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. The video for the album's first single, “Q.U.E.E.N.,” received a coveted MTV VMA Moonman. In 2013, Monáe received Billboard’s prestigious 2013 Rising Star Award. After moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 2001, she met OutKast's Big Boi, and then founded the Wondaland Arts Society with some like-minded young artists, releasing her first EP The Audition in 2003.
It's been a star-studded week for Team Strange Fruit! We spent some time recently on the red carpet at the 2nd Annual Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards, where we got to chat with celebrities and honorees about the Champ's civil rights legacy. Ali famously refused service in the US Army when he was drafted during the Vietnam War, claiming conscientious objector status. The Army denied his claim, and Ali was found guilty of refusing induction, stripped of his World Boxing Association Championship title, and banned from the sport for nearly four years—at what would seem to be the peak of his athletic career. This week on the show you'll hear us check in with Susan Sarandon, who was honored with the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Global Citizenship. She pointed out the significance of Ali's actions. "You just do not see celebrities or athletes putting themselves on the line the way that he did," she explained. "If you look at the context in which he came forward, it was so heavy and so brave of him to take the stance that he did, when the country was on fire with so much racism, and the Vietnam War was so divisive." We also chatted with The Today Show's Matt Lauer, and were completely charmed by Kid President. (We didn't have room for all our red carpet interviews in the main show this week, so keep an eye on our soundcloud, where we'll be posting interviews with Holly Robinson Peet, Jim Brown, William Mapother, and more, as bonus fruit!) For our feature interview, we speak to the Electric Lady herself, Miss Janelle Monáe, who was in Louisville for the Idea Festival. She and some of of her compatriots from the Wondaland Arts Society spoke to a group of young people in a session devoted to improving the world by the year 2035. She has famously avoided questions about her sexual orientation, preferring instead to eschew labels. We caught up with her in the green room before her presentation, and asked her why. "First of all, I think it's boring," she said. "Although I wear black and white, I know that my life is not black and white. We're complex beings." She also explained her use of alter-ego Cindi Mayweather as a metaphor for oppressed peoples, and gave us one of our favorite quotes ever, on the subject of women: "We come in peace, but we mean business." And finally, for this week's Juicy Fruit, we were joined in the Strange Fruit Studios by the WWE star Damien Sandow (That's his character name, but he graciously started off the segment with, "I'm off today, so you can call me Aaron if you want."). We asked for his take on the recent attention on athletes and domestic violence. "When you're on television, when you play for a sports team, you're gonna have people—especially children—that look up to you, whether you like it or not. And that is a responsibility, in my opinion." Speaking of children, Aaron spends a lot of his time in schools, talking with kids about making good choices and helping each other. He was also at the Ali Awards and made a donation to the center after attending. "It's a history lesson," he says about the center. "And also it's a testament to the man. And that man has inspired so many people." We know the phrase "gentle giant" is clichéd, but it does come to mind when you meet Aaron—at least outside the ring. We're glad he's making Louisville his home, and can't wait to see what he might do next!