Hell If We Know: Art, Vegan Ice Cream & Bullsh-t!

In this episode we discuss the documentary, "Class Divide," and how gentrification and appropriation impact urban communities of color. We also discuss how Blackness is not, we repeat, NOT A MONOLITH but... how you still gotta know how to play Spades. Last but not least, we share the great Toni Morrison's wise words on race, art and politics.

In this episode Najaa and Shameka discuss gentrification vs. revitalization in urban America, i.e. the displacement of black and brown communities, the Decatur Book Festival and all its many delights, how to distinguish if you are a professional or an amateur in your field of work (it's more than collecting a check y'all), and author Jesmyn Ward's book Salvage the Bones which is up next on Shameka's book list.

In this episode Najaa and Shameka discuss friendship among Black women and the representation of these friendships in film and television like, Girls Trip, Living Single, Girlfriends, Women of Brewster Place and Insecure. In the segment, "Art You Should Know," Najaa recommends two novels for young women by Rosa Guy, "The Friends" and "Edith Jackson," and squeals in delight over the news that Octavia Butler's "Dawn" is being developed for television by Ava DuVernay and Victoria Mahoney....

In this episode Najaa & Shameka discuss all the ways to get your play or staged work produced in a theater, how to use Elizabeth Gilbert's 4 question test to figure out who to trust as it relates to having your creative work critiqued and Roxane Gay's "How to Be a Contemporary Writer," a list that she put on Tumblr a few years ago. We also share a couple of books that are very helpful for directors and screenwriters. Oh, and Shameka promises to make vegan ice cream!

In this episode Shameka and Najaa discuss the creative process, what things they do to prepare themselves to create and what inspires them. In the segment, "Art You Should Know," they recommend Jacqueline Woodson's book Another Brooklyn, author Tananarive Due, the art work of Fahamu Pecou and Fabian Williams and literally anything by the late genius Octavia Butler. Finally, they discuss how not to destroy yourself as an artist by comparing your career and successes to your peers and how...

This is episode 1 of Hell If We Know: Art, Vegan Ice Cream and Bullsh-t with your hosts Shameka and Najaa. In this episode they introduce themselves to you all and interview each other revealing hilarious and intimate details of their lives they've never shared with each other. They also share information on art you should know about/support and get their "Oprah" on as they share advice for how to live your best life in these turbulent times.