Light Culture

Maha Sattva is an artist inspired by social media, pop culture and hip hop. The likes of Kanye West, Drake and J. Cole have his portraits in their collection and his reputation is growing, even as he works outside the gallery system from his base in Wisconsin. An active presence on twitter and Instagram has brought him a growing fan base both intrigued by his creative work and the life-coaching that comes with it. We talk about the time he flew to a Kanye concert in the hope of meeting and delivering a painting he’d made to his favorite rapper. How painting people he admires inspires him.Turning losses into lessons. And how he was saved from selling his soul. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Goddamnit I am hooked on nicotine again thanks to this fucking Flum!” writes Michel Lhooq. “I can’t even fucking deal!!! Just when I thought I’d left my crackhead vaping days behind, motherfuckers pulled me back in with this thing that literally looks like a whippit canister capped by a nipple-shaped teat.” Dubbed by some as “a female Hunter Thompson,” the drug guzzling gonzo writer of yore, Michelle is making a name for herself with her brazenly open cultural commentary and field notes from the fringes of underground nightlife and drugs. The author of “Weed: Everything You Want to Know But are too Stoned to Ask” and the Substack newsletter: “Rave New World,” Lhooq was an editor at VICE in New York covering electronic music and global nightlife before moving to Los Angeles to write about the counterculture and political autonomy. We talk about the shift from alcohol to psychedelics in nightlife culture and the rise of mushroom parties, the transformational power of weed, the false binary of medical and recreational, and pleasure as a tool for transformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As both a creative and a business owner, Estelle Bailey-Babenzien sits at the intersection of art and commerce. She’s a partner in the clothing brand Noah with her husband Brendon, formerly of Supreme, and the owner of Dream Awake, an interior design studio whose clients have included Adrien Grenier. Born and raised in the UK, and of half Ghanaian descent, Estelle moved to New York in 1999 with a fashion degree from London’s prestigious arts and design college Central St. Martins. Responsible for the interior architecture and spatial experiences of the brand’s retail spaces in New York, LA, London and Tokyo, she puts sustainability and social conscience at the top of her brand ethos. Today, her company Dream Awake Inc. is a full service Interior Architecture and Experiential Design studio that embodies her philosophy of life and enables her to bring her unique perspective and sensibility to the table. We talk about New York in the early aughts, being inspired by travel, Supreme’s incredible success, the travails of the music business – especially for women – and how she’d approach designing a cannabis lounge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buff Monster is a street artist who first made a name for himself by pasting thousands of silk screened posters across Los Angeles. Over the 20 years or so that he has been an artist, his colorful Buff Monster character has inspired paintings, stickers, toys, murals, NFTs and private commissions. Born in Hawaii to a family of artists, he went to college in LA to study business, but decided that New York City was the place to be. He is an active presence on social media where he talks directly to his legion of fans eager to hear more about his latest Internet drop, zine or collection of vintage-style trading cards created in homage to the Garbage Pail Kids called The Melty Misfits. We talk about art as business, Kaws, Andy Warhol, his love of heavy metal, collecting art, insider v. outsider, and how to make it in the art world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s one of those happy moments for the photographer Mark “The Cobrasnake” Hunter. His new book, “The Cobrasnake: Y2Ks Archive,” features a kaleidoscopic selection of photos that helped define the party scenes of Los Angeles and New York at the beginning of the 21st century. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also earning kudos (and photo assignments) as a visionary of what fashion magazines are calling “a mid-aughts Indie Sleaze” revival. His relentless pursuit of the next party and the next photo brought him to the edgier fringes of the fashion, music, and art worlds, where he documented LA’s burgeoning underground nightlife scene that attracted up-and-coming stars like Kanye, Katy Perry, Jeremy Scott, Beth Ditto, Steve Aoki, Smanatha Ronson, Virgil Abloh and his personal muse Cory Kennedy. Before there was Instagram, there was The Cobrasnake snapping away and capturing the last generation of partiers to predate social media. We talk about his hope for the Indie Sleaze revival; growing up in LA; American Apparel; the return of Interpol, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and The Strokes; Paper and Nylon magazines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saul Williams is a legend who refuses to rest on his laurels. A pioneer of the Hip hop meets spoken word movement of the 90s, he created a lane that drove poetry from the musty halls of academe into the modern era. As a recording artist, he has worked with Rick Rubin, Trent Reznor, Nas, The Fugees, Erykah Badu, KRS-One, Zack De La Rocha, De La Soul, as well as poets Allen Ginsberg and Sonia Sanchez. Perhaps his most ambitious project to date is Neptune Frost, a sci-fi Afro-Futurist musical movie written, composed and co-directed by Williams. We talk about his love of Broadway, the writing of a modern musical, African e-waste camps where our tech goes to die, hip hop’s continued relevance as mixed media, making connections between the ancient and the future and much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Travis Mills and Nick Gross are Girlfriends. No, not like that. Like the pop punk band Girlfriends that’s dropping new singles as we speak with a full-length album out this summer. Once known by the stage name T.Mills, Travis rose to fame as a rapper collaborating with the likes of T.I., Dom Kennedy, and Ty Dolla $ign. He is also an actor and the host of the “Travis Mills Show” on Apple 1 Radio. Nick has produced songs for Ariana Grande and Wiz Khalifa while also playing drums for the band Goldfinger. He’s a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Big Noise Music Group. We talk about the resurgence of pop-punk, outlaw culture, the punk-hip hop connection, genre-free music, mental health and giving back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Valentina Ferrer is half of a power couple with the father of her child, the Reggaeton super star J. Balvin. The Miss Universe contestant and entrepreneur grew up in modest circumstances on a mountaintop in Argentina in a large “hippie” family. Her lifestyle today as a supermodel and co-founder of Kapowder, a “superfood for superhumans,” is very different. We talk about being a businesswoman, raising a son in the age of social media, growing up a tomboy, her baby daddy J. Balvin and her love for Ed Sheeran, Beyonce and New York. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Paper is an unlikely name for a fashion brand founded as a blog by three childhood friends from Ghana, Morocco and Somalia who met while living in Amsterdam. But there you have it. My guest today is Jefferson Osei, who along with his childhood friends Abderrahmane Trabsini and Hussein Suleiman, first started a blog – hence the name Daily Paper – that focused on their shared love for music, art, fashion, and culture. All that changed when they released a small collection of t-shirts that went viral. Today Daily Paper is a growing luxury fashion brand Inspired by African heritage –as well music, art, fashion and culture – translated toward a more western narrative. With retail stores in Amsterdam, New York and London – and fans like F1 driver Lewis Hamilton – it’s full steam ahead for this forward thinking brand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a teenager, Sevana was in a girl group competing on Jamaica’s version of American Idol. She came in third, positioned to take her career to the next level. But that wasn't the path taken by my guest Sevana, at least not at first. For Sevana, the journey from reluctant pop star to a recording artist fully embracing her black female identity is a story of professional and personal maturity. With the result that we are gifted by the presence of an artist who has found her voice. And with breakout hits like “Mango” and “If You Only Knew,” she is ready, willing and able to share it with her growing global fan base. We talk about the changing face of reggae, “Euphoria” Jamaican-style, her love of Marvin Gaye, Gunna and dance hall, starting her own label and raising positive vibrations with her music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ted Lidie is the man behind the premier west coast cannabis brand Alien Labs. A Cannabis Culture OG, he was born into a family business of growers in Northern California and learned the ropes working his way up from local dealer to dispensary door man to dispensary manager to his exalted position today as an industry elder who was able make the business legitimate in the 21st century. We talk about his preference for black market weed, the end of cannabis culture, the definition of “good weed,” and why New York City is primed to be the biggest cannabis market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whitney Beatty wasn’t particularly interested in the cannabis plant until a personal, transformative experience turned her around. For Whitney, it was a doctor’s suggestion that got her to pivot from entertainment industry executive to founder of Josephine and Billie’s – as in Baker and Holiday – the nation’s first black women-owned cannabis speakeasy. We talk about her transition from being a Detroit kid who said No to Drugs to an LA “Tea Pad” power player with backing from Jay-Z’s social equity fund. It wasn’t easy and she’s still putting in long hours, a rare black woman executive with a mission to help women connect with cannabis, whether by massage, talks, edibles or a good old fashioned smoke down. Her story is unique but universal, someone to watch as the cannabis world continues to unfold and expand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One fateful day Kyle Nelson rolled up to a Sweet 16 party wearing a Versace suit that prompted a friend to call him KSace. It stuck and he’s been building his name one improbable success story after another. You might say he’s been lucky. At the right place at the right time, naturally swag, fluidly moving from skate punk to Teen Vogue model to TV to rapping to becoming the face of YouTube music to his position with the fashion label When Smoke Clears. Yeah, he’s been lucky. But there’s more to it than pure luck. People say that when luck strikes you've got to be ready to seize the moment. You might say Kyle Nelson aka KSace was born ready. We talk about his love of fashion, the hard work behind “being lucky” and why 50 Cents is his favorite rapper of all time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When bling meets hip hop meets cannabis the business synergy can be explosive. At least that’s what Alex Todd of Saucy Farms and Extracts is counting on. Better known as a “celebrity jeweler” to clients like Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kevin Hart, he’s feeling his way into a business which is very much of a moving target as rules and regs wind their way from local to state to national approval. We talk about his pivot to cannabis and its future in New York; east coast v. west; being an indie; and why it’s so hard to make money in this rapidly growing industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once upon a time the British synth-pop group Tears for Fears sold over 30 million records with anthems like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout,” peaking in the late 80s before the duo of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal decided it was time to break up the band. Reuniting in 2000, they’re back with a new album that’s energizing their passionate fan base as well as those who discovered them through samples and covers by The Weeknd, Kanye, Lorde and Nas. We talk with Curt Smith about New York back in the day, on not being a fashionable band, writing from the heart, the cult TV Show “Psych,” staying true to your roots, cannabis and California, getting sampled and dealing with Kanye. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have a picture in mind of what a typical stoner looks like, Brett Heyman is here to prove you wrong. Married with children, she is the founder of the irreverent handbag company, Edie Parker, and its cannabis and smoking accessories brand Flower by Edie Parker. A red carpet regular who has her home featured in Architectural Digest, she's a veteran of the fashion world who has worked for Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana. While the rest of the fashion world sits on the sidelines of cannabis, Brett has made it her crusade, from both a personal as well as a social advocacy point of view. Dubbed the Coco Chanel of luxury cannabis by Forbes, she continues to literally make a statement by incorporating words like “Weed” and “Dope” into the design of her irreverent bags worn by the likes of Kacey Musgraves and other cannabis lovers attracted to her brand ethos: “For a good time, call Edie Parker.” We talk about New York as the epicenter of cannabis culture, the likes of Gucci and Chanel getting on the cannabis bandwagon, children and weed, and lighting up at the CFDA Awards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olympic snowboarder, musician, artmaker, streetwear designer, filmmaker, NFT creator, Trevor Andrew is perhaps best known today as the man behind the fashion brand Gucci Ghost. What started as a playful hack using bootleg Gucci fabric caught the eye of the fashion brand’s creative director Alessandro Michele who brought him on board for an official collaboration. Andrew’s amazing journey from world-class snowboarder to prolific creator includes recuperating from a terrible snowboarding accident with his then-girlfriend, now wife, the singer Santigold. She encouraged him to make music. The rest, as they say, is history. We talk about skateboarding and creativity, Gucci’s Michele and Dapper Dan, his love affair with NFTs and the ongoing influence of his mentor Jake Burton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If I were to make a modern day version of the Kevin Costner-Whitney Houston movie “The Bodyguard,” it would be based on the life of Kenny Hamilton. His experience handling security for a 14-year old Justin Bieber, would give writers plenty of material to work with. In his current incarnation as managing partner at thet CSH group, Kenny focuses on artist development and music management. We talk about fan mania, what he learned from Bieber, how Jerry McGuire changed his life, cannabis and his stint with the Navy, Atlanta as a rap music breeding ground, the art of keeping safe at big festivals and the secret of his friendship with then-on-the-rise mega mogul Scooter Braun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JR is the famous photographer who shoots larger than life portraits and pastes them on buildings and walls for the local residents to see and be seen. JR’s disruptive hands-on collaborations and interventions get the treatment they deserve in his new documentary, “Paper and Paste” which takes us on a journey through some of JR’s most impactful activations -- a Paris ghetto, a supermax US prison, the Mexican-American border and a favela in Rio. We talk about what inspires him, how he deals with dangerous situations, his own immigrant background, creating art around the Pyramids of Egypt and JR’s belief in the power of art to manifest change, both in the private as well as public space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With cannabis legalization for New York a done deal, there's an ancillary economy growing around the fringes of the industry that’s rarely tabulated and has little to do with the growing, buying or selling of the plant and its CBD offshoots. Millions more go into the economy thanks to all the creative businesses and financial spinoffs cannabis generates -- consulting, publishing, the arts, legal, fashion, finance, design, influencer, media and home entertainment among others. That's where LA cannabis fixture Tammy Pettigrew comes into the picture. Better known as The Cannabis Cutie, she’s armed with an MBA and the blessings of Snoop Dogg. We talk about her mentor Snoop, cannabis and sex, the importance of authenticity in the cannabis world and why celebrity brands don’t really cut it in the quality department. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.