Airgo

Mani Jurdan is finding balance. He's a rapper from out west, mentor at a youth program in Austin, and a happily-affiliated member of Chicago creative collective Huey Gang. He drops by to talk loss, mentorship, his music, and more. Recorded live 6/21/18 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Venus, Mars (feat. @starkofhuey, John Renaissance) - @manijurdan Differentiation - @manijurdan

Nikko Washington's contours and contrasts are something to behold. He's a painter, clothing designer, and Hyde Park native, whose work has covered the albums of many of Chicago's finest, including Kami, Noname, Joey Purp, Vic Mensa, Towkio and many more. He has a new exhibition, entitled Saturn, going up this friday at the Adidas Originals store in Wicker Park. Recorded live 6/14/18 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Collect (Your Thoughts) - @harmonicsapien

At the intersection of art, culture, social justice, and community building, Kuumba Lynx produces The Chicago Hip Hop Theater Fest (CHHTF). The fest features nine different performing artists/companies presenting 12 different shows over five days. CHHTF is curated by Kuumba Lynx Co-Founders Jaquanda Villegas and Jacinda Bullie in an effort to reclaim public space, and cultivate a community building & performance space that reflects the communities we represent. The fest utilizes critical Hip Hop Theater to engage in a dialogue that aims to rewrite our narratives, reimagine the world more just, and connect people across communities. AirGo sits down with several of the presenters and participants to talk about their creative works, perspectives on the fest, and more! Hear each individual episode here: https://soundcloud.com/airgoradio/sets/airgo-x-chicago-hip-hop-theater-fest Recorded 5/26/18 in Chicago Music from this week's episode: Bust a Move - Young MC

Brendan Shiller is fighting. He is one of the founders of the West Side Justice Center, and is a co-partner in the law firm Shiller Preyar LLC, serving the needs and legal battles of the divested from and disenfranchised across the city. He is the lead attorney for the #NoCopAcademy Campaign, which was rumbling through City Hall last week in opposition to the $95 million proposed project to be built in West Garfield Park. Recorded live 6/31/18 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's episode: disappear - @oatmello Ignorin - Omar Apollo

Matt Muse is a rapper, producer and YCA teaching artist who's working hard. Constantly performing on stages across the city and on the road, his work ethic and confident baritone has opened doors as he continues to push his craft and career. His new project, Nappy Talk, is coming ASAP–he had a listening party this past week at YCA. Recorded live 5/24/18 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music on this week's show: Six Flags - Roger Plexico

This week's episode is the product of a partnership between your friendly neighborhood producers here at AirGo and Real Chi Youth, the newsroom at Free Spirit Media, a nonprofit organization based in North Lawndale. We worked with this wonderful squad of reporters between 20 and 25 years old to build a new, humanizing, deep dive into the stories they were covering, bringing subject-to-subject dialogue into a traditional news space. The result is In the Loop, Out the Blue, a new podcast. Enjoy the first episode!

Hilda Franco, in this moment, is the culmination of every day, month, and year she has grown through up to this point–as are we all. She wants to make sure we don't forget that. The educator, scholar, facilitator, and culture worker focuses on the pervasiveness and impact of adultism in our schools, communities, policies, and culture-at-large. A former staff member at the Chicago Freedom School, Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy, and other educational spaces, she currently works as a coordinator and consultant for CPS's Student Voice Committee. Hilda is also a member of the Hoodoisie, the block-optic news discussion show founded by Ricardo Gamboa and often mentioned on AirGo. Recorded live 5/10/18 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Road Trip - Ryan Lit No Future - No Mo No Money

Dometi Pongo is a media-maker, journalist, host, and producer whose work is grounded in the stories, perspectives, and events of our city. Sound familiar? He's an anchor and reporter for WGN Radio, the host of the ChiPedia and Brainstorm with Dometi podcasts, and has created media work with Chicago's Urban League, Donda's House, WTTW, WYCC, and many other platforms. He's the cofounder of The Artists Lounge, one of the city's best open mics, and he also leads annual excursions to Ghana, aimed at establishing better understandings of Diaspora and cultural cohesion. Recorded live 5/3/18 at WHPK in Chicago Music from this week's show: Demon's Alley - Roger Plexico Pants from Japan - @longlivecarl NOTE: There's a little audio easter egg in here at 48:45. Enjoy!

AirGo gets cooking with Pivot emcee and gem of a human MfnMelo. The rapper's baritone echoes across some of the city's best tracks from the last year, including a gang of hits on his project Melodramatics, which dropped last October. He also hosts the hilarious and very informative Cooking with Mfn cooking show. Recorded live 4/28/18 in Chicago Music from this week's show: Rollin' - @Mfnmelo Buck - @josephchilliams x @mfnmelo White Cheddar - Mfnmelo

Lulu Be's bounce echoes continents. The rapper layers rhythms from across diaspora with hyper-referential and indubitably fun raps that reverberate self-confidence and self-determination. The first generation Ethiopian American Chicago native put out the make-you-move bop Lululand last fall. Recorded 4/3/18 in Chicago Music from this week's show: Rude Tings - @lulubomb Raindance - @lulubomb Fiya Missile - @lulubomb Official Girl - Cassie

You know that line that naysayers always say to activists? About how "real change happens from within the system?" Well, Brandon Johnson is about to find out. The longtime educator and centerpiece organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union recently won the Democratic primary for the Cook County Commissioner of the 1st District, and will be running unopposed in the general election. His new jurisdiction covers much of the West Side and western suburbs. Recorded live 4/12/18 at WHPK in Chicago Music from this week's show: Birds of Prey - Darksunn SMILE - @Sabapivot

AmbI Lyrics has brought all the pieces together, and is ready to share. The St. Louisian DJ, producer, and certified Pivoter just dropped Study Hall, a wonderful project with some certified bops with a super dope squad of collaborators including Via Rosa, Joseph Chilliams, Nosidam, Lamont Anderson, Sean Deaux, theMIND, Smino, Saba, and Jean Deaux. She pops by a couple days before her upcoming After School Special show at SubT on April 8th, which you should definitely attend. Recorded live 4/5/18 at WHPK-FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Serious Thoughts - @ambil x @nosidam Hakuna Matada - @Ambil x @deathvialove x @josephchilliams Dream a Genie - @Ambil x @deathvialove x @sabapivot x @thatsjeandeaux

AirGo digs deep in the vaults for #GoBack, a series of interviews Daniel did between 2011 and 2014 with some of hip hop's best. Originally aired on KDIC-FM, Damon and Daniel's college radio station, we dust off the conversations and bring them to you. On this episode, from all the way back in 2013, Chance the Rapper.

Singer, drummer, and songwriter Luke Titus is just trying to flow. As a percussionist, he has kept the pocket for brilliant Chicagoans like Noname, Akenya and Ravyn Lenae. He released his debut project, Aside of Love, last year, and will be opening for Ravyn on her upcoming Crush tour. Recorded 2/20/18 in Chicago Music from this week's show: U (feat. @ravynlenae) - @luke-titus Pink - @luke-titus Runnin - @luke-titus

Maceo Haymes swings, growls, and whines like no other voice in Chicago. He's the soul of Chicago soul band The O'My's, and has collaborated with damn near any Chicago rapper, singer, and musician you rock with. A stalwart of the Chicago music scene, Maceo swings by to talk sound, color, art, and more. Recorded 3/15/18 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: These Days (feat. @the-omys) - @ab-soul Mujer (feat. @nicosegal) - @the-omys

Daniel and Damon catch their breath and take some time to check in. The convo bounces around from parents, to love, to growth, to much more. You get a guest every week–we should be enough for ya. Recorded 3/5/18 in Chicago

The Burns Twins glint. The duo stands in the midst of much of the most engaging, shining, exciting art echoing through Chicago's music scene, bringing their trumpet, drums, and production to collaborations with an impressive cross-section of Chicago's next wave. They most recently put out the first in a series of EPs with Bedows and Elton Aura entitled Sun Shower, which is an absolute banger, and perform in the bands of many of Chicago's best. Recorded live 3/1/18 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Headphones (feat. Nemo) - @burnstwinsmusic x @bedows x @eltonaura No More - @burnstwinsmusic x @themindmusic Combo #5 - @burnstwinsmusic x @bedows x @eltonaura

Shellyne Rodriguez is a badass visual artist, organizer, and Bronxite. She organizes with Take Back the Bronx, a collective of creators and citizens fighting gentrification, and has visual art featured all over the city. Her visuals remix and reimagine the material representations of community, loss, and false hope into collage and sculpture, connected yet levitating. She works with the Museum of Modern Art's Educational Programming, overseeing organizational and school partnerships across the five boroughs. Recorded 2/1/18 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York

AirGo had the honor of cohosting the Our Liberation Summit, a convening at Sarah Lawrence College. We conducted 10 interviews with presenters, producers, and participants, seizing this shared moment to bring their voices and ideas beyond the confines of the campus. This episode contains a few of their stories–you can hear all of the episodes on our soundcloud. Thanks to Natalie Gross and Cody Ross Romero for their wonderful hospitality and vision! Recorded 2/3/18 at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville NY Music from this week's show: Echo Blues Effect - Anonymous420 Lost Memories - Ryan Little

AirGo digs deep in the vaults for #GoBack, a series of interviews Daniel did between 2011 and 2014 with some of hip hop's best. Originally aired on KDIC-FM, Damon and Daniel's college radio station, we dust off the conversations and bring them to you. First up, Kendrick Lamar in 2013.