Matthew Yee is a food scientist and chef and the founder of Queenies, a really cool conceptual traveling culinary pop that takes the comforts of his Chinese and Jewish background to create meaningful connections with people in real-time. We talk about changing the food landscape through food justice and a focus on BIOPOC farmers locally and nationally and the issues that exist on the margins to help us create a more sustainable and equitable food economy. We also reminisce about foods that remind us of family and our attempts to recreate those feelings that surface around food and certain memories.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn. Produced by Jarell Perry. Artwork by Julian Alexander. Music by Abjo.

Yee is such a thoughtful chef and creative culinary person. He shares his dreams for Queenies and some of the techniques that find him solitude and quiet in the midst of the hustle of growing a business.

Faraz Zaidi is the founder and creative director of Profound, a luxury streetwear brand. We recorded this episode during Ramadan (April 2023) and I was thinking of holding it until the next Ramadan but I think there are a lot of really interesting concepts we cover that will be valuable for people of all backgrounds.

We reflect really deeply on the benefits of abstaining from many of life's temptations and how the month-long reset fuels so much beauty, introspection, and gratitude for the community.

We discuss Zaidi's superpower which is empathy – he's such a sweet and kind soul who has a creative vision for not only clothing, apparel, home goods, and the world but the way he thinks about things is really unique. We also dig into compartmentalizing life's intricacies, reframing burnout, and what it's like to manage our time and energy in productive ways.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn. Produced by Jarell Perry. Artwork by Julian Alexander. Music by Abjo.

Anna Polonsky is the founder and creative director of Polonsky & Friends, a strategy and design studio for those who use food as a beacon for community. Polonsky also co-founded The Deligram, an editorial storefront spotlighting artisan food and its makers. We explore Polonsky's unique story which starts in France and builds depth and scale in New York at the intersection of food, brand, and hospitality. Meandering through the magic of food–a common thread in her family and upbringing–we dig into Polonsky's learnings working closely with restaurants, developers, brands, restaurateurs, and chefs to tell the nuanced stories only food can provide. Anna shares her path to an accidental entrepreneur and the daily practices she's picked up along the way to complement her lifestyle which is reflective of her personal style. Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn. Produced by Jarell Perry. Artwork by Julian Alexander. Music by Abjo.

Fariha Róisín is a queer Mulsim Bangladeshi multidisciplinary artist, writer, author, poet, astrologer, and consultant based in Los Angeles. Born in Ontario, Canada, and raised in Sydney, Australia, Róisín explores the margins as a thought pioneer through the culture of healing.

Róisín was so vulnerable and open in this conversation. We go super deep into healing money wounds, how our identities are shaped and how they relate to our perceived value and worthiness, and how those things are so integrated into the ways we interact with the constructs of capitalism. We explore the luxury of wellness and who gets to practice wellness and be well, we talk about art, food, weed, pleasure – and its role in healing.

Róisín's best-selling books How To Cure A Ghost, Being In Your Body, Like A Bird and Who Is Wellness For? span poetry and nonfiction exploring delicate relationships with family, self, and the "other." Survival Takes A Wild Imagination is out Fall of 2023.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn.

Produced by Jarell Perry.

Artwork by Julian Alexander.

Music by Abjo.

Deepti Sharma is a 2x founder, mother, public speaker, Forbes 30 Under 30 alumni, former New York City Council council candidate, and entrepreneur in residence at Columbia's Barnard College. Sharma is one of those people who truly cares about community and access and you can feel it when she speaks. We talk about the effects of capitalism on creativity, local politics and how everyone can play a part, why community really matters, changing your narrative through exposure to new things and people, and how trauma plays into your existence–and how to transmute it. Deepti encourages us to dream without limitation and change our views on what is and isn't possible.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn.

Produced by Jarell Perry.

Artwork by Julian Alexander.

Music by Abjo.

Social impact entrepreneur, chef, DJ and food justice advocate Mark Brand, shares his layered journey and implores us to build purpose into the design of a business. He has created over a dozen businesses like a charitable kitchen, a diner, a brewery, a butcher shop – in many cases, made to support those struggling with food insecurity and addiction. We talk about Brand's past life as a DJ and nightlife dweller and how that propelled him to become sober, even after once winning a prestigious bartending award. He educates us on the links between poverty and food deserts which he reframes as food apartheid and we also talk about how removing caffeine, alcohol and sugar changed his life and the realities of facing imposter syndrome.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn.

Produced by Jarell Perry.

Artwork by Julian Alexander.

Music by Abjo.

Marcus J. Moore shares how he built a career by simply "asking the question," revealing the humanity in music through his writing and thoughtful approach to collaboration. An incredible music journalist, critic, and the author of The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America, Moore graciously shares his nonlinear journey from a city-specific reporter to the imposter syndrome of writing his second book on legendary hip hop group, De La Soul. A contributor at the Washington Post with columns at TIDAL and The New York Times, Moore covers hip hop, jazz, and other niche genres and emerging left-of-center artists. Meandering through the practices and people that have propelled his double-decade career, Moore cleverly drops in soundbites of his favorite songs now available as a playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7gtJMYZrezATY9rU0fjUfd?si=-MPqSDd4RWWH13oWAeqNyw.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn.

Produced by Jarell Perry.

Artwork by Julian Alexander.

Music by Abjo.

Joél Leon joins the show to talk about romantic friendships, identity, polyamory, showing up, expanding binary constructs and making room for context. Leon is a father, author, poet, writer, and creative director at The New York Times. The conversation was special and raw – transparent and honest.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn.

Produced by Jarell Perry.

Artwork by Julian Alexander.

Music by Abjo.

Natasha Mascarenhas shares her journey as a journalist and the mental mathematics that come along with it. Mascarenhas is an incredible reporter who started writing human interest stories and moved into the business world, niching down to report on early-stage startups and venture capital. She is a reporter at The Information and prior to that–and when we did this interview–she was a Senior Reporter at TechCrunch with a resume that spans Crunchbase, San Francisco Chronicle, USA TODAY and Boston Globe.

Recorded at Spotify Labs in Brooklyn.

Produced by Jarell Perry.

Artwork by Julian Alexander.

Music by Abjo.

In this episode of Current Mood I had the honor of dissecting the complicated topic of mental health in the music business with multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and innovative producer Mr. Carmack, who has a deep-rooted love for community. As an advocate for suicide prevention through a simple mantra of "letting people know that they are loved and that they are still part of a greater whole," we get very transparent about the role of self-care for creatives – specifically folx in the music business and the industry at-large. We get to know the real Mr. Carmack, digging into the role of his multi-racial background and upbringing in San Francisco, the evolution of his personal journey coming up on Soundcloud and how he holistically monetized his art over the past decade. 

In this episode, I chat with entrepreneur, DJ, and activist Jasmine Solano about pivoting fear into fuel. 

We talk about momentum and redirecting energy towards positive outcomes, the challenges and hidden benefits of transitioning a DJ career online in 2020, and how to recruit the team you want and need around you. 

Through the lens of hip hop, we look at the intersections of music, technology, and reclaiming social equity.

Producer, Editor: Jarell Perry (@stillmindco)

Art Direction: Julian Alexander (@slanginc), Slang Inc.

Music: Abjo (@abjonian) – "The Fifth Movement"