Reel Notes w/ CineMasai – Details, episodes & analysis

My guest this week is Baltimore rapper John Wells. We spoke about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the Bel-Air spinoff, The Lion King, the pros and cons of drive-in movie theaters, the Wayans family, putting on for Baltimore, the video for his single “No Drugs In Heaven,” making his late father proud, and the creative process behind his upcoming project whole world burnin’ down. Come fuck with us.

whole world burnin' down will be available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen on Friday, September 20. If you're in the Baltimore area that night, celebrate the album release by pulling up to Live 4Ever 2 at the Metro Baltimore--doors at 7PM, show starts at 8. Tickets are $17.51 and you can cop tickets here. Follow John Wells on Instagram (@lorluck), Twitter (@johnwells__), and TikTok (@johnwells__)

Join the Reel Notes Patreon today starting at $5/month to get early access to episodes, our Discord server, exclusive bonus interviews and reviews, and more!

My first book, Reel Notes: Culture Writing on the Margins of Music and Movies, is available now, via 4 PM Publishing. Order a digital copy on Amazon.

Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the oppressed peoples of Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Tigray, and Haiti. Please consider donating to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund,  The Palestinian Youth Movement, The Zakat Foundation, HealAfrica, FreeTigray, and/or Hope For Haiti.  For information about contacting your representatives to demand a ceasefire, finding protests, and other tools, check out CeasefireToday!

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) 

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My guest this week is New Jersey rapper and co-host of Strangers Live, ‘89 The Brainchild. We spoke about Deadpool & Wolverine, Elektra, 2000s-era Marvel movies, Purple Rain, why people don’t love musicals anymore, mixtape culture, the similarities between the New York and New Jersey indie music scenes, and the creative process behind his latest project Night Lives, out now via Fused Arrow Records. Come fuck with us.

Night Lives is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from '89's Bandcamp. Follow '89 on Instagram (@89aintonthegram) and Twitter (@89thebrainchild) and listen to Strangers Live! every other Saturday from 12-2PM EST on Newtown Radio. 

Join the Reel Notes Patreon today starting at $5/month to get early access to episodes, our Discord server, exclusive bonus interviews and reviews, and more!

My first book, Reel Notes: Culture Writing on the Margins of Music and Movies, is available now, via 4 PM Publishing. Order a digital copy on Amazon.

Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the oppressed peoples of Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Tigray, and Haiti. Please consider donating to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund,  The Palestinian Youth Movement, The Zakat Foundation, HealAfrica, FreeTigray, and/or Hope For Haiti.  For information about contacting your representatives to demand a ceasefire, finding protests, and other tools, check out CeasefireToday!

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)    

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My guest this week is Chicago rapper, producer, label head, and MIT professor, Lupe Fiasco. We spoke about True Detective, being inspired by his father’s record and film collections, practicing martial arts and African drumming, references and concepts in his music, creating across eras, the art and pros and cons of criticism, his bond with producer Soundtrakk, and the creative process behind his years-in-the-making latest album, the Amy Winehouse-inspired Samurai. Come fuck with us.  

Samurai is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Follow Lupe on Instagram and Twitter: @LupeFiasco

I wrote the liner notes for Vinyl Me Please's recent wax reissue of Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. If you're interested in reading, buy a copy on their site.

Join the Reel Notes Patreon today starting at $5/month to get early access to episodes, our Discord server, exclusive bonus interviews and reviews, and more!

My first book, Reel Notes: Culture Writing on the Margins of Music and Movies, is available now, via 4 PM Publishing. Order a digital copy on Amazon.

Reel Notes stands in solidarity with the oppressed peoples of Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Tigray, and Haiti. Please consider donating to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund,  The Palestinian Youth Movement, The Zakat Foundation, HealAfrica, FreeTigray, and/or Hope For Haiti.  For information about contacting your representatives to demand a ceasefire, finding protests, and other tools, check out CeasefireToday!

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai), and Letterboxd (@CineMasai), and subscribe to my weekly Nu Musique Friday newsletter to stay tapped in to all things Dylan Green.     

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My guest for the mid-season finale is Atlanta rapper Tony Shhnow. We spoke about The Boys, superhero sex, Barry, Soul Plane, Donald Glover’s Atlanta, Futurama, how Wiz Khalifa’s Burn After Rolling changed his life, his prolific release schedule, proving himself as a lyricist, his relationship with his plug, and the creative process behind his latest project Reflexions.

Reflexions is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen.

Follow Tony Shhnow on Instagram and Twitter: @tonyshhnow

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai) 

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My guest this week is rapper Tyrxne. We gave our hot takes on The Batman, spoke about his love for The Fifth Element and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of The Ooze, the art of sneaking into movie theaters, the pros and cons of AMC Stubs A-List, listening to Daft Punk and Cassidy, the origins of his original rap name Breeze Embalm, embracing TikTok and rapping in Spanish, and the creative process behind his first Spanish-language album El Peligro.

Tyrxne's latest project Firestarter is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. 

Follow Tyrxne on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @tyrxneny

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  

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My guest this week is Boston rapper, producer, actor, and standup comedian Michael Christmas. We spoke about Father’s Day, Peaky Blinders, Top Boy, Uncut Gems, Ja Rule, horror, Black comedy, Spike Lee, the art of references in rap, respecting The Culture, Van Buren, the Massachusetts rap scene, a handful of his music videos, and the creative process behind he and producer Ricky Felix’s collab project Christmas In 6.

Christmas In 6 is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen.

Follow Michael Christmas on Instagram (@michaelchristmas) and Twitter (@MickeyChristmas)

Follow Ricky Felix on Instagram and Twitter: @rickyfelixx

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  

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My guest this week is rapper, producer, and graphic designer THERAVADA. We spoke about Bob’s Burgers, The Sopranos, Life Is Beautiful, AMC Stubs A-List, influencer culture, how And1 Basketball helped him appreciate the synergy of rap and film, streetball’s effect on pop culture, video game soundtracks, the importance of archiving, and the creative process behind his latest project My Own 2 Hands.

My Own 2 Hands is available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen. Consider copping directly from his Bandcamp page here.

Follow THERAVADA on Instagram (@THRVD) and Twitter (@THERAVADA)

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  

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My guest this week is writer, rapper, producer, and sound designer Pat Junior. We spoke about Logic, Top Boy, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Doctor Strange, the Rush Hour movies, The Fifth Element, Gladiator, our favorite film scores and composers, his relationship to hip-hop and classical music, how he approaches music as a sound designer, the pros and cons of overthinking while writing, and the creative process behind his latest album Gold Fangs On Sunday.

Both I Thought I Knew and Gold Fangs On Sunday are available wherever music is sold, streamed, or stolen.

Follow Pat Junior on Instagram and Twitter: @iampatjunior

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  

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My guest this week is producer, rapper, DJ, founder of the blog/label PTP, teacher, and archivist GENG PTP. We spoke about ethics in journalism, The Bob’s Burgers Movie, Ozark, the pros and cons of binging television, the history of Kim’s Video and Music, our relationship with music videos, the skateboarding documentary All The Streets Are Silent, the current underground renaissance, and more anecdotes and detours about music and movie history than I can count.

Watch All The Streets Are Silent on Hulu and Tony Hawk: Until The Wheels Fall Off on HBO Max.

Follow GENG on Instagram (@genggrizzly) and Twitter (@PURPICIDE)

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  

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My guest this week is DJ, producer, and co-host of the Yo! MTV Raps revival, Diamond Kuts. We spoke about horror movies, the Child’s Play series, how Disney’s reboot of Maleficent helped her appreciate the relationship between sound and image, her relationship with Nicki Minaj, memories of Nicki’s early career, putting on for female rappers, navigating the world of DJing as a Black woman, being a DJ in the age of streaming and algorithms, her relationship with Yo! MTV Raps, and how she and fellow co-host Conceited are reimagining the show for a new generation.

New episodes of Yo! MTV Raps are released weekly on Paramount+. Watch the first episode featuring Freddie Gibbs now.

Keep up with everything Diamond Kuts, from interviews to playlists to DJ sets on Power 99 FM in Philly, here.

Follow Diamond Kuts on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @djdiamondkuts

Follow me on Instagram (@cinemasai), Twitter (@CineMasai_), TikTok (@cinemasai) , and Letterboxd (@CineMasai)  

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