Azriél As It Gets

After a much needed hiatus, we are back with a timely conversation about this election with my great friend Lindsey Yoo! Lindsey Yoo is the Co-Founder & EIC of Share The Salt, an upcoming community and magazine celebrating people of color in creative fields. She's also a writer, organizer, and brand strategist.

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Today I chat with my bestie Stephán O’Shea about Black representation in Hollywood in the wake of the BLM protests this year, and how that intersects with telling Black LGTBQ stories that are more true to life. Stephán O’Shea is a Haitian-American actor, model, stylist, director, screenwriter, songwriter, producer and educator. Born and raised in Pasadena, California, he has spent his life fulfilling his creative callings through various entertainment and educational outlets. He is a proud graduate of John Muir High School and San Francisco State University; where he received his BA in Drama. He also graduated from Azusa Pacific University, where he received his masters degree in Educational Leadership. His work includes creating a musical, comedy skits called “SkitsnGiggles”, and more recently a web-series dramedy called “Preference.” Outside of his creative time, he manages a college-prep program, where he helps underrepresented high school students from his community pursue college!

After a small hiatus we are finally back with a new episode, and it’s a good one! Today I discuss creative burnout with one of my besties Jenae Thompson: Jenae is a performer, writer, and small business owner. Her company, SayQuoi Entertainment, launched in June and is a platform for her to write and sell original work for film, television and theatre, as well as social media and brand consulting. She helps her clients (who are creative-types, artists and entrepreneurs-alike) build and grow their online presence as their social media consultant and manager. You can contact Jenae on Instagram at: @jenae_sayquoi and @sayquoientertainment / On Twitter at: @jenae_sayquoi and @sayquoient

Today I discuss what it means to decolonize your art as a Black artist, with one of my best and oldest friends, Destiny Grant. Destiny Grant is a young black creative from Pasadena living in Los Angeles. She has a BFA in interior design with a concentration in architecture and currently works as the Art Department Coordinator on Blackish. In her spare time she finds herself painting and repurposing furniture. Recently one of her paintings was featured on an episode of Insecure. Having worked in entertainment for 6 years has inspired Destiny to create more opportunities for Black and brown artists to be featured on screen. Her work has only just begun. Find her on Instagram @toliveandienasty. Also, here’s the YouTube video we mention in the episode: https://youtu.be/9P-uZdM_5W8

This episode is a quick Q&A and a check in with me, that I hope you’ll enjoy! We’ll be back next week with a special guest. Thanks for listening!

Content Warning: discussion of police brutality, nonspecific discussion of sexual assault. In this episode I talk to one of my best friends, Jenna O., about her experience working with law enforcement as a nurse at an SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) and about why the police are not properly equipped to handle the situations they are often given power over. Jenna O. is an RN residing in Southern California currently working on a psychiatric floor at a hospital. The next step of her career is to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. When she is not working or doing school, she enjoys playing video games, drinking matcha lattes, and napping.

Today I talk with Jared Grant, he’s a relationship-oriented psychologist in Las Vegas. His goal is to connect with other people and help them feel their worth. He is also a fiancé, dog dad, and great friend! You can follow him on Instagram at: @mentalshifts as well as @thingstherapiststhink, which is the IG account for his podcast by the same name! We discuss how to cope during quarantine without our usual coping mechanisms readily available.