Culturati

The 2021 Year in Culture, Culturati style! From the first Black and Asian American female Vice President, Kamala Harris, to honoring the passing of Cicely Tyson, to celebrating Missy Elliot's Hollywood Walk of Fame star; this list might spark a mash up of emotion—holiday cheer and maybe a good year-end cry. A smattering of big moments and small wonders. Like the fact that Kierna, um, sings! Happy Holidays to you and you and you from the whole Culturati team. We will be back with more episodes of Culturati: Conversations with Kierna Mayo in the New Year.

In this special episode, Kierna has a revealing conversation with one of her real life besties-- and one of hip-hop’s true legends-- Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. The episode chronicles how they met as teenagers in NYC, and explores the evolution of their devoted three decade-long friendship. Through this initimate snapshot of Black creatives, we remember that vintage friendships, though rare, fulfill us in unique ways. Join Kierna and Q-Tip as they sip on tequila and reminisce about time, love, loss and living the creative life forever. Follow Q-Tip on Twitter @QtipTheAbstract and Instagram, @qtiptheabstract. Look for Kierna Mayo on Twitter and Instagram @kiernamayo.

This week, school is in session as Kierna gets a sex education from Sam Ridell, an award-winning podcast producer and principal host of the critically-acclaimed, queer Black-feminist focused sexuality podcast, Inner Hoe Uprising. This epsiode explores what Kierna jokingly calls ""Critical Race WAP"" —a space casually conflating ideas about race in America and sex-positivity among Black women. Prepare for a grown-up, intergenerational, perhaps not-suitable-for-work conversation that will require intelligent open-mindedness—and that you leave your pearls on the nightstand. Take notes as Sam offers a 101 sex and sexuality education from a 20-something queer Black woman's perspective, and she and Kierna, in between laughs, tackle the cultural evolution of the term ""ho"", its multiple meanings and significance today. Follow Inner Hoe Uprising on Twitter @InnerHoeUprisin and Instagram, innerhoeuprising. Look for Kierna Mayo on Twitter and Instagram @kiernamayo.

Today’s episode kicks off a radical, emo series we’re calling “Chasing Freedom,” where Kierna profiles fascinating women and femmes in the culture who personally inspire her own sense of liberation. This time, Kierna is joined by mother, writer and foodie feminist from the Bronx, Tanya Denise Fields, founder of the Black Feminist Project and community gathering spot, the Alice Fields Community Center. Seen on The Rachel Ray Show and a featured essayist in You Are Your Best Thing by Tarana Burke and Brene Brown, Fields' ""bughetto"" star is fast-rising. Take notes as she offers up a gritty, grown, no-holds-barred invitation into her life as a survivor—and a boss—revealing how she overcame internal struggle and external beef in order to disrupt the martyr complex that lives within too many of us.Look for Tanya Denise Fields on Instagram @tanyadenisefields. Follow Kierna Mayo on Twitter and Instagram @kiernamayo.

This week, Kierna kicks it with W. Kamau Bell, sociopolitical comedian, host and executive producer of CNN’s Emmy-winning documentary series United Shades of America. The two discuss the deep dilemmas of Black media makers—particularly those currently in the trenches of covering race and identity—and how telling such stories often impacts their mental and emotional well-being. We get a more private side of Bell, not only as funny-man host staying the course during some of the country's most challenging times, but as a father of daughters, and, well, how should we say this? A Black man in America.Follow W. Kamau Bell on Twitter and Instagram @wkamaubell and stream United Shades of America on HBO Max. Look for Kierna Mayo on Twitter and Instagram @kiernamayo.

In 1999, Lauryn Hill graced the cover of the preview issue of Honey, billed as a "fearless entertainment, fashion, and lifestyle magazine for young, urban women." A first of its kind on American newsstands, Honey earned instant acclaim and quickly developed a devoted readership. On the inaugural episode of Culturati, host Kierna Mayo tells the story of how she started the now cult-classic publication with her best friend, Joicelyn Dingle—and how their early magazine dreams ultimately helped define the Hip-Hop Generation and beyond. We hear from Norell Giancana, Phd who wrote her doctoral dissertation about Honey's impact on hip-hop feminism and the culture at large, and get the behind-the-scenes story of the historic Lauryn Hill "Taste the Future" cover shoot by Jonathan Mannion. Look for Kierna Mayo on Twitter and Instagram @kiernamayo.

"Every good drama has an anti-hero, and the same goes for the story of Honey magazine. This week, after having unanswered questions for more than 20 years, Kierna finally sits down with Keith Clinkscales, entrepreneur, media executive, former president of Vibe Ventures and former CEO of Revolt, to get the true story of how Kierna and her best friend, Joicelyn Dingle, ultimately lost their magazine. To him. Look for Kierna Mayo on Twitter and Instagram @kiernamayo."

Veteran media maven and cultural critic Kierna Mayo hosts “Culturati,” a sonically rich world where Black women from Gen X to Gen Z— “bougie and ratchet” notwithstanding—are the official standard bearers. Through engrossing conversations with an array of fascinating thought-leaders and some of the culture’s leading voices, such as comedian and television host W. Kamau Bell, foodie feminist Tanya Fields, Q-Tip from Tribe Called Quest, and Honey co-founder Joicelyn Dingle, these discussions flip conventional thinking about race, sex, and power. Culturati explores hot topics from the social-political to the not-safe-for-work with a Hip-Hop Generation, dope AF Black feminist as a cultural guide.