The Listening Room

Arriving in Philadelphia after deejaying in her native New York and Washington D.C., where she was known for a time as “Ebony Moonbeams,” Dyana Williams established the popular radio show “Love on the Menu” for radio station WDAS and later Soulful Sundays for Classix 107.9. The latter show lasting for 12 years before signing off for the last time in 2020. Even with her luminous on-air career, Dyana’s contributions behind the scenes have been even more impactful. Formerly married to music producer Kenny Gamble (Gamble & Huff), Williams has long been associated with the “Sound of Philadelphia” (Patti LaBelle, McFadden & Whitehead, Teddy Pendergrass, etc.) and has produced documentaries, founded and led organizations and mentored countless emerging artists, a passion that she continues to pursue. But perhaps her most lasting gift to us is her role in the founding of Black Music Month. Its initial recognition in 1979 was the beginning of a process that Dyana would shepherd until it was written into law by congress and proclaimed first by President Clinton in 2000 and again by Presidents Obama and Biden. Read more about Dyana in Issue No. 7 of AphroChic magazine.

Thavius Beck’s story started in Minneapolis and led him to California, into the Golden age of Los Angeles’ underground Hip-Hop culture through legendary venues like The Good Life, Project Blowed and Low End Theory. Emerging as a respected producer, emcee and electronic music performer, Thavius continued to walk the road laid out for him by his creativity, following it to Brooklyn and a new role as a teacher, now professor at the prestigious Berklee NYC campus. In honor of the release of his latest album, Untitled: Volume 1, we spoke with Thavius about his journey through music, the similarities between electronic composition and time travel, and the beauties of creating when there’s nothing left to prove. Read more about Thavius Beck in Issue No. 14 of AphroChic magazine.

Candice Luter is an Iowa-based furniture designer and artist, creating furnishings and accessories for the home that are a perfect balance of beauty and functionality. The latest artist to join the AphroChic Art Shop, Candice is using design as something transformative for herself, while also creating a safe space for women in the furniture design world to work together, build together, and create new lives together. For Domestic Violence Awareness Month we are proud to bring you a conversation that is authentic, real and open about surviving an abusive relationship and discovering one's voice through art and design. Read more about Candice Luter in Issue No. 13 of AphroChic magazine and explore her collection in the Art shop.

We’re revisiting our summer of 2020 conversation with one of New York’s most prominent chefs, JJ Johnson, that was held on Instagram Live. We discussed the James Beard Award winning chef’s heroic work feeding those in need during lockdown and his focus on developing a creative ecosystem that supports Black farmers, restaurants and consumers.

Spanish fine art photographer Fares Micue's surreal photographs literally transport the viewer to new worlds. Over the past year, AphroChic has worked on a an exclusive collection with Fares. Created in the Canary Islands as well as featuring images from her latest trip to Korea, we speak with the photographer about the new pieces and the inspiration behind each of them. Read more about our collaboration and the inspiration behind Fares’ work in Issue No. 12 of AphroChic magazine. And explore her exclusive collection for AphroChic in the Art shop.

Christa Barfield is the founder of FarmerJawn. The agricultural center in the Philadelphia region is focused on regenerative farming practices and reclaiming the legacy of Black farming. Christa shares her incredible story with us - leaving her job in health care administration and embracing a new perspective that quickly connected her to the social issues that surround Black and Brown communities around the perceptions, prices, and quality of the food available to us. With the mission of creating, educating and feeding the community through farming, FarmerJawn continues to grow, overseeing 600 acres of land in a Philadelphia suburb, and developing corner stores in the city that will offer healthy, organic foods. Christa Barfield is featured in Issue No. 12 of AphroChic magazine in the story, FarmerJawn Philly.

Haitian-born, New York sculptor Jessica Jean-Baptiste, sits down with us to discuss her practice, her evolution as an artist and her exclusive collection for the AphroChic Art Shop. In the tradition of artists such as Edmonia Lewis, Elizabeth Catlett and Augusta Savage, Baptiste's latest works, The Keisha and Jamal Busts are a celebration of the beauty of Black life and Black bodies. These new works present a Black man without conflict, and a Black woman at peace. Simple images, yet revolutionary pieces by Baptiste, in their rejection of the story of Black America that is commonly told. Jessica Jean-Baptiste is featured in Issue No. 11 of AphroChic magazine in the story, The Question is In The Answer.

If you’re a fan of reality cooking shows, chances are you know who Rock Harper is. In 2007 he exploded onto the the public stage as the season 3 winner of Gordon Ramsay’s popular Hell’s Kitchen competition. Since then Rock’s career has flourished, culminating in the opening of Queen Mother’s. But where many of the giants in the chicken game lean on plantation owners and mammy figures to symbolize their brands, Rock’s inspiration is altogether different. Listen to our interview with the man who is changing the chicken sandwich game. Rock Harper is featured in Issue No. 10 of AphroChic magazine in the story, Queen Mother's.

We sit down with Lara Downes, who’s star currently shines in the world of classical music as one of its most innovative figures and most energetic activists. Lara shares the inspiration behind her latest work, Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered, a modern reflection on Joplin’s musical legacy. Along the way we explore her own musical journey, the importance of cultural memory and how the music of Scott Joplin continues to speak to us all. Lara Downes is featured in Issue No. 10 of AphroChic magazine in the story, History in Sound: A Conversation with Lara Downes.

Greg Banks has been bringing music straight to the people through his Concert on the Block series. The series began two years ago, at the start of the pandemic, as Banks’ way of fighting against the darkness and fear we all felt in 2020. Since then, it’s grown beyond his block, taking him around the globe as he uplifts a populous weary of disease and war with music that stirs the soul. We had the opportunity to sit down with Banks to discuss his life, career, concert series, and his upcoming album. Greg is the cover star for Issue No. 9 of AphroChic magazine, and is featured in the story, Soul Man: New Orleans-born artist, Greg Banks, Is the Saint of Soul.

In the summer of 2020, AphroChic spoke with Janelle Jones on Instagram Live about Black Women's Equal Pay Day, economics, and racial inequality. Janelle is the first African American woman to serve as chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor and is currently the chief economist for Service Employees International Union. Here we present the edited conversation from two years ago in honor of Black Women's Equal Pay Day 2022, which takes place this year on September 21st. Black women are paid 58 cents for every dollar paid to white men and this day symbolically denotes how far into the year Black women must work to be paid what men were paid the previous year. Janelle's article, We Are The Economy: Building from the Ashes of COVID-19 is featured in Issue No. 4 of AphroChic magazine.

In the summer of 2020 AphroChic chatted on Instagram Live with Chef Alexander Smalls about his latest book, Meals, Music & Muses and his diverse journey through the worlds of music, food and business. Here we present the edited conversation, where we talked about his journey, which started in rural South Carolina and took him around the world as a celebrated opera singer before bringing him to New York as an equally renowned restaurateur. We talk with Alexander about his youth, his career on the stage and in the kitchen and the beautiful window that African American food traditions provide on our history, our culture and our diaspora. Explore more of Chef Alexander Smalls’ story and his Harlem home in AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Family Home.

We're sitting down with Ron Frazier, the founder of A Tribe Called Camp, discussing his outdoor lifestyle concept - a movement that encourages Black people to get outside, travel and camp. Read more about A Tribe Called Camp in Issue No. 3 of AphroChic magazine.

Interdisciplinary artist Fabiola Jean-Louis weaves a narrative that blends past and future, fact and fantasy, afro-futurism and Black girl magic in her photographs and paper sculptures. We sit down with Fabiola to discuss her Re-Writing History series. Read more about Fabiola in Issue No. 2 of AphroChic magazine.

We sit down with Nikia Phoenix to discuss modeling, activism, and the journey to self-love. Learn more about our Issue No. 2 cover star in AphroChic magazine.

Live from Dumbo House in Brooklyn, NY, we celebrate the launch of AphroChic magazine by sitting down with stylists James Bianca, Donnell Baldwin, Courtney Arrington-Baldwin, and fashion designer Nana Yaa Asare-Boadu, to discuss the culture of the African Diaspora as a major influence on the world of fashion, issues with diversity in the industry and ways to create a more equitable fashion industry.

We sit down with Jerome LaMaar, fashion designer, trend forecaster and futurist, to discuss fashion and futurism. It's a discussion that leads us from his start as a 15-year-old designer for Baby Phat and into Afro-futurism and his groundbreaking showcase, Afri-Collision.

A talk with filmmaker Adepero Oduye on radical creativity and her groundbreaking film, To Be Free, where Oduye transforms into the legendary Nina Simone. Read more about To Be Free in Issue No. 1 of AphroChic magazine.

Chef Rashad Frazier Highlights a Little Known History Between Black and Japanese Americans Through His Food Concept, Yoshi Jenkins [now Camp Yoshi], a Fusion of History, Cultures, and Delicious Bites.

Raindrops on roses and chestnuts over an open fire, Boyz II Men singing Let It Snow, Stevie’s Someday At Christmas, and Mariah’s All I Want For Christmas — when the year’s winding down, these are some of our favorite things. From Motown icons to Babyface and Whitney, the greats are all here, along with some new classics, like John Legend’s Bring Me Love and Sabrina Claudio’s Warm December.

Alicia Keys and Jill Scott, Maxwell, Erykah and Ms. Lauryn Hill. Neo-Soul is the smooth combination of Hip Hop’s flava, Funk’s kick and Jazz’s eternal cool. Enjoy a playlist of genre staples and the era-defining tracks that make up one of Black music’s most intoxicating styles.

Daily sounds from the AphroFarmhouse designed to help you power through a busy day or bring it down for a night of relaxation. Enjoy this blend of 90s R&B, Neo-Soul and Hip Hop for the people including artists like Mary J. Blige, Rapsody, Prince and Ace Clark.

Soul is that ineffable, intangible something that lies at the root of Black music. It’s the singer’s ability to express themselves so honestly that their experience and the listener’s become one. This playlist brings together modern masters of the style from Jacob Banks, Aloe Blacc and Gary Clark Jr. to Maiysha Simpson, Cautious Clay and Acantha Lang.