Airgo

Rebel Diaz is about the work. The brother-brother duo came up in Chicago as self-described "movement kids," and has since traveled the world bringing their music and radical framework to resistance moments and movements around the world. They've been organizers and community members in the Hunts Point neighborhood of The Bronx for the last 15 years. Recorded 4/5/17 in Chicago Music from this week's show: I Feel Alive - Rebel Diaz Radical Dilemma - Rebel Diaz

Eddie Sanders both holds down one of Chicago's most popping spots, and holds the degree to get you out of trouble if things get a little too wild. A veteran of the Chicago creative community, he is a lawyer for many of the artists in the scene, as well as one of the main folks at popular night spot East Room. He also spins records, has dope glasses, and runs distribution label Freshly Baked, and definitely has some stories to tell. We unfortunately lost about 2/3 of the episode due to recording mishaps, but we still have a bunch of goodness to share! Recorded live 4/6/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music on this week's show: Speaking Gently - @badbadnotgood Jukin' on Landmines - BBU

Monte Booker makes sounds you've never heard in a song before, but seem like you've heard them around you your whole life–the clicks and whirs of machinery, the hums and whistles of a flock of birds, the resonances inside our heads. An undeniably innovative talent, The Chicagoan producer has been making sonic tidal waves with rapper/crooner Smino, AirGo alum Ravyn Lenae, a bunch of other talented folks, and the groovy radio show Soulection. He takes a break from a studio session at Classick Studios and gets groovy. Recorded live 3/30/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music on this week's show: 2099 Flow - @montebooker Cereal - @montebooker Glass Flows feat. @ravynlenae (prod. @montebooker) - @SminoWorld

Naledge may be a student at Northwestern's School of Communications within the Media, Technology and Society Program, but he's a kid no more. One half of 2000's-era rap group Kidz in the Hall, who sold more than 100,000 records worldwide on both Duckdown Records and Rawkus Records, he is also the founder of the Brainiac Project, which provides safe spaces and professional training at a recording studio in Auburn Gresham. Recorded live 3/23/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: The Willies - @djdouble-0 Me and My Old School - Naledge Good to You (Instrumental prod. Kanye West) - Talib Kweli Wheelz Fall Off ('06 Til) - Kidz in the Hall

As an antidote to all of the endless yammering we bring you week-in and week-out, this week AirGo presents music by all of the musical artists who have come on AirGo through the first 82 episodes. The mix is done by AirGo's own DJ Empathy (aka Daniel). Peep the tracklist below! Music on this week's show: Divine Love - @wowtashawow Untitled 04 (summertime) - @jhonmyquale Suitcase - @bellabahhs Blk Girl Soldier - @JamilaWoods West Side in the Rain - @MalcolmLondon Pressure - @Thatsjeandeaux Whippin' - @RicWilsonisme Liberation - @DavidEllis00 Summer Camp - @theMINDmusic Walk Away - @DramaDuo Promesa - @Lesterreymusic Symmetry - @SabaPIVOT Silk Pillows - @Sminoworld & @Akenya Spice - @Ravynlenae Bloom - @BLAckxpARty Noir - @Defcee Green Light Party - @Add2theMC Ham Sammiches - @averyryoung Love, Peace, and Happiness - @SamTrump Creflo (Almighty) Dollar - @SirtheBaptist No Service - @LaVanGogh Mariame Kaba - @SolPatches

Safia Elhillo is a badass and poet of Sudanese origin who manages the space between her words with fearless grace. She's in town for Halal if You Hear Me, a special event for Louder Than A Bomb that shares its name with the anthology of which she is co-editor with AirGo alum Fati Asghar. If you have any questions about Ja Rule and Ashanti, she is your go-to person. Her first book, The January Children, is available now. Recorded live 3/9/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: If (Instrumental) - @Oddiseemusic

Charles Preston is an organizer and radical spacemaker. A central figure in CSU's fight for survival, which AirGo alum Dave Ellis broke down on Episode 73, Charles is also the creator of Church on the 9, a popup cypher and community-building event on 79th Street here in Chicago. He talks spacemaking, organizing, and mental/emotional health with the AirGo crew. Recorded live 3/2/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: God Bless The Native Americans - @rich-daily Walk On By (feat. @kendricklamar) - Thundercat

In the frantic recallibration of what is, what isn't, and what might be since January 20th, our definitions of journalism, the press, media, and the truth are all in flux as real threats solidify and old tensions reemerge. How do we humanize our journalism and root it in the information different communities want and need? Ellen Mayer is the Engagement Consultant at Hearken, an "audience-driven tech platform and editorial framework that enables journalists to partner with the public throughout the reporting process," and a smart-ass person with a bunch of ideas about how we can engage with each other to report the information we need. Recorded live at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Colors - @soundbyezra

Amika Tendaji is a mother, a longtime Chicago youth and community organizer, a co-founder of Ujimaa Medics (UMedics) a collective focused on health justice and self-determination for Black people and a lead organizer of BLMChicago. She is also a poet, photographer, artful dodger, orca lover, storyteller, base builder, amateur comedian and a flamethrower extraordinaire. Recorded live 2/16/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Confused - @deelilly Casket Pretty - @noname

bLAck pARty, also known off the mic and boards as Malik Flint, is an old friend and raw music-maker whose most recent project, Mango, is available everywhere now. A Little Rock native, he moved out to LA a couple years ago when he began to work with Wolf & Rothstein, Childish Gambino's management company. We break down some big ideas, how he got to this moment, and even a few UFO sightings. Recorded 2/5/17 in Los Angeles, CA Music from this week's show: Summerlove - @blackxparty Theory - @NWard3000 Bloom - @blackxparty

DJ Oreo is like the mayor of Chicago's cool kids, if the mayor was a backflipper who DJs around the world rather than a neoliberal despot intent on lining his buddies' pockets. The current DJ for beaded wonder Lil' Yachty, Oreo has been at the Chicago's hip hop and footworking scenes for years. He's the founder of Oreofest, an irregular and surreal pop-up hip hop festival in the city. Recorded live 2/3/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: I Can Feel It - DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn DJ Rashad (Never Letting Go) - Roman Flowers

Xavier Ramey walks through the different worlds of Chicago with a grace, humor, and devotion rarely experienced. A North Lawndale native, he currently works at UChicago teaching students how to build organizations, structures, and companies that work to address harm and inequality. A Louder Than A Bomb kid turned commodities trader turned mentor and activist, Xavier is a core member of the #LetUsBreathe Collective and is a photographer. He also makes more corny jokes than Daniel does–it's documented. Recorded live 1/26/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Sirens - @AdrianYounge

Leor Galil's work is some of the most thoughtful and writing about the city's creative renaissance. The music writer for the Chicago Reader, Leor grounds his features in the stories, neighborhoods, and sounds of the city with an open ear and a dedication to honest relationship with his subject. He also hosts the new Red Bull Music Academy radio show The Deepest Dish, which has already featured quite a few AirGo alumni. Recorded live 1/19/2017 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: HiiiPower - @kendricklamar Evening's Kiss - @willisearlbeal

We've all heard "conscious" rappers preach their asses off in a song that nobody wants to hear–the onslaught of big words and holier-than-thou declarations can be exhausting. David Ellis' autotuned bars reverberate with a catchiness that help his thoughtful, loving ideas shine through clearly and without pretense. The other half of duo FYI (Fuck Yo Institution) with AirGo alum Ric Wilson, he's also an organizer and activist across the city, especially involved in the fight to save Chicago State University. Recorded live 1/12/17 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Kinda A Big Deal (feat. Kanye West) - The Clipse BLK Crack - @DavidEllis00 Budget or Else - @DavidEllis00 Liberation - @DavidEllis00

Lester Rey is a singer and musician whose unflinching and infectious creations remold and reimagine in the spirit of boogaloo, overlapping the edges and sounds from Puerto Rico, across Latin America, and his home city of Chicago. His most recent project, entitled PROMESA, is a fierce and loving reflection based off the passage of the PROMESA Act, passed this past summer, which placed governance of the island under the control of a Congressionally-appoint board and continues the colonial violence enacted by the U.S. on Puerto Rico. Catch Lester performing 1/14, presented by AMFM and The Dojo: https://www.facebook.com/events/1239081902847780/ Music from this week's show: Got Myself a Good Man - Pucho and his Latin Soul Brothers Promesa - @lesterreymusic Coqui - @lesterreymusic

DJ, curator, creator, radio-maker, and teacher Rae Chardonnay is one of the best vibe-creators and party-builders in the city of Chicago. Voted the best DJ in Chicago by the Reader, she is one of the cofounders of the remarkable Party Noire, alongside AirGo alum Lauren Ash and Nick Alder. If you haven't been to this remarkable celebration of Black Joy, make sure you come through the Party Noire Black Metropolis New Year's Eve celebration. Recorded live 12/15/16 at WHPK in Chicago Music from this week's show: Here - @ericlaumusic Acid Rain (@chancetherapper x @kanyewest) - DJ Critical Hype and DJ Clyde Saggy Denim (feat. @wikset) - @destiny-frasqueri

Because of a last-minute cancellation, Damon and Daniel take the opportunity to check in with each other and share some ideas and stories, from sphinxes to imagining new futures to Daniel's contentious dilemma about a moose antler. Recorded live 12/8/16 at WHPK 88.5FM Music from this week's show: I Need to Know - @kanyewest Cha Cha - @BigbabyDRAM Zombies (feat. @karifaux) - @childishgambino Stranger - Paul Simon, @donnietrumpet, @alldayrecess

Sir The Baptist is a preacher's son, rapper, and singer who is reimagining what it means to celebrate one's faith in public and in one's art. Born and raised in Bronzeville, he embraces challenging hypocrisy of the church as part of his religious practice, all while compelling folks to dance in celebration. He has recently performed at Afropunk, the Made in America festival, and the Tidal Showcase at the Barclays Center. Recorded live 12/1/16 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: Open The Door - @FKJ-2 Raise Hell - @sirthebaptist What We Got - @sirthebaptist Creflo (Almighty Dollar) - @sirthebaptist

This week's episode shares some of the voices, stories, and experiences of the Standing Rock occupation on indigenous land in North Dakota. First, Daniel and AirGo alum Kristiana Colón discuss their experience visiting last weekend. Then, we share three audio portraits by the podcast series "Voices of Standing Rock," produced by Bo Hakala and Bill Prouty. Hear "Voices of Standing Rock" here: https://www.facebook.com/voicesofstandingrock/ Follow Oceti Sakowin camp: https://www.facebook.com/OcetiSakowinCamp All music from this episode is by A Tribe Called Red, a group of First Nations DJs and producers. Learn more about the group: atribecalledred.com

You should listen to Jhon Myquale. The emcee found his way to Chicago a couple years back, and has quietly been putting in work with folks across the city. He's put out a string of dope tracks this year, and is poised to break through. He brings his thoughts and some bars to AirGo. Recorded live 11/17/16 at WHPK 88.5FM in Chicago Music from this week's show: wavs - @JhonMyquale Summer '04 - @JhonMyquale Flight - @JhonMyquale Hey (Instrumental) - MF Doom