Profiles
My arts and music coverage has most recently appeared in Complex (Pigeons & Planes), PAPER Magazine, and i-D. For my older works, visit my author pages at KQED Arts (NPR) and East Bay Express.
Click below to see any article in full.
PAPER Magazine
Our Favorite Genre Is Rina Sawayama
With this record, Sawayama moves from sweet, lo-fi pop into a whole new realm: she's creating music that's energetic and loud, that could fill stadiums with her story. "I think the songs are like characters — and I just couldn't put anything weak in there," she says. "Every song has to be big."
i-D
Audrey is the Korean-American artist whose soulful music defies genre
Not one to be boxed in, the New Jersey native boasts a surprisingly diverse sound that pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a contemporary R&B artist. From playful, bouncy tracks like “Soufflé” to the pop-reminiscent “Empty Hands,” Audrey and her Roc-Nation producer/manager Anwar Sawyer coalesce a multitude of different elements to create a rich universe of sound. And she takes that even further on her new single “Comic Sans” with rapper Jack Harlow.
“When telling me how his life has changed, Cloud chuckles in disbelief; his humility shines in the details, like the moment he realized he doesn’t have to nurse the glass of champagne on his flight because he could just get another.”
Complex / Pigeons & Planes
Meet Babyxsosa, the Eclectic Underground Rapper Doing Things Her Own Way
In the few tracks she has out on SoundCloud, it’s easy to see that Babyxsosa’s sound is diverse; the refreshing “EVERYWHEREIGO,” for example, showcases the range and control of her melodic, high-pitched voice while one of her more recent drops, “HECTIC,” feature the artist quietly rapping for most of the song. Since joining NY-based music collective surf gang six months ago, the rising SoundCloud artist has been slowly making moves in the underground, gathering a loyal, supportive fan base that’s sure to grow.
KQED (NPR)
Inside Jasdeep Kang's Meticulous, Interrogative Filmmaking
“Blue (American Dream),” a music video directed by filmmaker Jasdeep Kang, opens with a woman (Tia Cabral, better known by her stage name, SPELLLING) leaning on the back of a dancer, eyes closed and neck extended to catch the last waning wisps of afternoon light. The characters remain motionless as the camera’s slow, leftward pan highlights the faint glimmer of an Oakland warehouse’s corrugated steel wall — a shine outdone by the sharp sparkle of Cabral’s metallic gold dress further down the frame.
VICE Magazine (print)
Saweetie Is the OG Icy Girl
Diamonté Harper, better known as Saweetie, had been working since 5 a.m. when I spoke to her on a Friday afternoon in October. She said she was tired—the young rapper had been traveling nonstop for weeks—but for Saweetie, hard work is nothing new.
Complex / Pigeons & Planes
UMI Is a Neo-Soul and R&B-Inspired Artist Creating Space for Healing
Rising Seattle-born and now LA-based musician Tierra Umi Wilson (better known as just UMI) is a perfect embodiment of her middle name, which translates to “ocean” in Japanese. Her music—an amalgamation of lo-fi beats, intense soul, and poignantly simple lyricism—radiates a quiet and compelling peace, not unlike that found in breaking ocean waves. And being half-Black and half-Japanese, UMI has rooted her identity in fluidity. It should come as no surprise, then, that breaking barriers in music seems to come naturally for her.
PAPER Magazine
Angus Cloud still has his head in the sky
Angus Cloud — better known as Fez, the reticent drug dealer with a moral compass on HBO's Euphoria — shies away from attention in the same way his character does. "I consciously appreciated being mad low key," the actor says over the phone, speaking of his pre-acting days in that familiar stoner drawl. "Being a regular people that nobody looked twice at, you know?"
i-D
'we rise la' highlights the local art scene's commitment to mental health
“Mental health is an interconnected tissue that runs across all of our lives, all of the time. And it is not something that we can talk about independently of racism, patriarchy, the recidivism pipeline, state violence — all of it is connected,” says Yosi Sergant, Executive Producer of We Rise LA — an emerging, annual exhibition dedicated to a diverse and thoughtful conversation around mental health in America.
“Transforming the drab industrial setting into an ethereal, dream-like space is an iridescent lens flare, instantly setting the tone for the remainder of the surreal video in its first two seconds.”
KQED (NPR)
For Arumi, A Feeling More Important Than Sound
Amidst the corrugated, graffiti-lined walls surrounding Oakland’s annual Hiero Day festival early Monday afternoon, San Francisco producer Arumi took the stage as a welcome respite to the day's more hectic activity. Wearing a white long-sleeve shirt, with her bleached-blonde ends catching the occasional summer breeze, Arumi stood calm and collected as she opened her set with a mashup of Post Malone’s “Congratulations” — a momentary oasis of cool electronic sounds in the sweltering heat.