Fancy Lanier-Duncan on building community in the Twin Cities with the Arts
In this episode, Harry chats with Fancy Lanier-Duncan, a multi-hyphenate creative and co-founder of the Legacy Building in South Minneapolis. Fancy opens up about her journey as a musician and community builder focused on uplifting Black creatives. They delve into how storytelling can heal and connect people, as well as why having accessible artistic spaces is not just important but crucial for a thriving arts scene. Fancy also discusses organizing the Soul of the Southside Festival, being recognized in the 40 Under 40 Awards, her dream of writing a children’s book, and her wish to explore her ancestry in totality. This conversation is all about the power of creativity, legacy, and the profound impact of being present for your community.
For more information on Soul of the Southside: Soul of the Southside Festival
For more information on the Legacy Building: The Legacy Building | Creativity and Community Hub | Minneapolis
For more information on iLLism: HOME | ILLism | Hip Hop Duo
Transcript
Hi, my name is Harry, and welcome to Odejuma.
Speaker A:Odejuma recognizes the magic of storytelling.
Speaker A:From personal experiences to stories of adventure, from tales of resilience to finding joy in the simple things, this story seeks to inspire, entertain, and educate because there is power in the stories of everyday people, and these stories are worth telling.
Speaker A:Hey, y' all.
Speaker A:Welcome to another episode of odejima.
Speaker A:I'm super excited about my guest today.
Speaker A:She is part of, you know, folks doing amazing things in the Twin Cities, from music to sort of the south side and the Legacy Building.
Speaker A:I'm happy to have Fancy here.
Speaker A:Hi, Fancy.
Speaker A:How are you doing?
Speaker B:How are you doing?
Speaker A:I'm doing good.
Speaker A:And thank you for agreeing to do this.
Speaker A:I know this is like a busy time for you.
Speaker A:It's like planning for us at the south side.
Speaker A:So I really appreciate your time and you just coming through on the podcast.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And for, like, you know, folks who are listening in, who are not very familiar with you and your work, could you just give like a brief, like, intro to who Fancy is for the audience?
Speaker B:Yeah, sure.
Speaker B:Well, you said it.
Speaker B:My name is Fancy.
Speaker B:A brief intro into my work.
Speaker B:My work is.
Speaker B:Is rooted in creativity and in serving black folks.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:My community.
Speaker B:Let's see.
Speaker B:The root of everything comes from music for me.
Speaker B:So I started with performing and singing, and that has sort of been the vehicle that has led me to kind of everything else that I now lead, including my work at the Legacy Building, which is a creative art space in South Minneapolis.
Speaker B:It was birthed from the need to expand the way that both me and my husband create.
Speaker B:We're the founders together of the Legacy Building.
Speaker B:Birthed from the Legacy Building is the festival.
Speaker B:It's all the south side.
Speaker B: ted our grand opening back in: Speaker B:And so since then, it has grown.
Speaker B:It was really only supposed to be like a one time event and the community came up and they showed out and maybe like a few months later, I was already getting calls saying, hey, are you starting the planning?
Speaker B:Hey, how can I be a part of it again this year?
Speaker B:And so it's.
Speaker B:It has grown ever since, and we are now in our fourth year.
Speaker B:Yeah, the work I lead is very much invested in community, creating opportunities for.
Speaker B:For people who look like you and me and, and being nurturing, in a sense, with mentorship and.
Speaker B:Yeah, just I love to learn and lean into people too.
Speaker B:So I learn a lot in this work and, And I have a.
Speaker B:A.
Speaker B:An obsession for growing and learning, so.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, that is good.
Speaker A:Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker A:And we're gonna take you back a little bit to, like, what was.
Speaker A:When did you discuss.
Speaker A:Discover that the creative body.
Speaker A:You had, the creative bone?
Speaker A:When did that change?
Speaker A:When did that spark for you?
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, it sparked for me early.
Speaker B:And it's not necessarily a memory that I remember, but it's a memory that my mom oftentimes recalls.
Speaker B:And I was only about three years old, which is why it's a memory that I don't necessarily remember.
Speaker B:But at 3, I definitely knew it.
Speaker B:I was in the living room, and she was in the kitchen.
Speaker B:My mom was in the kitchen, and she had just folded a bunch of clothes up, and they were in a basket sitting in the living room, and I was in there listening to music or whatever I was doing.
Speaker B:And by the time she came back from doing whatever she was doing in the kitchen, I had unfolded all of the clothes, and I was performing for them.
Speaker B:I had matched, like, shirts and pants and socks to.
Speaker B:You know, I made, like, my own little audience, and that's what I told her I did.
Speaker B:She was like, what did you do?
Speaker B:And I was like, I'm performing for my audience.
Speaker B:And she, like, couldn't even be mad at it.
Speaker B:Like, wow, there's something.
Speaker B:There's something here.
Speaker B:Now, when can I remember that I really, really wanted to do it?
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I would say maybe when I was about 10 or 11 years old, and being a part of choir at church, being in band at school, there was always something creative that I wanted to do musically, for sure.
Speaker B:Although I did do some dance, and I did some acting and modeling, too, when I was younger, but I usually went straight running back into the arms of music.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you're in a musical band with your husband.
Speaker A:How did that happen?
Speaker A:Did y' all start the band when y' all were dating?
Speaker A:What was the.
Speaker A:What was that.
Speaker A:What was that whole.
Speaker A:How did that come about?
Speaker A:And how has that process been like for you?
Speaker A:Because working with a romantic partner has its challenges also.
Speaker A:So how's that experience like for you?
Speaker B:Yeah, so me and my husband, we met at a.
Speaker B:At a job.
Speaker B: ter at and T actually back in: Speaker B:And that's when we first met, and we were friends for a couple years following that.
Speaker B:But when I met him, he was already doing music.
Speaker B:He actually.
Speaker B:The way we met was he approached me and asked me if I was interested in going to local shows, and he had a flyer to a show that he was promoting, that him and a person he was doing music with at the time were promoting, so they were doing together.
Speaker B:So that's how we initially met.
Speaker B:I had stopped doing music for a while.
Speaker B:I became a mother really young.
Speaker B:I became a mom when I was 17 years old.
Speaker B:And so I experienced a lot of violence in that relationship.
Speaker B:And so my focus turned away from music.
Speaker B:It was almost like music was something to be jealous of.
Speaker B:And so it wasn't something I could do when I was in that relationship.
Speaker B:It really pulled me away from it.
Speaker B:So when I finally was able to break free from that, and especially again at such a young age, I met E again, like, at work.
Speaker B:And I was.
Speaker B:Had just turned 21.
Speaker B:So for him to say that was like, oh, my God, like, I've just, like, broken free from this relationship.
Speaker B:I'm in this, like, new job, and it's like a job that pays a lot of good money for.
Speaker B:For.
Speaker B:For the time at least.
Speaker B:Like, I was used to making like, seven, eight dollars an hour.
Speaker B: You know, it's just like: Speaker B:So I got this new job.
Speaker B:Now there's this new person talking about music, and it wasn't even about attraction.
Speaker B:It was about the fact that he had reintrod something that I was so incredibly passionate about.
Speaker B:And from there, like I said, we were just friends.
Speaker B:We would go to lunch, we had, like, mixed CDs, and we would share those, like, swap those back and forth.
Speaker B:And he was always like, you know, you got good taste in music.
Speaker B:I was like, I know I'm popping.
Speaker B:And eventually that.
Speaker B:That blossomed.
Speaker B:I was able to be a huge part of his artistic journey when he was just, you know, touring and doing things just individually as himself, just as Envy, just.
Speaker B:That's the stage name that he goes by.
Speaker B: It wasn't until: Speaker B:And I started doing a lot of individual stuff on our own.
Speaker B: ollabed on our first album in: Speaker B:Like, there's just our dynamic and I think our chemistry, the way that we create together is really, really unique and it's really, really special.
Speaker B: ism until five years later in: Speaker B:It's very.
Speaker B:Been sitting ever since.
Speaker B:So 10 years.
Speaker A:That is amazing.
Speaker A:And y' all.
Speaker A:Y' all are writing Sin to creating together.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What does it mean?
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What does it mean, like, to create with your partner but also work in community because you because your work is very red and it's very community centric.
Speaker A:I met you because your work was, you know, you were fellow for the Minnesota Black Collective.
Speaker A:So what.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What does that look like for you?
Speaker A:Why is it important for both of y' all to have work that is very rooted in community?
Speaker B:It's foundational.
Speaker B:He grew up in the Rondo neighborhood, so he's from St.
Speaker B:Paul, and I'm from the south side.
Speaker B:So Minneapolis is, you know, my home.
Speaker B:And where I'm from, it's where I'm still rooted to this day.
Speaker B:And it's a huge part of what we do, even just as ill.
Speaker B:Ism.
Speaker B:One of the first ways that we involved community was by putting on just shows and inviting different bands and.
Speaker B:And artists to be openers or to be collaborators in those shows, to build shows together.
Speaker B:We used to throw events downtown at a.
Speaker B:At a venue called Elixir.
Speaker B:And then I think it was eventually renamed in.
Speaker B:Into a bunch of other things.
Speaker B:But it's right next door to Fine Line, The.
Speaker B:The old space.
Speaker B:We used to throw shows in there all the time.
Speaker B:And it.
Speaker B:And it had always been about how can we build and how can we create community.
Speaker B:I know a lot of people feel like everything is very siloed here.
Speaker B:I hear that often that people are very siloed.
Speaker B:It's very cliquish.
Speaker B:But I don't know.
Speaker B:It's like the world that I operate in is because I'm always trying to create community and create opportunity for people.
Speaker B:So I always feel like that's just all that there is.
Speaker B:And I think that's why we continue to build.
Speaker B:The way that we build is because we know that community is so possible because we're already doing it.
Speaker B:And, yeah, it's foundational.
Speaker B:It's foundational.
Speaker B:It's the reason legacy building came to be, and it's the reason Solo, the South side continues the way that it does is because it's a huge part of our relationship and our connection is in serving people.
Speaker B:And so that's how we tie it up.
Speaker A:That is.
Speaker A:That is pretty cool.
Speaker A:I really.
Speaker A:I really like that.
Speaker A: was also on the south side in: Speaker A:Had a great time.
Speaker A:It was just nice to be around so many black folks in the city and just having a good time.
Speaker A:Lots of nice vendors, lots of cool art, great music from all.
Speaker A:From all genres.
Speaker A:And so I think that is really something dope that you all are doing, and I really.
Speaker A:I really love that a lot.
Speaker A:I want to ask about like the Legacy Building.
Speaker A:Because I feel like that is something that is very important for creatives of study.
Speaker A:For Black.
Speaker A:For black creatives specifically, who.
Speaker A:Access is just a very.
Speaker A:Is a struggle, right?
Speaker A:Access to resources, access to physical space to create and to be creative.
Speaker A:So talk us through.
Speaker A:Talk.
Speaker A:Talk us through the inspiration behind the Legacy Building and what you envision is the future of.
Speaker A:Of the Legacy Building.
Speaker B:Yeah, the Legacy Building was just birthed out of our need for access.
Speaker B:So we actually shot a music video in Las Vegas for a song that we have called Simple Shit.
Speaker B:And it was in this really, really cool, like, garage sort of warehouse space.
Speaker B:They had, like, a bunch of, like, LED lights on, like, a wall, and they were designed super cool.
Speaker B:If you go watch our music video for Simple Shit, you'll.
Speaker B:You'll be able to see like.
Speaker B:Like the really cool stuff that they had in there.
Speaker B:And it was really inspiring to eat, actually.
Speaker B:And, you know, a lot of his work is also rooted in preserving and telling stories from the people in our community, too.
Speaker B:He does a lot of video and photography work with a lot of the nonprofits and.
Speaker B:And creatives in our city, too, and helping to share and tell their stories.
Speaker B:And so he kind of said out loud, like, I need something.
Speaker B:Like, I need a production studio that's like this, where I can bring clients to, and it can also be a space that we can use for our own creative endeavors.
Speaker B:And I was like, yeah, cool.
Speaker B:Let's.
Speaker B:Let's try it out.
Speaker B:Let's.
Speaker B:Let's see what happens.
Speaker B:And we shot our music video.
Speaker B:We came home, and maybe like a month or two later, um, we were driving, or actually he was driving on his way to go pick up some coffee one morning.
Speaker B:And we just.
Speaker B:We just.
Speaker B:At the.
Speaker B:At the time, we lived just a couple blocks from where the Legacy Building is located, and there was a sign in the window that said it was available.
Speaker B:It had been Solsta Records, and before that, it was a consignment shop for many, many, many decades called the Pink Closet.
Speaker B:And we had never actually seen it empty before then.
Speaker B:And so he called the phone number, we went and we looked at it, and it was tore up.
Speaker B:And I was like, ah, hell no.
Speaker B:And he was like, well, give it a second.
Speaker B:Sometimes I want everything to be.
Speaker B:Sometimes I just want things to be turnkey.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:Like I don't want to do the work.
Speaker B:But there is something to putting in the labor and not always just having things just ready and laid out for you.
Speaker B:You need the process.
Speaker B:Trust and believe.
Speaker B:You need the process.
Speaker B:So we were like, okay, well, what is this going to be?
Speaker B:And we knew that we wanted a production studio because that's where the dream was founded on.
Speaker B:But then we said, but we need a rehearsal space.
Speaker B:Like, we can't just keep going out to, you know, a member in our band.
Speaker B:His name is Mike.
Speaker B:We can't keep going out to Edinah to go to Mike's house.
Speaker B:It's in his living room.
Speaker B:Like, we need a space to rehearse.
Speaker B:Let's put a rehearsal space in here.
Speaker B:It's like we started thinking about the things that we needed as creatives because we knew if we needed it, someone else was gonna need it.
Speaker B:Storefront space, gallery space, there's a recording studio.
Speaker B:I mean, it really speaks to, honestly, all of the different hats that he and I both also wear.
Speaker B:I mean, I do.
Speaker B:I do the graphic design as well.
Speaker B:I do web design.
Speaker B:So it's a space that allows me to maintain those sort of creative ventures and as well.
Speaker B:But when we kind of got down to.
Speaker B:To the root of it, the new root of it, I should say, or the new root that grew from.
Speaker B:From what was kind of already there was to center black community, we started to really start to sit back and think, like, remember that one time we went to this venue?
Speaker B:Or we had this experience with these people and it was just like they just couldn't understand what we were trying to do.
Speaker B:They didn't want to give us a chance.
Speaker B:They're like, rap, hip hop, oh my gosh, no, you can't come in here.
Speaker B:There's going to be some shootout probably.
Speaker B:And it's like, man, if only you knew, like, could you just give our song a listen?
Speaker B:Could you just give it a.
Speaker B:Who do we need to have vouch for us?
Speaker B:And sometimes it's just you need your people to just be the ones that you are in community with.
Speaker B:Sometimes we just need each other.
Speaker B:And so we said, hey, we are going to ensure that the space is accessible for all.
Speaker B:But the priority here is black people as black creatives, black led organizations and entrepreneurs that experience the same type of.
Speaker B:Of, you know, roadblocks and obstacles that we have been facing.
Speaker B:Because, you know, we're the same, you know, we're after the same things.
Speaker B:We're experiencing the same things.
Speaker B:It's a black very lived, black lived experience.
Speaker B:And so the Legacy building formed from that.
Speaker B:And for the past almost four years now, community has made it into what it is.
Speaker B:It's the community's hands that say, hey, we need this.
Speaker B:So then we do it or, you know, we need opportunity to create these types of experiences.
Speaker B:Can we do it there?
Speaker B:The building continues to mold and form.
Speaker B:A lot of the time people walk in and are like, oh my God, you did this in here.
Speaker B:Now every time I come here, something's different and it is, it feels like home.
Speaker B:It feels like, you know, when you want to move your living room around or you want to, you know, feng shui the bedroom, you know, a little bit different.
Speaker B:You see, building is that because people need the creative freedom to create.
Speaker B:And for black people especially, our creativity is a way to our liberty and our freedom.
Speaker B:Man, that, that brings so much joy.
Speaker B:And, and that's the reason for, for the season of the Legacy Building.
Speaker A:And it's really good to know that community is responding really well to the building that they are.
Speaker A:It is becoming something that is very important to them.
Speaker A:That is so good to know.
Speaker A:I'm curious as to what if, say, someone is curious about wanting to use the space.
Speaker A:I know there was a creative fund that y' all put out recently, but like for a young, independent, black creative in between cities that is looking for a space.
Speaker A:How can the Legacy Building help?
Speaker A:Help them with their work or their art, basically?
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:So the Legacy Building is a multi level space and it's pretty modular, meaning that you can pretty much move things around.
Speaker B:There's not a whole lot of dedicated like you have to keep this year.
Speaker B:Unless we're talking about the art on the walls or like the recording booth, like things that just can't be moved or they, they are there for a reason.
Speaker B:But for the most part, it's a wide open space that has an incredible vibe because of, of the art and the contributions that community has made to it.
Speaker B:We got all the plants, we got all, we got all of that.
Speaker B:And so it's really available for whatever the creative need is.
Speaker B:If you're someone who says, I'm trying to grow my business and I want to host, you know, a pop up event to get community access to my products or my services.
Speaker B:You know, you might be a teacher or yoga instructor and you're like, I just need a space to be able to host, you know, this six week course.
Speaker B:Like, how can I do that?
Speaker B:Do you have space?
Speaker B:Do you have access?
Speaker B:The answer is yes.
Speaker B:It isn't even just about you do music or you need, you know, to film or you know, do something like that.
Speaker B:It's we've had all kinds of things in there.
Speaker B:We've had cake decorating in there, we've had Fashion shows there.
Speaker B:We've even had weddings inside, inside of the Legacy Building.
Speaker B:And we do have a special fund, you mentioned it just a little bit ago, called the Creative Freedom Fund.
Speaker B:And the Creative Freedom Fund was established because there were lots of artists and creatives and organizations too that would approach us about accessing our space and they would be just out of budget.
Speaker B:And because we want to remain accessible, we work with people and their budgets.
Speaker B:That doesn't mean we're going to give, you know, away everything for free.
Speaker B:But we understand that being a creative is hard financially.
Speaker B:So we make it accessible.
Speaker B:We say yes, through the Creative Freedom Fund, we can provide space in kind for your artistic needs and especially if you're doing something that's going to be ongoing, that's going to be enriching for the community.
Speaker B:Now when we're talking about sustainability, we're talking about access, but we also need to sustain.
Speaker B:So like I said, we just can't give everything away.
Speaker B:So through the Creative Freedom Fund, what it's allowing us to do is to collect information from the community.
Speaker B:You know, hey, this authors group needed the space to do this.
Speaker B:This particular individual had a writing workshop.
Speaker B:They needed six weeks to do this.
Speaker B:They couldn't.
Speaker B:They got no's everywhere else because places were asking for 2,000, 3,000, $4,000 just, you know, for space for, you know, two hours on a Saturday, you know, once a month.
Speaker B:And they, the community is telling us they need this and we are creating the space to make it accessible.
Speaker B:So in order for us to sustain, we can say here goes the need of the community.
Speaker B:And then we can go back out to our funders, we can go back out to the people who are investing into the Legacy Building and say, hey look, we just supported in kind all of these, you know, different projects and workshops and community oriented and enriching events.
Speaker B:They sustain and pour, pour into what we're doing.
Speaker B:We love to do the that type of work.
Speaker B:I get a thrill out of being able to do that type of work.
Speaker B:Like I said, I'm really obsessed with growing and seeing things progress.
Speaker B:And so if that means that we can create a program like the Creative Freedom Fund that support supports artists with space in kind and then we can show that to our investors and the people who invest into Legacy Building, who should be investing into creatives and who should be investing into spaces that support creatives and that also sustain our ecosystem, we need that.
Speaker B:And the black community, the black creative community especially needs that.
Speaker B:So what can you do?
Speaker B:You can do just about anything if you go online and you go to the creative Freedom Fund application on our website, legacybuilding.org thelegacybuilding.org you just fill out the application.
Speaker B:It's revolving.
Speaker B:It doesn't like, work between, you know, a certain date and you got to have it in by certain date.
Speaker B:It's completely revolving.
Speaker B:If, you know, if there's an individual or a group, an artist group, a nonprofit that needs access to creative space, to host, to create, to have the freedom to do what they need to do, and it's in full alignment with our mission, then we have this.
Speaker B:This is the support, and we have the access, and that's what we're here for.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:The work that you all are doing is trying to make art accessible to creatives.
Speaker A:And I feel like there's something that we find in, like, art spaces or in creative spaces is that everything is just, we want to create, we want to be.
Speaker A:Want to do things, but the resources aren't there.
Speaker A:They're not accessible.
Speaker A:Why.
Speaker A:Why is it important for creativity to be accessible?
Speaker A:Because I.
Speaker A:I feel like when the people are creating, you know, the culture keeps evolving and culture keeps moving, and I feel like the twin citizens in a very, like, sweet spot right now with how creative folks are being and how the creative community keeps growing every year.
Speaker A:But in the midst of growth, we have to make the.
Speaker A:We have to make it more accessible for people to be able to get in and also create, too.
Speaker A:So why is that also very important for us to do?
Speaker B:Well, like you mentioned, it keeps moving culture forward, if we're being specific.
Speaker B:But yeah, it keeps moving culture forward.
Speaker B:If you look around you, everything in your room had to be created by somebody.
Speaker B:So if we care about electronics, then we care about that TV behind you being made.
Speaker B:If we.
Speaker B:If we care about even like your.
Speaker B:Your lighting fixtures, like someone was in a.
Speaker B:Was in a studio somewhere blowing glass to create our light fixtures.
Speaker B:It's all creation.
Speaker B:We were created to create.
Speaker B:I was created to create.
Speaker B:Even people who think that they don't create, they're like, oh, no, I'm just so bl.
Speaker B:Do anything.
Speaker B:It's like, well, you did your hair.
Speaker B:You thought about that.
Speaker B:You know, you put your outfit on, you chose your car.
Speaker B:Like you knew what color car you wanted, you know, that sort of thing.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:It's because creativity is all around us.
Speaker B:And for some reason, there's this sometimes this idea that creativity is only for a specific types of.
Speaker B:Type of, like, artsy, fartsy individual who might be naming what they do creatively like, I'm a ceramic artist, or, you know, I do interpretive dance, or, you know, I do, you know, films and I'm a director.
Speaker B:Like, sure, we can name those things and when we put a name on them and it's like, ah, you're a creative.
Speaker B:But in actuality, we're all creatives.
Speaker B:We're all trying to express ourselves.
Speaker B:We're all trying to push our own narratives or our own agendas forward, whether that's in a small sense, like within our families.
Speaker B:You know, sometimes we're creating babies and we're, you know, trying to extend the lineage and we're, we're, you know, I have.
Speaker B:We have.
Speaker B:Me and E.
Speaker B:We have a four year old.
Speaker B:And so right now it's all about like, our, like our rituals and like doing things, you know, at a certain time.
Speaker B:Like, it's 8 o' clock, we gotta go to bed.
Speaker B:If he's up for 30 more minutes, he's gonna be crazy.
Speaker B:But it's like creating those schedules and knowing how to like, sustain your family.
Speaker B:It's, it's, it's creativity is essential to our survival as humans.
Speaker B:And if we aren't creating something, then.
Speaker B:Then what are we doing?
Speaker B:I think we're kind of just like sitting there, kind of like blinking our eyes.
Speaker B:We aren't being our true full sel.
Speaker B:We aren't creating.
Speaker B:And so it's important to pour in into creativity because that's what, what keeps us moving and going and pushing forward.
Speaker A:That's pretty.
Speaker A:That's pretty amazing.
Speaker A:You all.
Speaker A:You brought up something I wanted to touch on.
Speaker A:I know you touched on it earlier a little bit about being like a parent and just managing your parenting and your artistic endeavor.
Speaker A:What is that dynamic like for you?
Speaker A:Are your kids having the need to want to be in the creative space too?
Speaker A:What is that looking like for you?
Speaker B:Yeah, so we're a blended family.
Speaker B:So he has a daughter, Imari.
Speaker B:She's from a previous relationship and she's my daughter.
Speaker B:She's my daughter too.
Speaker B:But biologically that's.
Speaker B:Imari is E's daughter.
Speaker B:And then I biologically have two kids that are mine too.
Speaker B:Santino, who is my oldest, he's 21.
Speaker B:And then sire, who is the child that me and E have together.
Speaker B:And he is for as far as I can see it, just like I seen everybody, everybody got a little creative bone in them.
Speaker B:For Imari, she not only.
Speaker B:She's just this incredibly beautiful individual both inside and out, she has a passion for food and cooking.
Speaker B:She's always had that she was always trying to bake and, like, cook and, you know, find different ways to express herself through her cooking.
Speaker B:And she still does.
Speaker B:She even has an Instagram page where you can go and you can watch her put together these dishes that.
Speaker B:That look and are really, really delicious.
Speaker B:She's also like the makeup boss, you know, Let me show you my.
Speaker B:My routine.
Speaker B:You know, she has those types of videos too.
Speaker B:So she's definitely tapping in into that world, and she does a really, really, really good job at it.
Speaker B:And Tino, he's 21.
Speaker B:He is into CRE.
Speaker B:Being creative right now.
Speaker B:I think his.
Speaker B:His biggest outlet is video gaming, but he is a visual artist.
Speaker B:If you go to the Legacy Building and you go to the arcade, that' of the space.
Speaker B:All the pictures that are up in the arcade space were done by him.
Speaker B:And he is an incredible visual artist.
Speaker B:He also is an actor.
Speaker B:He was in several plays when he was in high school, and he still pursues, you know, acting opportunities if they present themselves.
Speaker B:So he's in that world.
Speaker B:And he's a great singer as well.
Speaker B:So theater very much pulled music out of.
Speaker B:Out of him too.
Speaker B:Sire, he's on fire.
Speaker B:He is our fiery little spirit.
Speaker B:You know, Imari is just so, you know, she's.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:She's like.
Speaker B:She's the girl's girl.
Speaker B:She's, you know, she's praying for everybody.
Speaker B:She's like that type of person.
Speaker B:Santino, he's like, laid back.
Speaker B:Who.
Speaker B:I'm cool, mom.
Speaker B:You know, I'm kicking it.
Speaker B:I'm chilling.
Speaker B:And he has a great, funny personality.
Speaker B:But sire, he is on fire.
Speaker B:He's a fiery personality.
Speaker B:He wants to do everything.
Speaker B:He has a drum kit.
Speaker B:He has a keyboard.
Speaker B:He has play doh.
Speaker B:He has coloring.
Speaker B:He has.
Speaker B:He wants to do it all, but I feel like they all do.
Speaker B:At that age.
Speaker B:Everything is so.
Speaker B:He just used to be amazing.
Speaker B:Planes in the sky, things that are just so, like, small to us, like, yeah, yeah, I wish I was on it.
Speaker B:They're probably going someplace nice.
Speaker B:You know, that's like what we all say, like, wonder where they going.
Speaker B:But to him, it's like there's a thing flying in the sky.
Speaker B:Like, do you see this, Mom?
Speaker B:So he's so tapped in to nature.
Speaker B:He tells plants that he loves them.
Speaker B:He just.
Speaker B:I feel like he, He.
Speaker B:He was sent to be a.
Speaker B:A.
Speaker B:A generational change maker in our family and have a huge, huge impact.
Speaker B:And I'm excited to see where this goes.
Speaker B:And I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that even me and I know ourselves so much more with the age and maturity that we're at right now too.
Speaker B:And so we just got this fiery individual with so much spirit and joy and just big eyes for the world.
Speaker B:And so it's going to be great to see where he goes creative.
Speaker A:That is awesome.
Speaker A:Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker A:I really, really appreciate that.
Speaker A:I will be remiss if I don't tell you.
Speaker A:Congratulations, 40 under 40.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:St.
Speaker A:Paul Business Journal.
Speaker A:That is, that is amazing.
Speaker A:How you feeling about that?
Speaker B:It's, it's actually I, I was in shock.
Speaker B:I posted the video of me finding out and I'm like, dance.
Speaker B:I'm like, yeah, you know, she's my personality.
Speaker B:But, you know, honestly, in complete shock.
Speaker B: awards in: Speaker B:We were there actually filming for another recipient who was receiving an award.
Speaker B:And we were just the camera crew, but I was like, I'm going to give me one of those.
Speaker B:Watch, I'm going to get me one.
Speaker B:And you know, spoke it right into existence.
Speaker B:And, you know, you're sitting in a room with people who work for these really big, you know, organizations and corporations like 3M and Wells Fargo and Target and Best Buy and I mean, it's big.
Speaker B:And here I am, I'm just grassroots.
Speaker B:We in the community, we kicking back and we chilling and we vibing like.
Speaker B:And y' all chose.
Speaker B:I was chosen and speaks so many volumes to the work that I do because sometimes we think you have to operate at such a high level in order to, to, to feel like you're doing something and, and honestly, props to the people who are, who are working in those higher positions and dealing with, you know, million dollar budgets and, you know, manufacturing and you know, things that, that also contribute to the overall global success of Earth, I guess you can say.
Speaker B:But when you really get down to the, to the grassroots and you are in it and you in the thick of it with the people, like you can be at, at 3:00am making, you know, two, $300,000 an hour.
Speaker B:But when you go home, are you like at home and like your cul de sac just kicking back like at your crib with like just your family and you go fishing on the weekends and you go traveling during the summer, how are you maintaining your connection to community?
Speaker B:And I think that's why for me, the community for me is like the center of it.
Speaker B:And so it's incredible to be honored and it's a huge honor to be recognized for our work and for the work that I lead and for the individuals who support me in that work.
Speaker B:When we were at the ceremony, I brought an entire table of all black women with me because it's mostly non black people at these awards.
Speaker B:Everyone came to our table.
Speaker B:We were the most lit table, of course.
Speaker B:We had so much fun, so much great conversation.
Speaker B:When I got up on stage to get my award, the screaming and the yelling, and it was just like, we're here.
Speaker B:And it did.
Speaker B:It took so many incredible, amazing black women to help me and nurture me and get me to where.
Speaker B:To where I am.
Speaker B:And they too are individuals that work at such grassroots level, like just black women are the backbone.
Speaker B:And so to be able to uplift them in that space too, was an incredible, incredible honor because they are some movers and some shakers who are doing incredible work that our community also has access to, access to.
Speaker B:And it was saying that statement too, like, y' all have access to these women.
Speaker B:Please, please, please tap in, see who they are.
Speaker B:You know, let's celebrate the work that, that we all do collectively as well.
Speaker A:What is your hope for the future of the creative scene in the Twin Cities?
Speaker A:Like, how do you want.
Speaker A:Where do you.
Speaker A:In like 10, 15 years, where do you want it to be at?
Speaker B:Yeah, you know, I want there to be a really strong ecosystem here for, for us to be able to tap into.
Speaker B:I want to be a part of building and being a contributor to that ecosystem.
Speaker B:There are so many black owned spaces and movers and shakers that are, you know, 15 years old, 20 years old, 30 years old, 40 years old, and so on, so, so far up.
Speaker B:And collaboration is so key.
Speaker B:You know, you go alone, you might get there quick, but boy, go farther if we can go together.
Speaker B:And that has been my experience in everything.
Speaker B:The festival grows because there's more collaborative effort year after year.
Speaker B:If this was all just riding on, you know, me and E, it'd be kind of rough.
Speaker B:But I envision this beautiful ecosystem where people recognize their part that they don't have to be it, they are a part of it.
Speaker B:And when you're a part of the history, when you're part of the story and a part of the narrative, and you operate in the lane that you're the most strongest in, you're the most confident in, then we can, like, join arms and be like, you know, let's do this together.
Speaker B:And there already is so much of that that I'm witnessing just from, from, from where we're at, you know, today.
Speaker B:So 5, 10, 15, 20 years from now, if this continues the way that I am experiencing it from my end, then Sky.
Speaker B:Sky's the is one limit.
Speaker B:It's not even a limit.
Speaker B:You know, what is that line in Mean Girls?
Speaker B:There isn't a limit.
Speaker B:There's not a limiter.
Speaker B:Whatever she says when she's at the math thing and the limit doesn't exist, that's it.
Speaker B:Limit doesn't exist.
Speaker B:And it doesn't.
Speaker B:It's such a profound moment that Katie, you know, and I love that movie.
Speaker B:It's like you all's generation of my clueless.
Speaker B:But the limit doesn't exist.
Speaker B:And honestly, whoever is wanting to make the contribution and really be a part of it, like I said, I feel like that is the dream.
Speaker B:The dream is this beautiful ecosystem with tons of collaborative effort to keep moving things forward.
Speaker B:I feel like the machine has always been growing.
Speaker B:And, you know, this place is really, truly at a sweet spot where, you know, before.
Speaker B: Before the uprisings in: Speaker B:You know, I was a creative and I was, you know, out here pushing the scene and, you know, trying to do our thing, you know, just as ill ism or, you know, just pursuing different creative endeavors.
Speaker B: at we are experiencing now in: Speaker B:And so if in just a small, you know, short year spans, five, six years or so, I am really excited if we can continue this, you know, minding our own business.
Speaker B:We don't got to be la.
Speaker B:We don't got to be New York.
Speaker B:We don't got to be Atlanta.
Speaker B:We don't got to be Houston and Miami.
Speaker B:We just got to be us.
Speaker B:And us is good.
Speaker B:Us is fantastic.
Speaker B:Us is like.
Speaker B:We are like.
Speaker B:That is, you know, we are the thing, you know, that's it.
Speaker B:So we can do it.
Speaker B:We got it.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:And are there any, like, dreams and things that you're still, like, looking forward to, like, achieving as a creative?
Speaker B:Yes, actually.
Speaker B:So I'm in the middle of writing my first children's book.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So I have a children's book that I'm working on.
Speaker B:It's a story about a child who sees the world through this really imaginative set of eyes.
Speaker B:And they are attempting to build a fort, which I feel like we all have done at some point in our childhood, trying to build a space that feels like our own, that we can crawl into and be imaginative or color in or, you know, just to be like, look what I did, mom, or, look what I did, grandma.
Speaker B:Or, you know, invite the cousins over so they can come over and hang out in the fort.
Speaker B:I want to sleep in the fort.
Speaker B:I want to have my food in the fort.
Speaker B:So it's about the challenges that the character faces when trying to.
Speaker B:To build this fort and what resources are around them, making their.
Speaker B:Their connection to.
Speaker B:To animals and watching what animals do to solve problems.
Speaker B:What does the wind do?
Speaker B:What does.
Speaker B:How does water move through the creeks and bend over curves?
Speaker B:And don't let nothing stop it or get in its way.
Speaker B:It just goes with the flow.
Speaker B:So it's going to be a great, great story.
Speaker B:I'm working with a really awesome illustrator, Uzo Uzo.
Speaker B:She's local to the Twin Cities here and does a lot of.
Speaker B:Of really dope work.
Speaker B:Uzo has a short film that she's working on too, that's tied back to her roots as well and experiencing going to a Nigerian funeral for, like, the first time.
Speaker B:And it's this really cool thing.
Speaker B:And immediately when I saw her work and she had inboxed us regarding the legacy building and accessing the space for something she was dreaming up at the time, we just stayed connected and I was like, this is going to be a great opportunity for me to continue working with and uplifting, you know, black women, but an opportunity for.
Speaker B:For my work to grow, too.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yes, there is a children's book coming.
Speaker B:Probably be in a position to announce what that is at the end of the summer because we'll have a lot more of our illustrations.
Speaker B:We're, like, in the illustration portion of it now, so everything's been written, so we're just kind of illustrating now.
Speaker B:But it's going to be very, very, very exciting to have.
Speaker A:That is pretty exciting.
Speaker A:I can't wait to see what it looks like.
Speaker A:So congratulations.
Speaker A:And also to check out loser's work too.
Speaker A:I'm sure it will be pretty dope because I'm Nigerian too, so it'll be nice to see.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:To see what the.
Speaker A:What the.
Speaker A:What the Nigerian creatives are doing in the Twin Cities.
Speaker A:I'm down for that for sure.
Speaker A:Before we wrap up, we're gonna do a little fun, like, trivia section just to know, like, a couple of, you know, things about you.
Speaker A:So the first.
Speaker A:The first one is, what are the top three songs on your playlist right now?
Speaker B:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:I have to look at my phone so I can tell you because I want to make sure I do this right.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:What are my top three songs?
Speaker B:Okay, that has to be.
Speaker B:I'm just gonna go and Be like, what have I been playing?
Speaker B:Okay, so one song I have been playing non stop.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Is Sade.
Speaker B:Do you know who Sade is?
Speaker A:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So lovers rock.
Speaker B:I've been playing that non stop.
Speaker B:So that's in my top right now.
Speaker B:Honestly, anything Beyonce.
Speaker B:Not picking one song, but anything Yonce.
Speaker A:You got meyonce.
Speaker A:So I'm with you right there.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker B:I seen you at the concert and I was incredibly excited to see you there.
Speaker B:Cause I'm.
Speaker B:I can't wait for my turn.
Speaker B:I'm going to see her for my 40th birthday on July 14th in Atlanta and I.
Speaker A:That's going to be a good show.
Speaker A:I'm hoping I can go against.
Speaker A:I'm hoping I can go again too, to the Atlanta.
Speaker A:So fingers crossed, you know, magic, you know?
Speaker B:But yeah.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:It's a great.
Speaker A:You're gonna have a great time.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, for sure, for sure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:No, honestly, anything Beyonce, even if you were like, what's the top three things in your timeline?
Speaker B:Beyonce, you know, I.
Speaker B:She's the person that I, that I, that I, I study, I, I study and people be like, are you in the beehive?
Speaker B:I'd be like, no, the beehive is for the crazy people, the people who like to avenge.
Speaker B:And I'm the Beyonce ologist.
Speaker B:Like, I know lots of things.
Speaker B:I follow, I study, I, I, I deepen my connection with this woman who don't even know my name.
Speaker B:She will one day.
Speaker B:I will know my name one day.
Speaker B:I had a dream one time that me and Beyonce.
Speaker B:I was trying on Beyonce's Oscar dresses.
Speaker B:She invited me into her closet in my dream and she was like, come try on my dresses.
Speaker B:And I did.
Speaker B:And we ran around her house in her dresses and it was fantastic.
Speaker B:So I just feel like my dreams.
Speaker A:To guard the ears, you know, it can happen.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:So as far as music, I say Sade, anything, Beyonce, and then let's see.
Speaker B:We know.
Speaker B:Kendrick Lamar, man in the Garden.
Speaker B:That's like my.
Speaker B:This year, that is like my soundtrack.
Speaker B:That's the.
Speaker B: at represents me right now in: Speaker B:This year, I feel like where I have come from in the challenges.
Speaker B:There's so many challenges that I have faced even just the last several years and being able to come out on top and to keep going and pushing forward.
Speaker B:Kendrick Lamar's man in the Garden is a song I got on repeat buzz show the whole entire time that I was getting ready for 40 under 40 that was on repeat feet.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:That's a good one.
Speaker A:That's a good one too.
Speaker A:What is the TV show you recommend to anybody who asks you for a recommendation?
Speaker B:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Oh, just one.
Speaker A:Okay, give me, give me, give you three.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:One.
Speaker B:I would say Ozark.
Speaker B:That's one that, that I have gone back and watched lots of times.
Speaker B:It's a great, a great movie about a family who does money laundering and things like that.
Speaker B:They're trying to get themselves out of, out of a problem that they're in.
Speaker B:But Marty, he's the husband in this particular show and I forget the character that or the actor that plays him, but he's a banker, like an accountant, and he's really good at money and he knows how to launder and it's a great show.
Speaker B:Just overall, if you're into that type of thing.
Speaker B:I would also say right now we're watching this new show called Government Cheese.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So if, if you're tapped into like Apple TV and like watching shows through Apple TV and like their platform, it's, it's on there.
Speaker B:It's about this black man who just got out of prison because he was forging checks.
Speaker B:And while he was in prison he created an invention that is later called the Magic.
Speaker B:It's a drill.
Speaker B:It's a self sharpening drill.
Speaker B:So you can drill and then when the bit gets bad, it can go inside and like, you know, like resharpen itself.
Speaker B:So it can, it makes production time and production floors.
Speaker B:Because it's based in like the 60s, I think.
Speaker B:60s?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's based in like the 50s, 60s era.
Speaker B:Great for production.
Speaker B:If you're working on like a production floor where you're using, you know, drills and drill bits.
Speaker B:But he just cannot seem to stay away from the previous life.
Speaker B:The other really mind bending show I gotta mention is a show called Severed is also on Apple tv.
Speaker B:And Severed is a show about a group of employees work at, they work at.
Speaker B:I don't even know what it is.
Speaker A:Is this severance?
Speaker B:Yeah, it's not like a.
Speaker B:They don't really like an effect.
Speaker B:It's like this like office space.
Speaker B:Have you watched Severed?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Severance.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:I've seen like clips from it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And so they all opted in to have a brain surgery where they sever a portion of the brain so that when they're at work, they only know where they don't know their life outside of work at all.
Speaker B:And then when they leave work, they go in an elevator.
Speaker B:That kind of triggers the chip in their brain to turn on their at Home life.
Speaker B:And they don't know anything that they do at work.
Speaker B:They only know that they're always at home.
Speaker B:So when they're at home, it feels like they're always at home.
Speaker B:And when they're at work, it feels like they're always at work.
Speaker B:And then it kind of disassociates their personalities too, because when they're at work, some of them are happy and they love being at work.
Speaker B:When they go home, they're like super depressed or their marriages are falling apart, or they have really hard trouble finding love.
Speaker B:And even one of the employees who ends up getting severed is actually the founder's daughter of this, this place that they work up.
Speaker B:But it's just very mind bending.
Speaker B:It's so incredibly good.
Speaker B:So if you're really into like mind bending, like make you think and be like, oh, I'm not severed.
Speaker B:But this is kind of what happens to us sometimes.
Speaker B:We kind of, you know, tunnel vision into our work and nothing else matters and we can't see anything else.
Speaker B:And we sometimes do become complet the individuals when we go to work and when we're doing something else in comparison to what we do when, when we are at home and being able to use our work as a distraction.
Speaker B:And so it kind of layers in those things, but it has a great storyline.
Speaker B:And, and I would, I would recommend, I highly, highly, highly would recommend.
Speaker A:Okay, okay.
Speaker A:I'll have to check that out.
Speaker A:Yeah, like the third person recommending it to me, so I have to watch that.
Speaker A:What, what is the restaurant you recommend to someone who is just visiting the Twin Cities for the first time?
Speaker B:Time.
Speaker A:And you know, like, you have to go here to eat.
Speaker B:Have to go here to eat.
Speaker B:Let's see here.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:One place I would recommend for sure is the Dripping Root.
Speaker B:So if you're looking for a place that has like smoothie bowls and fresh juice and, you know, just really good whole food, Black owned support, black woman owned would be the Dripping Route.
Speaker B:They're on the south side.
Speaker B:They're just off of 40th and Minnehaha Avenue.
Speaker B:So definitely stop by and support the dripping Route.
Speaker B:It's every.
Speaker B:Everything that Katisha has is good.
Speaker B:All of it is good.
Speaker B:There's never not one thing that's not good.
Speaker B:And she, she, she and her mom operate the dripping Route.
Speaker B:But yeah, it's right there on 40th and Minnehaha on the south side.
Speaker B:Let's see, where else would I go?
Speaker B:I would tell people to go to.
Speaker B:I would tell people to go to Kaluna.
Speaker B:Okay, so period.
Speaker A:Oh, my God, I love K.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Kaluna is so good.
Speaker B:And they have a brunch now, and I want to.
Speaker B:I'm.
Speaker B:I'm really dying to try to try it.
Speaker B:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker B:Kaluna.
Speaker B:See a third.
Speaker B:Let me see a third.
Speaker B:A third, a third.
Speaker B:I'm trying to think of, like, places like we're like, oh, yeah, we just have to go there.
Speaker B:Everything I'm thinking of, it's like, yeah, that's good.
Speaker B:But that's not it.
Speaker B:To go there.
Speaker B:You give me one.
Speaker B:Where's one that you have to go to?
Speaker A:I would have said Kaluna too, because I really like.
Speaker A:I do like classic classics.
Speaker A:It's black owned.
Speaker A:Yeah, but.
Speaker A:But I.
Speaker A:I like it specifically for the crowd.
Speaker A:Bowed wings.
Speaker A:It is so good.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Their sweet potato soup.
Speaker B:Their sweet potato curried soup is actually really good too.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Britain Gerard do their.
Speaker B:Do their thing over there.
Speaker B:They also have the cream cafe next door.
Speaker B:And then Sobo over at.
Speaker B:Have you gone to Sobo too, over there at.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:It's at the V3 now.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Cool, cool, cool.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Where is your dream travel destination?
Speaker A:Where do you have to go to?
Speaker B:Oh, you know, I.
Speaker B:I just have to go somewhere on the continent, somewhere on Africa.
Speaker B:It don't even matter where.
Speaker B:Drop me.
Speaker B:Just drop me.
Speaker B:Wherever, wherever.
Speaker B:If I could just parachute out and wherever I land, that's where, like, I'm at.
Speaker B:And that's where the experience is happening.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker B:Let's start there and let's work our way around.
Speaker B:But there's something about just discovering roots.
Speaker B:And one thing too, I've been having to unravel uncomfortably.
Speaker B:I'm an obvious mixed race person, but I identify black and I say uncomfortably, unravel the European, Scandinavian side of myself.
Speaker B:And it's uncomfortable because of the trauma that white people have inflicted upon black people.
Speaker B:And so you're just like, I'm siding with the.
Speaker B:You know, I'm over here.
Speaker B:I'm over here with these people.
Speaker B:And what that does psychologically sometimes to you is it makes you feel confident and strong in one part, but then it's like there's like this lingering thing.
Speaker B:And it's not necessarily an identity crisis, but it's like this lingering thing.
Speaker B:And how do you.
Speaker B:How do you create space to feel connected to it and aligned with it?
Speaker B:Because it's a big part of me too.
Speaker B:I have Sardinian in me and Melanesian, and I have a little bit of Danish in me as well.
Speaker B:And so it's like, you know, unraveling those different cultures.
Speaker B:I don't have to focus for them.
Speaker B:Didn't start at slavery either.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So everything about me didn't just start at slavery.
Speaker B:The white people bring in the African enslaved people.
Speaker B:And for the African enslaved people, didn't start there with them either.
Speaker B:So I have to give that honor and that privilege to both sides.
Speaker B:And so I have been diving in and I would really, really love to visit Sardinia too.
Speaker B:It's a small island just off of the coast of Italy.
Speaker B:And then obviously Fiji, where a lot of the Melanesian people come from too, would be another great, great, great spot to live.
Speaker B:But it's been a trip really unraveling what.
Speaker B:What it.
Speaker B:What it all means culturally for me.
Speaker B:So if anything, I want to visit the places where my DNA comes from.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:And finally, what is your guilty pleasure besides two chains?
Speaker B:Guilty pleasure?
Speaker B:Well, you know, I'm a sweets girl.
Speaker B:I love chocolate.
Speaker B:I love chocolate cake.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, that's.
Speaker A:I like a nice chocolate cake that is moist in the middle.
Speaker A:Chocolatey is my kind of chocolate cake.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker B:They.
Speaker B:And I also really like.
Speaker B:I love to go to, like, chocolate shops, like, specialize in, like, like chocolate.
Speaker B:I've been really wanting to go to the.
Speaker B:I believe it's in that Afghanistan chocolate place.
Speaker B:They have, like, Turkish Delight and they have like, all these different types of chocolates and stuff up in there.
Speaker B:I really want to try it.
Speaker B:And I haven't gone there yet, but.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, I love chocolate.
Speaker A:Shout out to that.
Speaker A:And finally, I want to ask you what you want your legacy to be in 10, 15, 20 years when you're, you know, for your kids, when you're.
Speaker A:You've left the Earth, what do you want to be remembered for?
Speaker A:And by.
Speaker B:Oh, what do I want to be remembered for?
Speaker B:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker B:I never really given that any thought.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I suppose just.
Speaker B:Just for the contribution, you know, I.
Speaker B:I don't really do it for accolades, so it's hard to not look at it as an accolade.
Speaker B:Cause it's not necessarily an accolade, like being remembered for something.
Speaker B:But I want people to know that I treated them with kindness, was fair, that I listened, that I held space, that there.
Speaker B:There wasn't, you know, a whole lot of, you know, judgment in the way that.
Speaker B:That I sat in space with people.
Speaker B:I want my children to feel like my mom created community for me.
Speaker B:I got lots of extra aunties and cousins because my mom did a lot of great work in the community and nurtured and sustained these relationships that now uplift and.
Speaker B:And support them and hopefully their kids, my grandkids, you know, and so on and so forth.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:To make the south side a better place.
Speaker B:I'm really invested in the place that I come from.
Speaker B:South Minneapolis is, you know, where I was.
Speaker B:I was born is where.
Speaker B:It's what raised me.
Speaker B:So if I can just see this place just continue to evolve and to get better and to honor culture and to honor the people who live here and who make this place what it is, then I feel like that's that.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's the key right there.
Speaker B:Just for my.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:My piece and just for.
Speaker B:For.
Speaker B:For the way that it evolved and the joy that it brought people.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for coming on, for sharing your story and your journey.
Speaker A:And, you know, I really appreciate the work that you do, the work you and your husband are doing to foster community, especially among black folks in the Twin Cities.
Speaker A:I just create space for us to just thrive and be excited about still on the south side.
Speaker A:I'm going to be there this year.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, folks, if you're listening, come through to still on the south side.
Speaker A:Details will be in the description box.
Speaker A:It's gonna be a great time.
Speaker A:Trust me.
Speaker A:I've been twice and I had a great time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Great, great time.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Thank you, Fancy.
Speaker A:And thanks, y' all.
Speaker A:And thank you all for listening.
Speaker A:This is Odeja.
