Writer interested in telling the stories of real people, and sometimes animals. Mizzou alum.
St. Louis Musicians to Get You Through These COVID Days
What are you most looking forward to doing after this is all over?
It's a loaded question. Many of us are struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel, as well as coming to terms with the very real fact that a new normal is upon us.
I think about going to my favorite bars and clubs. I want to have small plates and tacos with my friends. I wanna walk with my grandparents through their backyard garden. I'd love to give my parents a hug. My wants and feelings are small in comparison to t...
St. Louis Rapper J’Demul Reflects on Mental Health in Hip-Hop Ahead of Debut LP
Most people who grew up in the St. Louis area have been to the Missouri History Museum at least once, either for a school field trip or as something to do on a summer day, seeking relief from the heat in Forest Park.
Not J'Demul.
"I've never been here before," the 24-year-old rapper born Trevon McCray says while looking around the free museum on a Saturday afternoon. That's because he didn't grow up with the kind of experiences other kids had. For one, he says he never lived in one place. Mov...
From NYC to STL to the Kranzberg Artists in Residence Program, Be.Be Is a Force
A five-inch screen is not the most ideal method by which to enjoy a performance by St. Louis singer-songwriter Be.Be, but when she's off making a name for herself in New York and you're home in St. Louis, it'll have to do.
Brianna Elise "Be.Be" Brown had been posting for more than a month about a February performance at the legendary SOB's music venue in NYC. If social media is to be believed, she spent the day of the event hanging out with friends, taking picturesque photos with nostalgic fi...
Rapper Shana B Returns to the Spotlight After a Broken Neck
It's a special skill to put on false eyelashes. It's even more amazing if you can put on falsies with a full set of long acrylic nails. But Shana B has that covered. Today, the St. Louis rapper is wearing lashes that can only be described as plush and dreamlike; she's got a big personality with even bigger blinks to match.
Shana's eclectic sense of style is part Barbie doll, part Harley Quinn. It's a fusion of pretty pinks, dainty fabrics and cutesy handbags that crosses into loud hair colors...
How Four St. Louis Women Organized a Protest That Moved the City
Longform cover story for Riverfront Times
Ranken Graduates in the Workplace
My work for an ongoing project showcasing Ranken Technical College's graduates in the workplace postgrad.
Everywhere and noWhere
Rappers Sir Eddie C, Zado and Teacup Dragun Share What Inspired yelloW
Smino Celebrates St. Louis at Kribmas
If Kribmas were a school homecoming, Smino would be king.
The St. Louis native, now based in Chicago, returns every year to give back and celebrate his city. He capped off the weekend-long St. Louis tribute earlier this month by performing a sold-out show at the Pageant — and welcoming his 'Lou ancestor Nelly to the stage.
There's no argument: Kribmas is the most authentic representation of St. Louis since Nelly danced with a bandage on his face under the Arch. And rightfully so. The name Kri...
'Tis the SZN
St. Louis Rapper Soufside Jerei Reps His City With Debut LP Groovy Blues
Turbo Charged
How St. Louis Rapper Nikee Turbo’s Turn on Rhythm + Flow Inspired a Dance Craze
Grappling With Gentrification In St. Louis & My Own Place In The System
In this essay, Ymani Wince explains how she struggles with her experience of gentrification in St. Louis. This essay is part of Bustle's Whose City?, which opens up a conversation around g...
Symposium tackles school-to-prison pipeline
As an educator for almost 30 years, she’s seen students from elementary through the collegiate level. And she has seen far too many children in the St. Louis area slip through the cracks, going from school to the prison system. Through awareness and activism, she’s determined to change that.
Smith held a symposium Saturday morning at the St. Louis Public Library’s Julia Davis branch at 4415 Natural Bridge Avenue, to discuss how to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline that’s rampant not jus...
Sweet Potato Project offers kids chance to grow
Students grow sweet potatoes then will make them into cookies for sale...