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May 22, 2019

Vincent Coleman – Bone-Chillingly Soulful

Queer R&B dripping in sensuality & harmonies. Vincent Coleman is a soul singer from the Leimart Park (Los Angeles) area. He knew from the age of 3 / 4 that he was going to be a singer. At the age of 11, he added the songwriter skill to his repertoire.

As a singer / songwriter, Vincent is currently exploring the landscape of lust vs. love. With songs like, “Eventually,” “Little Eyes,” and “HUNGRY, THIRSTY, LOVE” Vincent is well on his way to building a community of emotionally honest Booh Bears (?). The depth and brutal honestly of his songs creates a mood of sensual freedom.

In addition to being a singer / songwriter, he recently released a book of poetry called, “(in)capable of love.” where he navigates his family’s relationship with his homosexuality. Learn more about this multi-faceted artist on the latest episode of Uncensored Visionary: A LGBTQ podcast.

Follow Vincent on Instagram and Twitter.

#Spotlight

May 20, 2019

Jack Andraka - Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer

Jack Andraka, the Teen Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer. Imagine walking around with that sort of title. Well that’s what happened when, in 2012, Jack won the grand prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. His winning presentation was a method that could potentially detect the early stages of pancreatic and other cancers. This detection method is currently being tested and prepared for over-the-counter use. He created this detection method after being inspired by a family friend who died of Pancreatic Cancer years prior.

Currently, Jack is a student at Stanford University majoring in Anthropology and in Electrical Engineering. Let’s hope his detection method will be furthered expanded and eventually shared for public use.

Podcast

May 15, 2019

Kidd – Jack of All Trades

Raised in Southern California, Kidd knew from a very young age that he was going to be a creative. When he was 3 / 4 his grandfather gave him the opportunity to play with his camera, so by the time he was 5 / 6 his career field was pretty much set.

Today, Kidd is part-time DJ, part-time photographer, part-time model and hopes to add videography and storytelling to his repertoire. Kidd is hoping to build a community behind the creation of art. Ultimately, Kidd’s goal is to give queer people of color a space to express themselves and to bring their own ideas to the forefront. If you live in San Francisco, make sure to catch him on the ones-and-twos at Q Bar.

Learn about Kidd’s motives, creative process and so much more on this week’s episode of Uncensored Visionary: A LGBTQ Podcast.

Follow Kidd on Instagram.

#Spotlight

May 13, 2019

Matteo Lane – The Multi-Hyphenate Comedian

Opera Singer. Oil Painter. Comedian. Those are three careers that Matteo Lane has held over the course of his very short 32 years on this planet. This speaks to his breadth of skill and hard work. Originally from Illinois and currently New York based, Matteo is a comedian who has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers and Comedy Central’s Adam Devine’s House Party. In addition to being a comedian, Matteo hosted a snapchat show called Ghost Hunt where he tracks people down who have ghosted people they have dated.

Outside his burgeoning career, Matteo can speak English, Italian, Spanish, and French.

Who is cooler than Matteo? No one, especially since he’s gotten to work with the hilarious Nicole Byer.

Peep his tour dates and make sure to visit his delicious Instagram account here.

Podcast

May 8, 2019

Lucy LaForge – Love is Gay

Dr. Lucy LaForge was not her destiny. She and her parents knew that Lucy was destined to be a musician. But it didn’t always look that way from the outside. Lucy did what was expected of her by going to college and getting her undergraduate degree. However, the minute it was time to decide what was next for her, her musical instincts kicked in: she had to do music. And thus was born the Lucy and La Mer.

Today, Lucy and La Mer have performed sold out shows all over the world and continue to be a shining light in the LGBTQ community. Every year, the band hosts a LOVE IS GAY concert series to showcase queer artists. Lucy doesn’t find other artists to be competition, she sees them as allies that should be supported. Like Lucy says, “Life is so much better when you’re supporting each other.” This is the kind of artist and person that Lucy is and that is why she is today’s feature on Uncensored Visionary: A LGBTQ Podcast.

Follow Lucy and La Mer on Instagram and Twitter.

#Spotlight

May 6, 2019

Parvez Sharma - The Ultimate Sinner

Michelle Obama christened him as a “LGBT Hero.” The Dalai Lama named him as one of “50 Visionaries changing your world.” Born in India, Parvez Sharma grew up as a visionary who saw the world in images and stories. Fast forward to 2008, when he released his controversial film “A Jihad for Love.” The film took six years to film and addresses the intersectionality of the Islamic faith and homosexuality. It was the first film of its kind and received universal praise.

Seven years later, he released his most controversial film to date, A Sinner in Mecca. The film follows his journey on his pilgrimage to Mecca as an openly gay man. To film this documentary, Parvez secretly recorded his experience including conversations with a self-confessing murderer and overzealous police members. A Sinner in Mecca earned Parvez an incredible amount of hate mail and death threats. Despite this, Parvez continues to promote his work and we cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.

For more information on other LBGTQ badasses, like Parvez, make sure to visit http://uncensoredvisionary.com.

Podcast

May 1, 2019

Myles Thatcher – Embracing ‘Otherness’

Born in Atlanta and raised in Pennsylvania, Myles Thatcher was always into dance. At the age of 13/14, he had to determine if he wanted to pursue classical ballet or not. He committed and by the age of 17, he had moved to New York City to train and eventually moved to San Francisco for the trainee program with the SF Ballet. After years of training, Myles became an official member of the SF Ballet.

Ballet connoisseurs have said that Myles is “far beyond his years” and in 2018, Myles choreographed critically acclaimed ballet ‘Otherness.’ ‘Otherness,’ which focuses on how we are forced to label ourselves, stood out not only because of its unique choreography and premise but also because it was soundtracked by music by Björk.

Today, Myles Thatcher is in the prime of his career as both a dancer and choreographer (don’t ask him to choose though) for the SF Ballet. Learn about Myles’ motivation, creative process and so much more on this week’s episode of Uncensored Visionary: A LGBTQ Podcast.

Follow Myles Thatcher on Instagram and Twitter.

#Spotlight

April 29, 2019

Bradley Stern – It’s Britney, Bitch

From PopCrush.com to Time.com to MuuMuse.com, I’ve been a fan of Bradley Stern’s since 2006-ish. He has a way of providing nuanced, entertaining and ultimately spot on reviews of music. Thanks to Bradley, I was introduced to the likes (and brilliance) of Carly Rae Jepson and Charli XCX. Currently, Bradley runs music blog MuuMuse.com that provides music reviews, interviews and exclusive content with a sassy twist. One of the many things I love about Bradley is that he doesn’t just talk about mainstream artists. He introduces and talks about up and comers such as Mabel (UK).

Every piece of content that Bradley writes gives insight into not only the music, but also the artist behind the music. His posts are witty, point out the silliness of the music industry and subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) provide references to Hikaru Utada in just about every post. In addition to being a fan of Hikaru Utada, Bradley is a well known Britney Spears super STAN (had to be in capital letters). As a super STAN, Bradley co-hosts super popular podcast, “It’s Britney, Bitch” with T. Kyle. The podcast celebrates “20 years of the Living Legend, Britney Jean Spears.”

Follow Bradley on Instagram, his Britney podcast here and visit one of my favorite music blogs MuuMuse.com.

Podcast

April 24, 2019

The Shequida Hall Show

Shequida Hall (Gary Hall) never intended to be a drag queen. The original goal was to become an opera singer. Alas, after being tricked into drag and performing, Hall fell in love with the gig and alas almost 30 years later, she is still respected as one of the baddest to do it. Shequida is a playwright, singer, songwriter and performer with a five-octave range. Today, she is considered the cream of the crop when it comes to drag performers.

Shequida was born in Jamaica and was destined to be a performer. As a child, Shequida trained her voice and that hard work would later help her land a spot at Juilliard, studying under the critically acclaimed bass-baritone Simon Estes. Career highlights include playing the character Wendi Mercury on the daytime television show One Life to Live and starring in Daron Hagen’s Vera of Las Vegas for it’s 2003 world premiere. She’s also written, directed and starred in her own Off-Broadway show Opera for Dummies, which took her around the world and earned her a GLAAD award nomination.

Currently, Shequida hosts at Pieces (Monday), Hardware Bar (Thursday) and Bartschland Follies (Friday) in New York. In addition to hosting, Shequida also sporadically performs / tours her self-written and directed shows. Learn more about Shequida Hall’s incredible journey in the latest episode of Uncensored Visionary: A LGBTQ Podcast.

Follow Shequida on Instagram and Twitter.

#Spotlight

April 22, 2019

Rakeem Cunningham - Black, Colorful and Bootylicious

As a self-taught artist and UCLA alumni, Rakeem Cunningham has made a name for himself showcasing his unique point of view on the multi-plexity of Queer People of Color (QPoC). At 16, Rakeem was introduced to photography after his mother randomly asked him to take pictures of his sister. It was this out-of-the-blue experience and the fact that he did not have a social life that facilitated his interest in photo composition.

From there, on weekends, he would walk to the park near his childhood home and shoot. Fast forward 10 years later and Rakeem is at the apex of his career. Through the portrait medium, he showcases the experiences of QPoC and their acceptance of flaws.

Visit his eye popping Instagram account here.

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