The Epitome. // Photo by Cornelius Devaugh Terrell Jr. Rapper Glenn Robinson—better known as The Epitome—and I have been emailing back and forth for nearly four years now, so even before sitting down for a longer conversation, it feels like I know them. Epitome’s new release NNTT is out now, and the album’s title track encapsulates what I consider to…
Courtesy KCCG Local anti-violence nonprofit, KC Common Good (KCCG) officially launched two initiatives: Community Connector and Community Calendar. These programs intend to combat violent crime and provide community resources to Kansas Citians in need by directing them to programs and professional services that they otherwise may have not been aware of. Community Connector is a resource portal that consolidates thousands…
A memorial fundraiser in honor of Patrick Tobin—who died Oct. 10 at just 32 after a battle with metastatic melanoma—has been launched with the goal of raising $100,000 for no-kill animal shelter, Wayside Waifs. The money raised will help Wayside perform several upgrades to the shelter, which houses 6,000 homeless animals per year. Most of the funds will be dedicated…
Photo by Tyler Schneider As I have made very clear, my taste for fine dining and drinking isn’t exactly top-shelf. This is primarily due to the fact that I attempt to write for a living, and it is simply easier for me to justify drinking Miller High Life than exquisite booze. This being said, when I can get the good…
Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus of Black Violin will perform Oct. 27 at the Kauffman Center. // Courtesy of the band You’ve heard classical music, and you’ve listened to hip-hop, but have you ever jammed to both genres in the same song? That’s the sound that’s coming to the Kauffman Center Oct. 27 with Black Violin. The duo of Kev…
The Epitome’s NNTT dropped early this morning. Check out our interview around it, and give it a listen on Spotify: Tags: album release, NNTT, the epitome
Shaji Khan, associate professor of information technology at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (photo by August Jennewein/UMSL campus photographer).Shaji Khan, associate professor of information technology at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. // Photo by August Jennewein/UMSL campus photographer A cybersecurity expert targeted for investigation by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is demanding a public apology and payment for his costs for…
Dune. // Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures It’s finally here. After what’s felt like ages, Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi classic Dune hits theaters. It is, of course, a property with a difficult cinematic legacy. David Lynch’s infamous 1984 version crammed the whole novel into two hours and 17 minutes. It was so poorly…
A CDMX Smog at Café Ollama. // Photo by April Fleming There is a lot to be happy about if you are a coffee drinker in Kansas City right now. Despite the pandemic, several brand-new shops have opened even in the past few months, many of them great. There are so many, even, that it’s difficult to stand apart from…
Illustrated by Katelyn Betz The latest installment of Cine Local covers all the bases and features some of the hottest acts in Kansas City right now. You’d do well to just hunker down, slip in your earbuds, and let this collection of superlative visuals and excellent tunes take over the next hour of your life. Khrystal, “Come Over” The opening…
Lawrence-based, Hawai’ian-native musician Kawehi catapulted to fame with her viral cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” in 2014. The video has over 2 million views and displays her skill as a music artist. She’s is known for her layered original music, inventive covers, and mashups. This year, Kawehi is doing a world tour of The Quarantine Sessions—displaying the creativity she’s fostered…
Dan Frueh. Rust and believe, local artist Dan Frueh loves oxidation. The methodic breakdown of iron has oddly become Frueh’s medium of choice. Frueh says he’s drawn to the color, texture, and nuance of how it changes over time—specifically, blue rust. (Yes, it’s a thing.) After a pandemic year off, the self-proclaimed “rustifarian” is bringing back his annual LOVE RUST urban…
The Harder They Fall. // Photo courtesy of Netflix “While the events of this story are fictional, these people lived,” claims the epigraph at the start of Jeymes Samuel’s Black western The Harder They Fall. It’s as much a mission statement as it is an introduction. Samuel’s film is primarily interested in giving audiences a vibrant depiction of its historical…
Amy Pope pursued a career in foreign diplomacy before founding Repetition Coffee in Lawrence in 2015. // Photo by Adam Smith LFK’s Repetition Coffee will celebrate its sixth anniversary Nov. 17 from the comfort of a spacious new 4,500 square foot roasting space at 512 E 9th Street in Lawrence’s historic arts district. A party is planned for that Friday,…
Mega Ran. // Photo by Chas Wright Rapper Raheem Jarbo—better known to nerdcore hip hop fans around the world as Mega Ran—has crafted numerous albums in the past decade that cover every facet of comic convention nerdery. Be it the Halloween-flavored horrorcore of the Ghouls ‘N Ghosts series of releases, the literary-inspired Dewey Decibel System collab with MC Lars, or…
Dana Jackson, who writes under the pen name Elle Jackson. // Photo by Alexis Gian Kansas City has another feather in its cap: one of our own has become the first Black author for Harlequin Historical’s line of romance novels. While Harlequin has published Black authors’ contemporary stories over the years, the Historical series has been the province of white…
Jill Cockson. // Photo courtesy of Chartreuse Saloon Check it out: Jill Cockson’s Chartreuse Saloon is now open in the East Crossroads Jill Cockson is one of Kansas City’s most-respected bartenders and entrepreneurs. In Lincoln, Nebraska, she helmed the James Beard-nominated cocktail program at the cozy cocktail bar, the Other Room. In the four years since coming our way, she’s…
Barton is the perfect energetic and playful pup. // Courtesy KCPP We teamed up with KC Pet Project to host a weekly “creature feature” on loveable and adoptable pets here in the KC Metro. This week, KCPP is featuring Barton, a 2-year-old mixed breed dog, and Yoda, a 5-year-old domestic shorthair. Barton resides at the Kansas City Campus for Animal Care,…
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson addresses the media at his weekly press conference. // Courtesy of the Missouri Governor’s Office I’m writing this column after one of the most vicious and unfounded attacks I’ve heard by a Missouri governor against a major Missouri news organization. It involves the St. Louis Post-Dispatch story published Thursday about how a state education department website…
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson during a press conference on Feb. 5, 2021. // Courtesy of Missouri Governor’s Office On Tuesday, a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch alerted the state that Social Security numbers of school teachers and administrators were vulnerable to public exposure due to flaws on a website maintained by Missouri’s department of education. The newspaper agreed to…
Sabrina Davis (right) addresses Mayor Quinton Lucas (left) in City Hall, Oct. 13. // Photo by Tyler Schneider KC Tenants took their demands to City Hall, seeking an audience with Mayor Quinton Lucas to discuss the promise the group says he made to support their People’s Housing Trust Fund plan before crafting his own proposed version of the housing trust fund…
Photo by Don Ipock Kansas City Repertory Theatre is set to kick off its 41st annual run of A Christmas Carol at UMKC’s Spencer Theatre, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., with performances through Dec. 26. This year’s production is directed by Jason Chanos and features the return of Gary Neal Johnson as Scrooge. “For more than 40 years, KCRep has…
Top row: Semra Fetahovic (Juniper Gardens Training Farm Manager, Cultivate KC), Mediatrice Niyonkuru, 3rd-year farmer from Burundi. Second row: Dhan Rai, 2019 graduate from Bhutan (his farm business is “The Natural Farmacy” and can be found on social media); Tin Tun Aung, 4th-year farmer from Burma; Ngun Tial, 4th-year farmer from Chin State in Burma. Standing, far right: Ibrahim Dugudu,…
