Imani Ellis on Creativity, Her New Podcast, and CultureCon ’24 – Essence

Imani Ellis, the dynamic founder and CEO of CultureCon and The Creative Collective, pushes the boundaries of storytelling along with her recent video podcast. The show, which shines a light-weight on the creative journeys of Black cultural shapeshifters, offers everyone a primary-hand perspective on each the triumphs and challenges of their careers and personal lives.

As host, Ellis provides an area for guests to share their experiences, giving audiences the tools and learnings to grow of their fields. In this case, knowledge is something that isn’t the exclusive property of the listener. “I think I’ve learned something in every conversation because with , we’ve gone deeper than we’ve ever gone in those conversations,” she says. “That’s the joy of this series—being really unfiltered and raw.”

Each episode delves into the multifaceted nature of success, showing how creative people undergo different seasons of their lives. Ellis hopes listeners will see themselves in these stories, whether or not they’re in a season of stagnation or a season of abundance. “It’s not always a season of winning, it’s not always a season of conditioning,” she says. “We all go through these different seasons, so I think it’s going to be very encouraging for people.”

How CultureCon NYC is coming up in October, the show is the right introduction to the event. “It’s really a taste of what you’ll see in person at CultureCon,” the Vanderbilt alum notes. The podcast’s finale is timed to coincide with the conference, which will likely be full of programming, workshops, and celebrity appearances, and Ellis envisions the podcast as an extension of the CultureCon experience, helping to arrange the masses by offering intimate, weekly conversations.

Looking ahead, Imani is wanting to see growth. She envisions future episodes that proceed to push the boundaries of creative conversation. “The sky is the limit for us,” she says. With her signature optimism, Imani is poised to proceed to expand the impact of each the podcast and the broader platform, inspiring a brand new generation of creators to forge their very own paths, just as she has.

ESSENCE: What inspired you to begin in collaboration with Spotify?

Imani Ellis: CultureCon has develop into really known for telling really great stories where Black and Brown creatives get to indicate up of their full selves, each talking about triumphs and moments which are larger than life, but additionally sharing moments of vulnerability or once they’ve possibly encountered challenges. So we’re taking it a step further. We’re unfiltered, raw, uncensored, and just really talking to amazing people and talking about moments of incredible joy and moments where they weren’t sure what the subsequent step was.

So after we considered bringing these stories to the screen, Spotify and CultureCon have worked together in other ways through the years. It was just an excellent, seamless next step that we could take together, especially due to our shared values ​​and how well we work together.

How did you select the guests you desired to invite for the primary season of the podcast?

We just wanted individuals who really have something to say, especially concerning the struggles that they are facing. We have so many great conversations this season, we have now Rickey Thompson, who’s blowing up social media and doing it in his own way, and Fawn Weaver, who’s constructing a billion-dollar brand as an entrepreneur on Uncle Nearest. Elaine Welteroth, who obviously started off within the editorial space but is the definition of what it means to forge your personal path and change direction. Jay Ellis, who’s America’s favorite guy on Insecure, and then after all Jordyn Woods, really navigating what it’s prefer to grow up within the highlight and not be in it later in life. And so you may see it’s all very various kinds of conversations. We cover all the things from dating to waiting to the numerous joys and challenges of entrepreneurship. So there’s something for everybody.

You discuss with numerous people and interact with numerous people. When you discuss with a few of the guests, is there anything that surprised you about a number of of their journeys?

I believe one in every of the things that I actually liked was something that Fawn Weaver said in her episode. She really talks about reimagining challenges as an entrepreneur or should you’re not an entrepreneur. And so she calls herself a hurdler and she says, “Hurdlers expect obstacles.” And I really like that because I believe numerous times in entrepreneurship, when things get tough, we’re form of caught off guard and like, “Wait, this is tough.” But I believe she helped me understand that tough things are tough. So it isn’t that you simply don’t expect them, it’s, “How can I stay focused on my goal despite the obstacle, despite the obstacle?” And that actually stuck with me since it really broadened my horizons when it comes to living a life where there isn’t any obstacle, no obstacle. So knowing that, how can we prepare ourselves to face those challenges and not allow them to stress us out?

In addition to what you learned out of your guests, what lessons would you prefer to share with listeners concerning the creative journeys discussed on this podcast?

I believe one in every of the things that I hope listeners take away is de facto focusing on the seasonality of your life. I believe one in every of the things that we do is take these larger than life people, cultural transformers, and really show the duality and the seasonality of your life. So I believe that is going to be very encouraging for listeners who’re possibly in a waiting period and feel prefer it’s never going to vary, or possibly they’re in a slower period and feel just like the sun’s never going to come back up. I actually hope that they take away optimism and hope and can see themselves or pieces of themselves in all of those different conversations.

I really like this. I do know you are all excited because CultureCon NYC is just across the corner. How does this podcast function a prelude to that event?

We’re going to have the identical conversations that we have now live on our culture stage. And I believe that guests who’re really preparing themselves for what to anticipate or the sorts of sensitivities that they will expect can tune in every week to listen, and we have timed it perfectly in order that the finale happens right before CultureCon, in order that our community doesn’t must wait for much longer to experience the event of the conference.

You’ve been an inspiration as an entrepreneur, but additionally as a philanthropist. I desired to ask: What advice would you give to a creative who’s just starting out?

I believe the recommendation I’d give them is to pay as much attention to aesthetics as to operate. So I believe often creative individuals are so inspired and we’re very visually inspired people, so we are able to gravitate towards logos or brand colours or things which you could really feel and taste and touch. But I actually encourage creative people to also think concerning the within the pie, which is more functional. So what are you attempting to construct? Is there an actual audience for it? And is there any case studies or data that shows that it will be a viable business? Because one in every of the things that we are able to get away from is that not every idea needs to be monetized. Sometimes your ideas needs to be hobbies, and then while you attempt to monetize them, you discover that you simply don’t love them anymore.

I really like second-hand stores. I really like garage sales. For a second I believed I used to be going to begin a business where I used to be going to open an antique shop, but I discovered something that I loved as a hobby, and after I was attempting to sell tickets and earn cash doing that, I suddenly didn’t prefer it anymore. So I encourage creatives and entrepreneurs to essentially ask themselves, “Is this idea just for me, or is this an idea that I need to put out there in the world?” And once you have got that answer, you may just get all the way down to business.

“Not every idea has to be monetized.” See, I actually have to put in writing that down because that’s definitely a word, obviously.

We must break free.

As a fellow creative, you’re thinking that that whatever you do, you have got to have the opportunity to receives a commission for it. I absolutely love that advice and I’m going to take it. So how do you see CultureCon Uncut evolving in the longer term? Are there any topics or guests you would like to explore in future episodes?

I’m really enthusiastic about this chance. I believe the community, as we have seen, is de facto coming together and excited to see the sorts of conversations that we’re having that you simply really don’t see in numerous places. Of course, we’re focused on having a tremendous first season, but we would prefer to proceed to work together. [Spotify]I believe, as I said, we have now such amazing shared values, missions, and audiences that we’d like to proceed CultureCon Uncut and proceed to inform those stories.