 stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about building community through 

, the importance of Black and brown storytelling, and more.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Carbon Sound family, we are in with another interview. I'm so excited to meet people from the community. It's the little girl in me. It's just so cool. But in studio, we have an abolitionist — it's so crazy how you look, because I feel like your reputation, I would be terrified to meet you because you look like you about that business. Abolitionist, design researcher, author, anti-racist facilitator, creative director, organizer, educator, and more. She's dedicated to the liberation, and I like liberation, of Black and brown people through art and design, from Black Garnet Books, Terresa Hardaway, welcome, welcome, welcome, yay!

You look like you about that business on paper, baby.

I am, I am about that business. I am about that in person, if I need to be.

I gathered that, but you so pretty, so it's off-putting. So for people who may not be familiar, what is Black Garnet Books, and how would you describe it?

Black Garnet Books is a bookstore. We are a bookstore that I would describe as a place of imagination, creativity, abolition, a place where Black and brown people are centered, queer folks are centered, and it becomes this third space that people can really see themselves on the shelves.

Was that intentional? That it be a third space?

I don't know if it was intentional, necessarily, you know, it was founded by a completely different person. And so when I acquired it, I have always created like these organizing spaces that do become third spaces, where people are coming there to build community, build friendships, build relationships. And so for me, naturally, Black Garnet Books becomes a third space.

I like that. No, because I hear about adults needing a third space, shout out to y'all for that.

What inspired the creation of Black Garnet Books, and why was it important to build a space like this one?

So this space was started by a dear friend and fellow community organizer, Dionne Sims in 2020. She saw a need, she saw that the community needed to fight back and be able to expand and uplift the narratives of Black and brown people, especially during that time. And so she saw that need, and that's why it was created. And then when I acquired it in 2024, I continued on with that same mission, we have, I think, the same vision for what we'd see that bookstore being in community. It's to disrupt anti-blackness, it's to disrupt the racism that is prevalent in our publishing and book industries. It is for us to be able to bring folks together and hear new authors, hear folks who are speaking about our stories and telling the counter-story, frankly.

I like that. That sounds like storytelling, and when I was in school, I learned how important storytelling is to the human experience. So right now, we in a moment where people feeling overwhelmed and restless and angry. What role do you feel like storytelling and literature play in helping people to stay grounded during this time?

Oh, wow. Well, as an educator as well, I think it is super important for us to be able to talk about our stories, or talk about the narratives I think that especially underrepresented. When I was thinking about this question, I was thinking about this in the framing of like past, present, future. And so storytelling plays a role in those three areas. We have to understand the past, right? We have to understand the counter-histories that aren't being told so that we can understand what's happening today. So in order for us to get from that past piece, we have to then see authors who are talking about the real systemic oppression that is happening in this moment, and be able to help us define that and put words to it. Because when we begin to understand it, we can start to call it out, and we can start to actively move forward in changing that present-day reality. And then we move into future, I just think about the imaginations of Black and brown people and how we are constantly holding on to hope. We have to, in order for us to even be in this — to live a life —

Exist, you know, we have to hold on to that hope and that future piece. And so when I think about the future with regard to storytelling, I think about all the authors who are giving us abolitionist futures, who are giving us what collective liberation could look like, who are giving us ways to build relationship and overcome all of these things. And so I think about storytelling in that way, that past, that present, that future being really highlighted so that we can understand where we came from, understand where we're living in now, and understand the future that we all should be trying to fight for.

I love that. That's a great segue into my next question. So how are you painting the future with the work that you're doing? What are the initiatives that you're taking? Any events? Anything we need to keep an eye peeled out, in case we want to get involved, we want to support.

We are constantly doing a ton of events at Black Garnet Books, we have a book club that we have every single month that is a different topic.

How do you join the book club? I've been talking about book club since I was a little girl. I've always wanted to join.

Well, at Black Garnet Books, it's the most accessible thing. Just show up. The book is going to be posted on our website. We also make a post about it on our social media. But you get the book for 15% off, and you just show up to the book club. You can show up having read a chapter, having read the whole book, but just show up and you build community and have conversation about that. So we have a fantasy genre book club. We have an abolitionist genre book club, and we have a graphic novel book club. So we have these kind of three separate areas that folks can join one of, they can join all three of them, but you would get that book for 15% off and build community. All the events that I'm talking about are going to be at the bookstore.

How can we support you? People who are listening, how can we support? How can we get the word out about you? Where can we follow you?

Yeah, you can follow us on all platforms, at Black Garnet Books, and you can support us by attending events, subscribing to our newsletter, shopping in-store or online, attending things that we're doing in community, because we're oftentimes, for instance, we'll be at Pride this year, and so, stopping by our table and supporting us there. There are many ways I think that folks can engage with us if you just pay attention to what we're posting on social and show up to the things that we're doing around community.

Terresa, thank you so much for coming in today. You're awesome, and I love your look!

Terresa Hardaway stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about building community through Black Garnet Books, the importance of Black and brown storytelling, and more.



The Message - Terresa Hardaway from Black Garnet Books

John Kueppers | MPR

Interview: Terresa Hardaway from Black Garnet Books

abel. is a longstanding house DJ and vibe curator in the Twin Cities. To abel., DJing is all about setting the vibe in a room so people can come to the dance floor, move, forget what they're doing, and escape through the music. As a strong advocate for ‘less sections, more dance floors,’ he believes “more dance floors will equalize the way that we think about the music that we love so much, which is electronic.”

In his mix for Carbon Sound, abel. warmly welcomes you to the dance floor. 

We chatted with abel. about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

My name is Abel. I am a — that's a good question. It's very existential question isn't it? Who am I? Who are we? No, my name's Abel. I am a house music DJ, vibe curator in the city. I have been DJing since 2009, and I play all sorts of music. House music is kind of home for me. But yeah, music is kind of where I like to vibe.

What was your introduction to house music?

My introduction to electronic music in general was this compilation — oh, I cannot remember the name of it, but a friend of mine was just playing something in their car, this was back in college, and the song that really kind of got me was this track called — also cannot remember that. Wow, my brain — just when you have to talk about something, your brain just goes blah. But no, I was listening to a compilation CD in a friend's car, and the music was just so compelling. And I was like, "What is this?" And she was like, "Let me take you on a trip." And she loaned me the CD. And then following that, I actually went on a study abroad trip to Scotland, and I found a car boot sale, is what they call it, it's kind of like a rummage sale or garage sale. And I bought just tons of CDs, and I was just listening to all of it. By the time I came back, I had got all of it on my computer and just started DJing. Just started, like, stitching stories together, stitching songs together, with my little Trakor X1 controller. And I guess the rest is what they say is history, right?

So you started DJing because of that friend's CD, or did you just have a love and a knack for music?

I think I've always had a love for new music. Ever since I was a kid, you know, the stereotypical choir kid, I was one of the kids who would remake songs, like popular songs, and rewrite them so that they were choir-friendly. And then I found my way into a lot of just stitching music together, like making little track mixtapes from radio edits. Like, I'll put a cassette player into it and then hit record, and then get myself a mixtape from that. When I first moved here, back in 2003, I was chronically online. There was this promo that Coca-Cola had back in, like, 2006, 2005, 2004, something like that, and it was kind of like a Habbo Hotel, but it was for making music. And the currency in this was, they'd give you like preset music or whatever, and then you made a snippet, and then you'd perform it in front of all the avatars, and they'd vote for it and say if it's good or not. And then if it was really good, they'd give you currency and you got to buy like your furniture and your posters for your hotel room, and people came to the hotel room and hung out. And I really enjoyed it. So I found myself on Sony Acid, the DAW I used back then. And then I went into Fruity Loops, and then I went into Ableton Live. And then I was like, "I really like this music thing a lot." So I picked up DJing as kind of like my artistic and my creative outlet.

What's the difference between being a DJ and being a "vibe curator"?

I think the culture has changed the definition of what DJing is. I think when you think about the original definition of disc jockeying, it was really just grabbing songs, grabbing music together, and setting a vibe in a room. The greats did it. You know, Ron Carroll, Larry Levan, they knew how to control and set a room's vibe for hours and hours and hours. Didn't matter what they played. They played disco, they played funk, they played what was to be known as house, and people just danced. And that was DJing back then. You hear DJing now, and you think, big stage, you think Ultra Music Festival, you think that it's a viable way to make millions and millions of dollars. And you forget that at its core, it's about setting a room. At its core, the whole idea of making, of this thing that we do, is an art form, is setting a vibe in a room so people can come and forget what they're doing. So I still call myself a DJ because that's the vocabulary, that's the colloquialism. But at its core, I'm a vibe curator. I like to play music in a room and get people moving, dancing, forgetting where they are, what they're doing at that moment, and just like focusing on the fact that this is an escape for them, where they are at this moment.

Is that where "less sections, more dance floors" comes from?

Yes, I have a hate-hate relationship with sections. I hate sections. I think they take away so much from the dance floor. People are there for the wrong reasons. It is "show me" culture in its worst form. And I get it, venues and bars and clubs have to make money. I understand it. But you know, at its core, again, going back to the original reason for this thing that we call dance music, it's right there in its name — 

 music. We want sweaty dance floors. We want to just get on the floor and just pound concrete or lawn or whatever the medium is that is under our feet, and just enjoy ourselves and not sit in a couch and look and watch people and pop bottles. I mean, that is not what we're here for, especially in electronic music. If you think about the history of it here, think about where it came from, it is such a departure from the club culture that we have now. And I think something around just more dance floors will equalize the way that we think about the music that we love so much, which is electronic.

Speaking of electronic, speaking of enjoying ourselves, speaking of dancing, what do you have in store for Carbon Sound today?

Good question, I don't know. I talked to a couple of friends a few months ago about this, at its core, like when I start playing, I don't know what mindset I'm in, I just hit the first song, and then the next one comes, and the next one comes, and the next one comes after that, and all of a sudden it's like an hour set, and I don't know which way I'm going. So it could be all house, it could be deep, it could be melodic, it could be a little bit of funk, it could be a little bit of hip-hop, I don't know. So we'll see where the vibe takes us today.

abel. (4/29/26)

 stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about all things 

: from community-forward events to youth-centered political activations and fellowships.

Carbon Sound family, we have another Carbon Sound Community Voices interview. I'm so excited about these, because I get to actually see the faces that create the Minnesota creative scene, the Minnesota music scene, and everything beyond. Mamé Bioh is a community organizer, creative, and co-founder of Believe In What's Possible. And we gonna get down to why we is believing in what is possible. So Mamé Bioh welcome, welcome, welcome. Ok, so just straight to it. What is Believe In What's Possible? How did it start?

Believe In What's Possible is a youth-led and youth centered nonprofit based in the Twin Cities and outside of the Twin Cities a little bit. We are a collective of amazing young leaders, specifically in the realm of politics, who've been either doing campaign work for the past few years, who've either been doing city work for the past few years, government work to some capacities, or who have been doing really great community work within the community for the past, like three to four years. I'll give a little bit of like my entry into the team. It's a team of, including me, four beautiful women. It was around end of '22, early '23, we had just had a really big state election. I was doing some really, really awesome community work with other organizations, and I had met my other co-founder, Chelsea, and we were in this position where a lot of the spaces that politics runs, that nonprofit spaces run, that just really heavy institutional community spaces operate, have very little young people in them. Very little BIPOC communities, very little marginalized communities, and so we were at a point where the work I was doing wasn't speaking to anybody in my generation. I had just did a voting turnout event where I had brought a bunch of my college friends with me, and afterwards, they're like, "Oh, that was fun. But I wouldn't do that again. I wouldn't really want to engage in that type of work." And also, I think specifically within past, like, five to six years, it's been a lot of just disillusionment around the ways people engage in politics, and around the trust that we have with the government, locally and nationally. But specifically nationally, I think it has really shifted and jaded a lot of the communities that really need —

You know what I mean? And so we all came together at a mentor's house, and we were just kind of ranting, like just talking the talk. I think we got to a point where we're like, "We don't want to be put in a position where it's so difficult for young people to come into these spaces." Whether it's leading a campaign, whether it's speaking at a hearing, whether it's showcasing artwork, whether it's even building your own campaign. And specifically, one of the things to know about the way politics works, is specifically when it comes to voting, voting operates off a reliability resource. So a lot of the databases that come into voting rely heavily on your consistency. And so, you become a reliable constituent based off of your consistency engaging with the system. Now, to the understanding, who definitely is not going to be the most reliable?

Young people, single mothers, Black people —

Do you see what I mean? Who's going to be the most reliable? Older white people. And it became this thing where the minute you didn't engage in the system, the minute you didn't engage in voting, it was another reason to just say, "Okay, we don't need to listen to you. We don't need to go into your neighborhood and actually speak to you." It's systemically utilized in that way. It's a cycle. They make it difficult, you back out, they use that exact reason to make it more difficult.

Okay, so gaslighting, political gaslighting.

Gotcha. So, y'all got together, y'all having this conversation. You like, "Ok, we need to do something." And so you are now in this conversation, you're realizing certain trends that are used in politics and what's holding these communities back. So then who decides, "Look, we got to put boots on the ground. We got to get this moving."?

So what happened was we wanted to do something extremely different. We really wanted to create a bridge for young people to have a level of connection building, community building, but do it in a way that brought them to the polls. We launched our kind of first year programming. Did a couple events, we did a sip and paint, we did a day party, which was really beautiful.

And what age group do you work with the most?

So currently, the age group that we work with is 14 to 29.

Because you said sip and paint. I want to be clear.

So it's 14 to 29, specifically because until you turn 30, you are not deemed reliable yet.

It's much more complicated than that, but in that retrospect. Even when my co-founders has been voting since they were able to, has been engaging, has been going to polls with their parents, but is not seen as a reliable constituent. Has been working campaigns, but isn't fully looked at from that —

It's also interesting that that data is being collected, and analyzed in that way I should say.

It's specifically analyzed because, again, candidates want to — I don't say take the easy way, but they want to make sure that they're getting a bang for their buck. And so like, majority of the work that they're doing when it comes to young people, is going to college campuses, maybe a couple weeks, maybe not even the last week before voting, and saying, "Hey, here's my pamphlet. You should come." Not doing anything. And so we wanted to create more of a nonpartisan, very much community-centered way of operating where we hosted events. So since then, we were able to kind of launch Believe In What's Possible through a variety of programming, one called Scheme Space that created kind of like a thought space, and a thought space and a building space for young people to come share their thoughts, share resources, share understanding and grow as a collective. Then we had Turn Up to Turn Out, which was our community-led, community-forward, kind of like event program where we hosted drag shows, we hosted day parties, and we're doing some really cool stuff this year. I can't say yet, but just some really fun event spaces for people to just feel like a political space is actually for them. And then the other thing that we currently just launched, it's going to be coming in our second year, is the 

The People's Studio is one of my favorite things. It is a fellowship program for young creatives and aspiring community organizers —

To get involved in the political process?

So what we want to do is we want to bring in the two worlds of creative curation and political action and civic engagement and community organizing and bring them together. So we had a great group of around like eight to nine young people who joined our fellowship and became fellows. And we taught them the fundamentals of what it means to be a community organizer, from understanding mobilizing, from understanding influence to understanding power, really, and understanding what does that what does that power look like? How do you understand it? How do you understand it from the power that you haven't used yet? How do you understand it from the power that someone actually has? And how do you understand the power from how you influence in the spaces that you have, the social settings that you have. Cool, you're a musician and you have a fan base, you can easily create art that pushes that fan base, you know what I mean? And so really creating young leaders in the city who can truly start utilizing their voices a lot more strongly.

Exactly, exactly. So it was a beautiful program, and I'm really excited to launch it this year.

If other young people want to be a part of this, this sounds really exciting — to me, because I'm nosy. I got a nosiness, and I know that there are young people who are listening, who are also nosy, and they have their ear to the ground, but they might feel like, "I don't know, I didn't grow up around that dynamic." How could they get in touch with you? How can they follow you?

Follow the Believe In What's Possible page, 

Instagram, go to our Instagram. We have our 

 there as well. You can join our email list. You'll always get the emails from us. We're always posting on Instagram, always reposting stuff. You can even DM the Instagram page and we'll respond back. And then also, I'm a community organizer, so if you want to have coffee, want to sit down, talk more, get to understand how to do that, hit me up. 

It's such a big undertaking that you're doing with this, so I'm glad that we can use our platform to support you, and I'm hoping you can come back out here and tell us more about the events that you're doing.

Mamé Bioh in studio, Carbon Sound. Thank you so much.

Mamé Bioh stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about all things Believe In What’s Possible: from community-forward events to youth-centered political activations and fellowships.


Mamé Bioh stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about all things Believe In What’s Possible: from community-forward events to youth-centered political activations and fellowships.

The Message - Mamé Bioh

Interview: Mamé Bioh from Believe In What's Possible

DJ PEACEBOII is a DJ and event curator based in Minneapolis. He first started DJing because he felt a need to explore more diverse sounds he thought were missing from the Minneapolis scene. This solo endeavor soon became one built with other community members and creatives, leading to events like Battle for the Belt and various club appearances. 

In his mix for Carbon Sound, DJ PEACEBOII celebrates 5 years in the game with Afrobeats, R&B, and more. 

We chatted with DJ PEACEBOII about his background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

I'm DJ PEACEBOII, I feel like I DJ for the people. I like to read the rooms, see the vibes, see what's going on. I don't like to be put in a certain box. I feel like I could do Hip-Hop, R&B, Dancehall, even EDM, like, whatever the vibes is, I'm able to do it.

 I started DJing five years ago. I just came up on five years.

I just felt the need for it. It wasn't a lot of diversity as far as music in the Minneapolis scene, and that was something that I felt like I brought to the table. Just playing different stuff, not the same set, not the same music all the time, and giving people actual vibes.

Over the course of these five years, have you had favorite spots to DJ at?

I really don't have a favorite spot, because I pretty much DJ everywhere. As long as they got a good sound system, it works for me.

Do you have any highs and lows when it comes to DJing over that time?

Yeah, I mean it was one point where I was doing my own shows, I was killing it, doing my own thing, and then the venue that I was doing my stuff at had shut down for like a year. So that kind of messed me up, because I was known for having my own stuff. So it kind of switched my mindset to not just doing my own thing, but tapping in with other people, building relationships with other people. So if I do ever get in that type of situation, I won't just be stagnant, and not moving around and DJing.

You were mentioning how certain sounds in Minneapolis weren't being covered. Do you feel like that's changed?

Yeah, for sure. It's just right now we have a shortage on clubs, because a lot of clubs have shut down, but I feel like it's a lot of dope DJs out there that bring a lot of diversity now to the scene.

What can you tell us about Battle for the Belt?

That was something I came up with, I think it was last year, because I wanted to bring like, that competition to the Minneapolis scene. And I felt like we got a lot of dope artists, and everybody feel like they the best. So I'm like, "Shoot, let's see who gonna be the best." And then my boy 

, he reached out to me for the last one we just did, and me and him collabed on it, and it was a great turnout.

What observations did you make about putting competition on display like that?

If I'm being honest, you actually see who take it serious and who don't. You actually see who's just taking it as a hobby and who's actually trying to make it. It's like a big difference.

Knowing you take it seriously, what can we expect from this set today?

I'm energy, man. So it's just a lot of energy, a lot of dope vibes, I'm gonna try to get into some like transition, I'm gonna try to take it around and then bring it back, we just gonna travel everywhere, man.

Afrobeats and R&B from a Minneapolis club-favorite.


DJ PEACEBOII (4/22/26)

DJ PEACEBOII DJing in the Carbon Sound studio

Carbon Sound

 stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about starting his own business, his upcoming events, and more.

In studio, I've been talking about it all week, organizer of 

, a rolling paper company that hosts community events based around business education, fashion shows, and artist showcases — and honestly, I just met you last year, and you was hustling, Carbon Sound family, 

Thank you for the introduction, Sanni, and it's a pleasure.

So first and foremost, what is Diesel J and how did that come to be?

So there was a time where my nickname was Diesel. I have, like especially in college, I was just known to have good bud. I'm a connoisseur. I'm just very connoisseur minded.

Yeah, cannabis. I don't know, what terminology should we be using?

Yeah, exactly, right? That's what we trying to preach. But that's where the name Diesel J's came from. So we're an organic, all-natural rolling paper brand, and we host community events, mainly cannabis inspired, but we also do a few other ones too.

How do you put on community events? Because I feel like marijuana is legalized now, but I just grew up most of my life it was illegal. I don't know, I feel like I'm still in the dark ages of it being illegal, and I'm even still scared to say it on air.

Honestly, it was like right after COVID, I just stopped drinking. So I just went California sober. So it's been about, really, five years.

California sober just means that I don't drink alcohol, or if it's just a special occasion, I'll have a glass of champagne. But for the most part, I just consume cannabis.

What was the thing that made you decide to do that?

Honestly, I had a drinking problem. It was college, but just for a small town and things like that, I just saw what it really did to me and did to like, friends and family. And it was just one of those situations I saw how I was doing without it, and I'm like, "I can't go back." And so that's why I've been California sober for so long. And I just felt like cannabis has helped me be more creative, be more disciplined, and really just kind of figure out what I want to do, and I'm just going at it.

You just said that was what you was doing as a part of college life. And then you pivot into Diesel J's, into this company, what was the moment in COVID that made you be like, you want to go from consuming it, to "I want the community to be able to consume, as well as the culture" and coming together and creating this whole experience around it?

Honestly, it was for representation. In 2020 when COVID happened, I lost my job. So I was figuring out a lot of different things, I started doing reselling of electronics, and I wanted to get into business for sure, 100%. And by 2022, I wasn't drinking, I stopped smoking backwoods, I got the tobacco out of my system, and I just went through all the rolling papers that's out there, all the major brands, and I just didn't really like the experience with them. And I'm like, "Okay, let me just start my own." But what really made me go full out on it was, I have a best friend, he passed away in 2020, and it was kind of due to alcohol. I stopped drinking before that, but after that, I'm like, "Okay, I'm just gonna launch it." I can't really think on it. I'm a person who likes to plan so I had everything written out. It's like, "Okay, I just have to do it, and I'm gonna figure it out. I'm just gonna really apply what I know in business and really figure this out." Because that's the only thing I could do.

What does ownership and Black entrepreneurship mean to you, and how did that tie into you creating this business?

Ownership is huge to me. Have you heard of Earn Your Leisure?

So 2020, 2021 is when they launched, I watched one of their first three episodes on YouTube, and so I literally have been following their story since then. From what they were doing and who they were bringing on, and watching them literally start off a podcast just like this, using their phones just like this to kind of get where they're at now, I took that as inspiration and really watched them and took that into consideration with what I'm doing.

Okay, so when does the fashion show come in? How did you tie this in to that? Because I feel like a fashion show is so formal and everybody's got to be on they point, and this seems more like laid back and relaxed. How do you merge them two vibes?

I guess I'm kind of both. I'm from the military background, I've been doing sports since like sixth grade, so I'm very disciplined, detailed-oriented. I also like to smoke weed and kick back. Before I started even doing our own fashion show, I was a photographer for Black Fashion Week, so I was doing fashion shows, helping them put it together. We'd do seven shows a season, so I did that for a full year. One thing I always recommend to people, if you're really trying to get into a space, and if you're really trying to grow your skills, I just gave my photography for free. Like, this is a great way for me to step in, I was able to do that, they loved the work, I was able to meet a lot of people from there, really able to connect with a lot of different models, different artists. And they called me back the next season. Like, "Hey, we want you to do photography again, and this time we'll pay you. We really loved what you did last time." And plus, I was setting up, still kind of getting my name out there, and so I appreciate Black Fashion Week and Natalie Morrow for that. It was her, Shamika and Ambers Foundation. So that's kind of how I got started into fashion, like, actually working there. But my cousin, she's actually a designer, she was involved in New York Fashion Week. She was the very first fashion show I went to back in like, 2017. I just went out there with my cousins, one of my homies from high school, he was a model. So I'm like, "Okay, cool, this is pretty dope." I just came back from the military, so I was just chilling. Like, I'm about to go to college, it wasn't really anything I was in tune with, but that was my first experience with that. I came back to it once I started my business, because I'm like, "Let me do photography, because it'll save me money, I'll learn the skill, and I could use that as well." And that's kind of where it took me from there, and kind of seeing the lack of it, because I was going to fashion shows and I was going to cannabis events, a lot of them were still underground feel, even though it's kind of legal. And so what came to be was Smokin on the Runway, which was the fact that I have a cannabis brand, mainly rolling papers, but we have some apparel. People didn't really look at cannabis apparel, except for drug rugs, or Cookies, that was like the only major brand people know.

I'm telling you, I'm trying to figure out, where does the fashion come in? I have never thought of the cannabis community being known for fashion.

But there is designers, because guess what? All these same designers, artists, and models love cannabis. They never actually got to experience the actual events because —

They just, "I'm trying to just smoke weed. I'm not trying to get locked up." And so that's still that same stigma. So we're just trying to change that by bringing those two things together, and really showcasing these designers and these people who are cannabis advocates, and some of these designers, they don't have to be a cannabis brand. They're just incorporating cannabis themes into their designs, if that's symbolism, if that's materials like hemp and sustainability. So we do upcycle, so sustainability is a huge part of that. And then we also add a lot of color.

. Is the hemp folks gonna be in the building?

You know it's going to be, you're gonna see some great designs. And additionally, from the fashion show, we're gonna have a limited-edition collaboration with 

. It's going to be his album release as well. Keep that on the hush. I'm just kidding, tell everybody! We trying to have you guys come out. So it's gonna be a limited-edition release of the cones, they're going to be available there. We're gonna have some preorders, so I'm excited for that. This has been one of our goals, and there was just so much synergy coming up for it, and it just felt great.

I know you got your show on May 3, but do you have anything else that you could give us like a Carbon Sound exclusive about?

 afterparty May 14. And so NECANN, they are the Northeastern Cannabis Association. They do conferences like CHAMPS Trade Show, they do that all across the country, and they came to emerging markets. What I love about NECANN is they're very socially focused, so they work with the community to put this together. They have a percentage of their booth space set aside for social equity applicants. And then additionally, they try to make sure to highlight a lot of the different artists that are coming through. They have like an art basil. So we're doing the official afterparty for them. And it's just another way for us to really kind of grow, connect with different professionals across the country, and also kind of just introduce them to what Minnesota is about. So we're gonna do what we do already, and kind of do that for the conference afterparty, and show them what to expect of our Minnesota cannabis. And the teaser right here is we're trying to put together a free community event at the end of May and early June, and have it become a running series. Because one thing that we've talked about is during all this time and isolation with the cold, with Metro Surge and everything going on, there's a lot of trauma. Psychologically speaking, you need at least four to six positive experiences to kind of get over that negative experience in all relationships. And when I say relationships, I mean community as well. We're trying to put together these free community events, and these events in general, it's just kind of bringing back joy, like you need that so much, especially during this time. And the best way people feel that is through the arts. So we're definitely trying to bring that together.

How can we follow you? How can we keep up with you and support what you're doing, so that you can further continue to support the community with your projects.

 for our rolling papers. You can also find us at 

, which is abbreviations for smokinontherunwaymn.org.

Thank you so much Duol, thank you for coming out. What makes your rolling papers different than other people's rolling papers?

I'm glad you asked. So what makes our papers different from most of the papers that you see, is ours is not made out of hemp, it's not made out of rice paper, which is predominantly what's used. We use wood pulp. So ours are called brown paper, so they have a browner tint to them, so it's still all organic, all natural, wood pulp is. But it has like, thicker fibers, so it just burns slower, less likely to canoe. And I enjoy that texture and that consistency better, because if it's dry, or if it's kind of a little bit more moist, it still burns well, and it doesn't just flame out or burn unevenly.

Well, thank you. I really appreciate you coming into Carbon Sound fasho.

Duol Chut of Diesel J's and Smokin on the Runway stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about starting his own business, his upcoming events, and more.


The Message - Duol Chut

Interview: Duol Chut

 stopped by to talk Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about his new album, 

It's The Message, Carbon Sound Music for Life. An independent hip-hop artist, curator, community builder rooted in the Twin Cities, and just recently came out with one of the dopest hip-hop albums I've heard in 2026 so far. The name of the album is called 

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

So just straight out the gate, this album, 

. Where did that come from? It dropped February 23, 2026, we ain't too far removed.

So initially, I started recording another album. I started recording that, maybe, like, two years ago. And the producer of that album, he had a baby. So he was like, "Yo, I ain't gonna be able to really move around and do a lot of things." So, you know, I kind of took that opportunity just to create something new. And I started making songs, and literally, it just start forming itself, and it turned into 

. And as independent artists, a lot of times, we don't look at our journeys as careers, right? We tend to think it's just something that we do, and we love it or whatever, but no, this is a career. And you put a lot of time and effort and energy and money into this craft. It's a career. So I had to take a step back and kind of look at all of the things that I've done, and really just give myself a round of applause. We don't tend to do that so often. A lot of times, we just so stuck in like, survival mode, and I just gotta get it, I gotta get it. But sometimes it's cool to celebrate the wins, and look back at all of the things that you've gone through and say, "Wow, look where I'm at." I think about all of the times when I was a kid, and I would stand on the front porch of my mama's house in Chicago and pretend like I was on a stage and be rapping and doing all the things. And to look at my life now, I've touched all the stages that you can probably touch in this city. So yeah, that's a beautiful thing. I look at 

 as me looking at it from the standpoint of like, "Wow, I've done a lot," but also, "I got more to do."

What would you say are the top three things, real things, that make up Righteous Emcee that you poured into this album?

I would say vulnerability is probably the number one thing that I put into it, just being okay with saying certain things, right? Being ok with talking about what you've been through, being ok with telling your best friends that you love them. Just being ok with certain things because we live in a society where, especially for Black men, we're taught, "Hey, all that crying, check that at the door." But it's like, nah, it's okay to deal with things and go through emotions and feel certain things. So vulnerability was definitely one of them, I would say just knowing who you are. And I know for me personally, I won't speak for anybody else, but for me, I've always kind of been ok with playing the background, because I look at it as everybody has a role to play, right? Everybody has a position. And I've always just said, "Hey, y'all go to the front. I'm cool with playing it back. I'll work on this, and y'all be the stars." But it's like, I'm a star; I can shine bright too. So a lot of it is really about just me saying, "You know what, I know who I am."

I'm really glad you said that, because we have a lot of young people listening, and I need them to hear that. They have that star quality as well. Okay, what's the third thing you put in?

I would say just love. Love for the craft, love for the people in my life, love for my kids. It's kind of like how they talk about when your grandma or somebody would make a dish. They would say they put the love in it, measured everything and everything was delicious. And that's how I looked at this album, like, "I'm not gonna rush it." It took a while, it took a year and a half to complete, but it's like, "I'm gonna take my time, I'm gonna put my all into it, and I'm gonna really give everybody just all of me."

You can tell. There was a lot of rawness on the album. What does legendary mean to you?

I think that's for whoever is dealing with that, that's for them to decide. I don't think legendary comes with boxes to check off. I think it's however you look at it. Maybe you've overcome an addiction, "I'm legendary," right? Because I did something that so many people couldn't do or still struggling with, right? It could be anything, really. It could be anything that makes you feel like you're legendary. And I know for me personally, what makes me feel like I'm legendary is that when I look back in my life and look back at all of the things that I've been through and where I've come, I never knew that I would be married with children. I never thought that I would be on these stages, like I couldn't see past a year for a long time. But it's like now I'm here, I'm sitting with y'all, and I'm talking about this album, that's legendary to me. So it's whatever you want it to be.

How else are you gonna show us Righteous Emcee? What other events you got going on to show us the culture?

. It's for a show for a brother of mine who's out of New Orleans, he's coming here. So that's like the first performance that I'm having post the album. I'm kind of still in that creative mode right now, so I recently just dropped a three-piece special. And basically what that is, is for anybody who actually went to EVEN to purchase the album, I gave them access to three songs, three original songs that I created just for them to have. So I sent that to them, and everybody really enjoyed it. They really loved it. Somebody even said, "Hey, man, I'm loving this with the album, this is crazy." So I'm kind of in this space where I like giving out these small EPs that really pack a punch, so to speak. So I'm putting out another one very soon, but I'm gonna make that available to everybody, and that's gonna be coming soon. So yeah, I'm just really in creative mode right now. Got another album coming out, my brother 

 who's one of the dopest emcees, producers in the city, he's producing my next album that's gonna be coming out sometime in May, and that's gonna be called Subs No Dubs. Hope everybody appreciate that when it come out, and we gonna do it again.

We missed this question, but please tell us more about 

 is basically a platform where you can sell your music direct to consumer. And I've been kind of on that for a while and just trying to navigate, like, what's the best way to do that? Because sometimes you put something out and you put a price tag on it, some people feel a way about that, because things are so readily available now. I tell people all the time, streaming to me ain't nothing but a utility at this point. You pay your bill, you get it for the month, and you just pay it again. So you lose a sense of value when it comes to the music, right? It's just like it's always there. But when you actually have to go somewhere, pay for it, do the whole process, download it, all these type of things, you kind of appreciate it just a little bit more through that process. So I wanted people to really appreciate the music and sit with the music. You pay $10 for it, so, "Hey, I'm gonna actually sit with this and listen to it." And then also, you put a lot into the music. Studio time and mixing and mastering and all of these type of things, that ain't free, that costs money. So you want to see some type of return. But for me, it's really not about making the money off of the album. It's just about creating the space where the album can live and breathe. And it's just not something that you can just, "Oh, here it go right here, and I can skip through the songs," and "Oh, it got a little dot by the song, I guess that means that's the best song, let me listen to it." So it eliminates that, and you can just love and sit with the album.

Is there a handle we're supposed to follow you on?

, and then type in Righteous Emcee, and you'll find me.

How can we just keep up with you? What if we're new to town and we just happen to pull into the Twin Cities and we heard this interview, how do we keep up with Righteous Emcee?

Just follow me on Instagram. That's where I'm at, that's the hub for everything. Go to Instagram, 

 on Instagram. Anything new is happening with me, that's where you will probably see it.

 by Righteous Emcee. If you like lyricism, you like people talking that spit, okay, this is the album for you. In my opinion, no skips. Thank you for doing what you're doing. Thank you for being who you are, and thank you for coming in to Carbon Sound studios.

I appreciate you so much. I cannot wait to get that song in here. I already made somebody cry. What is it called?

“'95 Regal,” I knew it was a Buick! That Regal baby, that Regal done got me through some things. Thank you Righteous Emcee, thank you so much.

Righteous Emcee stopped by to talk Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about his new album, A Legendary Run.


Righteous Emcee stopped by to talk Carbon Sound’s host Sanni about his new album ‘A Legendary Run,’ creating community through Gladiator school, and more.

The Message - Righteous Emcee

righteous emcee posing in a polaroid photo

righteous emcee and sanni brown posing for a photo

A LEGENDARY RUN | ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT 

'95 Regal

Interview: Righteous Emcee

Effy Kawira, also known as Effygasm, is a DJ, director, writer, producer, and more. A masterful curator and worldbuilder, Effygasm uses her filmmaking experience to create sets from beginning to end that tell a story. One of her favorite parts about DJing is discovering new sounds, and she noted the importance of opening up audiences to fresh sonic experiences as a DJ.

In her mix for Carbon Sound, Effygasm was looking to party. She mentioned craving the experience of truly turning up with no thoughts and no worries. So, under the guidance of Effygasm, turn up to this set in your house, your car, or really anywhere, and dance away. 

We chatted with Effygasm about her background and intentions for the mix. Read a transcript of the interview edited for length and clarity below:

Are there any artistic practices you come from?

 Yeah, I do a lot of things. I guess I'd say I'm kind of multidisciplinary. I'm not only a DJ — I'm a director, I'm a writer, I'm a producer. What else do I do? I'm also on a journey of starting something very new that's coming out soon, which basically kind of ties in every single thing that I've learned from all of the various creative practices that I've invested my time and my energy into. And it's truly a culmination of all of it, which I'm really, really excited for it to come out, but I don't want to see too much...But you'll see it in like a month.

In the things you mentioned, I think of visual art. Has DJing helped you as a visual artist, or do you see them as separate practices?

I see them together. When I started creating more visual work, for example, like working in music videos, music would inspire visuals for me. I have a very visual brain, and I can think of what I see and describe it and express it. And I think that without music, I don't think my visual eye would be as refined. I think that there's an importance to my understanding of music and developing that practice, too. It goes into the whole process of building a world and trying to convey a message, and I think for me, comes a lot from what I hear and what things make me feel in that way. So I don't think that they're separate; I think more so they're intertwined for me. I think everything I do, in a way, feels like it's super intertwined.

Is that why you wanted to become a DJ? What's the origin story?

When I first started wanting to become a DJ, I was like, 18, 19 — no, actually, I was younger. This was like, SoundCloud, Majestic Casual, Tumblr, that era of music, and I wanted to be a DJ, because I felt like I was being introduced to all these different sounds. And my mind wasn't even thinking, like, "Oh yeah, I'm gonna produce." I was like, "I want to DJ." I think music became so much more interesting to me, and I felt like there was so much discovery that I wanted to be part of it. And so that's why I wanted to become a DJ, because I was just like, "Wow, I want to explore this. I want to share this as well." I think that was a big part for me, and then eventually I became a DJ.

Has that music discovery element been your favorite part about being a DJ? Or what would you say your favorite part is?

Yeah, I think the music discovery is really, really fun. I enjoy listening to something being like, "Oh my god, I love this. I can't wait to play this for other people, to hear how fire this song is." Or just to see people's reactions, I guess. And I think that DJs are important for introducing people to new sounds. I think a lot of people don't really take that time, like, it's really a study of its own. I don't think people take the time to discover new music or discover new genres. They just kind of stay in the lane of what they typically listen to, but as a DJ, you can open up people to new sonic experiences that they might have otherwise never heard of or ever experienced outside of you, and spark that curiosity for them to then go ahead and deepen that exploration for themselves, which I think is cool.

What are some notable highs and lows throughout your time as a DJ?

The highs of DJing are when you have a really great set, and you're excited about it, and then you play it, and everybody really, really loves it. And also, when you can truly build a set. I don't necessarily know how to explain it, but I'm sure y'all know what I'm talking about. When you build a set from beginning to end, and it feels like it's telling a story. I love those sets where I feel like I'm taking elements of my experience when it comes to filmmaking and telling a story through a set. That feels really satisfying to me. And lows — I hate playing for a crowd that wants to just hear the same shit. I don't want to play for a crowd who's not open to exploration, because then you're literally playing the same shit all the time. And I don't think that's a fun experience as someone who curates energy for any environment, and so I don't really enjoy those types of things. And I think sometimes clubs can be that way. But I also think it's particularly mainly in America, where it's like, people just want to hear what they want to hear, and people aren't open to new sounds or new sonic experiences. They want to hear the same shit that they listen to. And also TikTok. TikTok to me, I think ruins the experience of listening, because people only want to hear that sound bite that they heard on TikTok. But then once you're done with that, you have to transition because they don't want to hear it. They're now disengaged.

So I'm hearing exploration, discovery, storytelling. What kind of story are you hoping to tell for the Carbon Sound audience today?

Honestly, I've been in this energy where I'm craving, truly, to just freely party and turn up. I don't know, it sounds crazy, but I feel like I've just been desiring the experience of truly just turning up with no thoughts. And I feel like we don't have experiences like that anymore, where you could just go and turn up and be free and not worry about people being on their phone and people making videos of you, and you being in the video. And it's like, you have to be so aware of your experiences nowadays when you're out, even when you're just trying to enjoy yourself. I think for me, the set is that. I want people to just feel free, turn up in your house, turn up in your car, dance your ass off. That was the point of this. It's not going to be chill whatsoever. It's not a chill set at all.

Club, House, Amapiano, and so much more from a Minneapolis multidisciplinary star.


Effygasm (3/25/26)

Club, House, Amapiano, and more from Effygasm | Carbon Sound

Click here for more information. This initiative runs until Feb. 27, 2027.


Carbon Sound Community Listening Collective

Students from High School for Recording Arts (HSRA) sat down with Carbon Sound’s host Sanni and talked about the impact HSRA has had on their personal, educational, and creative growth.


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Interview: Righteous Emcee

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