Sitting in a dark corner of a Brooklyn café with her back facing the audience, Diana Reyes reaches for a slender paintbrush and carefully dips it into a vibrant shade of blue

When fly walks onto the stage, her presence ferociously commands the attention of her audience.

Last year, during my first trip to the Big Apple, I had the pleasure of meeting 25-year-old Alicia Boone at three a.m. on the two train headed toward Brooklyn. It was a chance meeting, one of mutual respect and a refreshing sense that young people here were making ‘art their business.’

Remember when girl groups were a recurring force in the mid to late ‘90s and tantalized our ears with soulful songs? Remember when neo-soul dominated the airwaves around the same time and everyone wanted to don crochet hats and celebrate their natural beauty and “otherness”?

Twenty-nine year-old director Amber Sharp may be young, but she isn’t new to hard work and the fickleness of the film industry. Over the past several years, she’s worked with big and lesser named Hollywood directors and released two short films, one of which (Triple Minority) airs regularly on LOGO’s Best in Short Film series.

On the heels of Raheem DeVaughn’s collaborative tour with Jill Scott, we discussed the celebration of his new album, Love Behind The Melody and why his sound carries the weight of longevity.

By daring to create award-winning protagonists based on romance rather than racism and promise rather than prejudice, writer Connie Briscoe finds herself among a group of renaissance women who have carved a new mold for Black female writers.