Join MOFAD and WNYC’s The Greene Space for an exploration of the relationship between food and music in Black and Latinx cultures.

Food, like music, is shaped by our climate, socio-economic circumstances, and our heritage. Both are a product of these broader contexts and articulation of our struggles and triumphs within them.

Featuring critically acclaimed chefs, Edward Brumfield and Eric Rivera; founder of YO STAY HUNGRY Syreeta Gates; music culture writer Naima Cochrane; and food history and culture scholar Nia-Raquelle Smith, this panel will delve into the parallels and trends that articulate the struggles and triumphs embodying these cultural forms of expression. The event will also feature the art of burgeoning digital artist Taylor Collier and a cooking demo from Chef Eric Rivera of Addo Seattle.

We will discuss the parallels in how artists' communities and food cultures are targeted and exploited by outside forces. As culinary tastes spread, they connect disparate cultures - but exposure comes with risk. We will explore how the relationship between food and music in Black and Latinx culture grounds us, fuels us, and inspires us.

* This event will be held online from 8-9:30 PM EST on September 30th, 2020. You will receive the viewing link from The Greene Space in a separate email before the event. Additionally, a playlist will be sent to ticket holders along with a final confirmation email from MOFAD.

*By purchasing tickets to Culinary Lyricism, you are agreeing to sign up for emails from The Greene Space.

EDWARD BRUMFIELD

Chef Edward Brumfield continues to explore his creative passion for the culinary arts. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Chef Ed’s culinary fascination began at home as a child with his dad, Ed Sr. His father taught him specialized cooking techniques from his hometown in Louisiana.

Realizing his calling, Chef Ed attended The New York Restaurant School for culinary arts, where he graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts and Hotel Management in 2003. After honing his experience at well-established restaurants.

One of the many highlights in Chef Ed’s career was creating a catering menu, and meeting former first lady, Michelle Obama at an intimate luncheon event in 2015. In 2017, Chef Ed added another highlight to his career when he began working with Marcus Samuelsson.

In addition Chef Ed curates unique dinners inspired by 90’s Hip Hop lyrics called Chef Ed’s Mix Tape Dinners. Where he honored Nas, Wu-Tang’s Raekwon the Chef, Missy Elliott, The Lox, Source 360 and the Late Notorious B.I.G and many others.

TAYLOR COLLIER

Taylor Collier is a graphic designer and illustrator born and based in Birmingham, AL.

Taylor has always gone through life learning through creativity and self-expression in whatever medium she could. She started seriously designing at the age of 15, experimenting mostly with digital media and graphic design. Taylor's artistic interests broadened in high school where she participated in Advance Placement Art classes and immersed herself into painting, drawing, and photography. She continued on to college at the University of Montevallo, acquiring a degree in Political Science.

Outside of her matriculation and work life, she continued to follow a path of mastery in graphic design and digital illustration through freelancing opportunities. Now, Taylor continues to create and enhance her skills as she transitions into designing full-time.

NAIMA COCHRANE

Naima Cochrane, a 20 year music industry veteran turned writer, historian and curator. In 2017, she started #MusicSermon, a weekly music series via Twitter that quickly went viral and created a community of music lovers seeking both nostalgia and education. Her storytelling through #MusicSermon soon led to Naima writing and speaking about Black music and culture regularly for outlets including Billboard, Vibe, Vice, Essence, NPR and the NY Times Popcast.

In addition to writing and research/curation, Naima is still an artist manager and marketer who approaches her work with all clients from the angle of shaping their stories in authentic ways.

SYREETA GATES

Syreeta Gates is a creative, art collector, and archivist committed to preserving hip-hop culture. As a collector, Syreeta curates collections that capture the music and movement of hip hop. Her curation extends into building the hip hop movements through creating experiences. Syreeta drives innovation in culture through building strategic connections around hip hop.  This lead to the creation of productions like “Yo Stay Hungry” – a live culinary competition that bridges hip hop with food and beverage and “Write On! The Legend of Hip-Hop’s Ink Slingers,” a documentary film featuring the never before told story about the writers and journalists that created and shaped the language for hip-hop culture. Gates’ archival work includes research for “The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion”, “A Ballerina’s Tale” and support for films, including “Finding the Funk” and “The Triptych.”

The founder of The Gates Preserve (a multimedia experience company) and The Gates Preserve Archive (an archive committed to collecting, organizing, preserving, and providing access to non-current hip-hop documents stored in both a physical and digital repositories.) Gates was awarded Glamour Magazine’s “Top 20 Under 25.” She has been featured in Forbes, RedBull, Black Enterprise, and many other outlets.

Syreeta holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Youth Culture from Hunter College and a Master’s degree in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation from New York University. A native New Yorker, Syreeta is based in Queens, New York. #QGTM

ERIC RIVERA

Hailing from Olympia, Washington with family roots in Puerto Rico, Eric Rivera started his career in business but cooking was always his passion and he wasn’t afraid to hustle to get where he is today.

His journey to Eric Rivera Cooks, A Restaurant Group, has taken many noteworthy twists and turns, including a 3-plus year stint at Alinea in Chicago, where he was Director of Culinary Research Operations working alongside chef-owner Grant Achatz.

Eric, a graduate of the Culinary School at the Art Institute of Seattle, traces cooking back to when he was a small child. Growing up in a Puerto Rican family that celebrated food, Eric often cooked with his grandfather.

Now with his own restaurant group, Eric plays to his guests’ sense of discovery, “It’s an exploration of the whole flavor spectrum where you can go from sweet to savory to sour in one bite,” he says.

Addo is the flagship project for his restaurant group where many projects are in the works that will someday find their own homes outside of the Addo ecosystem.

NIA-RAQUELLE SMITH

Nia-Raquelle Smith is an independent scholar studying the intersection of food, race, gender, policy and Black and Latinx pop culture. Her current research primarily focuses on the role of food in Black and Latinx pop culture, specifically in music and television. A native of Brooklyn, NY, she completed her graduate studies at Drexel University and her undergraduate degree at Hunter College.

THE GREENE SPACE

The Greene Space channels the collective genius of New York City to create forward-looking live art, theater and journalism that sparks change. WNYC Terms of Use.