Imani Ellis spent years looking for a space in New York City to serve as a cultural and networking hub for Black professionals and creatives of color like herself. She attended small-scale events, considering the many ways she would do it differently and better. She recalled a famous quote by President Barack Obama: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” And it hit her. “Maybe I had to be the one to create what I was looking for.”

Cue Culturecon, a leading cultural destination for—and by—diverse creatives and young professionals. Imani’s original idea was a bimonthly gathering of 10 friends and friends of friends in her apartment eating tacos. Over time and with the help of many collaborators, the idea grew into the experience boasting 3,000+ attendees that it is today. “I’m always so in awe that these brave spaces resonate with the larger community,” Imani told For the Record. 

This year, CultureCon New York has expanded into a full weekend conference with a block party and a career fair. As Imani put it, “It’s a year of a lot of firsts”—including a collaboration with Spotify. We are the streaming home for the official CultureCon playlist, and this weekend we will host an interactive “Hear Me Out” audio booth at Activation Alley. We’ll also run CultureCon’s first-ever live Talk That Talk podcast pitch contest cohosted by Lovers & Friends podcast host Shan Boodram.

Ahead of the convention this weekend, For the Record talked to both Imani and Shan about collaborations, communication, and culture.

First up, Imani Ellis. 

What are some notable moments that have come out of past CultureCons? 

One of the biggest collaborations that I’m proud of happens within our team. We are a group of about 25 individuals, and everyone’s a unicorn with a unique perspective. The gumbo that is CultureCon is such a collaborative effort. I think it’s a space where we can disagree on things and wildly agree on other things. And what comes out of that collaboration is culture. And so I like to say that CultureCon is kind of like a love story to our community.  

Another story that I’m proud of is Mark Clennon—an incredible photographer and a dear friend. He was our first-ever portrait photographer and shoots our talent every year. He’s gone on to shoot the cover of TIME magazine and incredible projects like that. CultureCon is growing, his star is growing. It’s really inspiring to be able to grow our community and see it evolve over time. 

Why is it especially important to provide networking opportunities for Black entrepreneurs and creators?

Access and equity is so crucial. We don’t know what we don’t know. I have a background in publicity, but I didn’t know I could be a publicist until I met a publicist. There’s so many resources that we are providing within the ecosystem that we’re creating a CultureCon. For example, students get to attend CultureCon for free and experience many different opportunities before they even leave college and begin their career journey. 

And I think at a bare minimum, we all deserve a space where we can truly be our whole self.  There’s a level of holding your breath as a Black person in America, that is just a part of the experience, whether you’re navigating different corporate roles or just navigating the world. It’s so important to come into a space and know that it was built for you—that we’re not just asking you to fit into a box—there’s a relief that washes over you when a space has been built with you in mind. We want to provide relief. 

How do you stay on top of culture and trends? What podcasts, shows, audiobooks, or publications do you follow? 

I’m a New York Times girl. I come from a publicity background, so I have a lot of diverse streams of content. I also read The Shade Room and watch and listen to NowThis; I love snackable pieces of information. How I Built This is another personal favorite. My group chat keeps me super current and serves as my newsroom. So if I’m missing something, and let’s be honest, my goodness, the cycle never ends, the group chat keeps me on my toes. 

Everyone should watch the first two seasons of The Bear. I cried like a baby. My sister is a chef and I felt it on a molecular level. It’s incredible story writing and fantastic watching. Currently, I’m reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin and I’m about halfway through. I also love We Can Do Hard Things, Glennon Doyle’s podcast, and Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday. When it comes to audiobooks, I’m looking forward to listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear and More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth.  

Spotify is honored to host the official CultureCon playlist. What do you want to see on that playlist?

I definitely want to see some SZA, Usher, Burna Boy, Fred Hammond, and Kendrick Lamar. I wanna see Ice Spice. A little bit of Cardi B and some Offset. And Outkast. (I’m from Atlanta, so we absolutely need to sprinkle something from the South in there.) We just want to have people really excited, high energy. It’s a celebration after all!

How does Spotify align to the CultureCon mission? What are you most looking forward to in our partnership? 

I love any partnership that incorporates something that I’m already utilizing in my life. So when I think about our partnership with Spotify and I think about how important music is to culture, it feels natural and seamless to amplify Spotify’s platform and amplify how important music is to our culture. Together we’re working on the incredible podcast pitch program. The DMs have been crazy, our audience is so excited. It’s such a testament to Spotify’s dedication to creatives and creators to do this contest and I’m really excited to see what comes out of it! 

Talk That Talk 

This year at CultureCon, we’re curating homegrown experiences to discover the next wave of audio creators and amplify the voices of those already in the game. The Talk That Talk podcast pitch winner will be awarded with the production of one pilot episode at our Brooklyn, New York, podcast studio. Announcing the winner from the CultureCon stage will be Lovers & Friends podcast host Shan Boodram. We caught up with Shan for more.  

You’ve been an intimacy expert for over a decade. What prompted you to share your knowledge on the Lovers & Friends podcast?

The honest answer is a lot of pressure from my management, combined with a really good deal and opportunity. That’s why I’m excited for the pitch contest at CultureCon. Sometimes you need that push. Back in 2021, I just felt like the space was so oversaturated. I was feeling really intimidated by it. It felt like adding my voice was going to be daunting, and I didn’t know if there was going to be space for me. So I kept pushing it off.

But then I had a great opportunity with More Sauce, a subdivision of Stitcher, which came out of the Black Lives Matter 2020 movement, to amplify Black voices. And it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. 

Since entering the sex and intimacy space, have you noticed any shifts in conversation and who’s leading it? 

Oh, my god, it’s really changed. And if you need a time when it got a battery pack—it was the pandemic. It really exploded. It’s fascinating—there was Sue Johnson in the U.K. and Dr. Ruth in America, but especially for women who are Black, women of color, there were no women who were Black, no women of color, no women like me when I first began. And that is not the case today. There’s so many incredible people who have taken up this space and who are educating and sharing information, whether it be from an expert perspective or from a personal one. 

And now I just want more more more. As somebody who is mixed with Black, I want women who are unambiguously Black to be in this space. This is an area where it’s so personal. What makes it powerful is hearing from people who look like us, from people you can identify with, and in space that’s already so intimate, so vulnerable, it’s even more important to have that comfortability of identity. So more women of color, more Black women, more Black trans women, more Black queer women. I want people to say, “Now that I know I can do this, I can have this as a career, and take up space, and share my voice.” 

You’re helping announce the winner for the podcast pitch contest. What are a few tips aspiring podcasters should keep in mind?

When you’re trying to pitch something or create something, there’s a natural tendency to look at the market and see what’s missing and ask, “How can I fill that gap?” And that works, if your main goal is to build an audience and get really big really fast. But podcasting is a marathon, not a sprint. You’re gonna be doing this every single week for an hour and using all your friends and relationships. Come back to me at episode 100. 

So rather than trying to find the thing that you think is an untapped market, look into your group chats and pick the thing that you just naturally talk about every single day. Go through your feeds and see what’s on your trending pages. Whatever it is, just be very authentic with the thing that you’re actually interested in that you care about that you talk about for free. 

I also have a consulting board for my podcast, people I pay to give me feedback and another perspective about telling interesting stories and telling them respectfully. I ask them what they’re listening to, what’s on their trending pages. It’s important to be a consumer, but I also believe that when taking on the responsibility of a podcaster, you have to serve the interests of the community. So I stay in touch with some members of my community directly to hear about what they care about, to get feedback on my own work, to get that consulting before I record. 

What are you hoping to bring to CultureCon this year? 

I hope to bring inspiration and reality. I want to inspire people to put their voice out there, especially given my story. I want to inspire people to get over their fear and get into podcasting. It can be one of the most enriching and meaningful parts of your business. There’s something really special about carving out a space every single week where you devote yourself to something that you love. 

Catch the official CultureCon NYC 2023 playlist, only on Spotify.

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