What is Black? Mixcast

The What Is Black? Mixcast project is part podcast, part zine, and part multimedia mixtape that breaks down what it means to be a Black creative. Launched on November 17, 2021, this project defies the myth of a Black monolith through fresh conversations with featured guests around their existence in a field, industry, and world where their voices are often drowned out.

The What is Black? Mixcast features a series of five podcast episodes, hosted by the artist, that consist of conversations with five featured guests from the Black diaspora about their interests, inspirations, and expressive media of choice. The first episode of the season launched on November 17, 2021, with following episodes releasing biweekly on Wednesdays through January 2022. The episodes are available on the artist’s website at https://whatisblackpodcast.com/ as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.

Each episode of the podcast is accompanied by a limited edition zine, available free of charge at various distribution points in the city. Each zine builds and expands upon the content shared during each episode. The zines include episode excerpts, imagery related to the featured guest or topics discussed, and artwork or creative samples supplied by the guests.

Distribution begins in December 2021 at the following locations:

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Hill District, 2177 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
• Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5530 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
• BOOM Concepts Reading Room and Black Unicorn Library, 5139 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224

At the conclusion of the season, a USB Drive Cassette Cartridge will be designed by the artist that features an anthology of all five episodes, plus additional bonus content. This “mixtape” will include MP3s of the podcast episodes, PDFs of the zines, and JPGs of artwork supplied by featured guests. The mixtape will be offered in limited quantities to the public for purchase in 2022. More information will be shared on this website when available.

Listen to current and past seasons of Jason McKoy’s What Is Black? Podcast on his website.

The open call for season 3 featured guests is now closed. To apply to be a featured guest in a future season, click the link below. To be eligible, guests must identify as Black and/or from the Black diaspora.

Jason McKoy is a brand consultant, ARTvocate, social innovator, and self-proclaimed weirdo. Living with major depressive disorder has informed how he navigates the world creatively. He is the founder of McKoy Creative, a warm hug for your business providing creative services from concept to completion that benefit communities. When not making stuff, he’s either playing video games or sleeping. He hails from NYC.