We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Talib Jasir. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Talib below.
Talib, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
The annual Afros & Audio Podcast Festival started because of a 4 episode rom-com fiction podcast. In 2017, I wrote, produced, and directed “The Fussings: Until One of Us is Dead” and went in search for a community of Black fiction podcast creatives for support and resources. In recent years, there has been a significant increase of fiction podcasts by Black creators but at that time there were only a few and even fewer who were independent. A year went by and Afros & Audio went nowhere and as a creative I was used to starting something and moving on just as quickly but this time was different. There was something about the name Afros & Audio and the logo that felt permanent.
Instead of doing what I typically would do when something didn’t work out creatively, I requested a meeting with a fellow member of Mastermind Connect, a men’s collective for progressive men of color who happened to be a podcaster. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the brand all I knew is I wanted to see my vision through to build community around podcasting. The meeting didn’t last for 20 minutes but as I walked onto the busy New York City street, I decided that I would start the first two-day conference for and by Black independent podcast creatives and audio professionals. Only problem was I had never did anything at that scale in my life and I was more afraid of its success than if it failed.
Talib, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am an advocate for “the people” and our collective power. I am also a founder, visionary, author, dual certified life coach, and podcast producer.
I was born a twin in Baltimore, MD but spent my earliest years traversing the backwoods of Maryland’s Eastern Shore under the guardianship of my Great Grandmother. Where I was reared by a village of resourceful folk and learned the strength of community, love (as a verb), and the power of language.
I am a creative entrepreneur with over 19 years of professional experience managing accounts in marketing and advertising. In 2018, I founded Afros & Audio Podcast Festival the first two-day conference for and by Black Podcast Creatives and Audio Professionals. Afros & Audio continues to expand with our partnership with the “Black Podcasters Association” and production company, Vanguard Podcast Network in 2020. I am also a registered RYT-200 Yoga Teacher Trainer and dual-certified Emotional Wellness Coach with a focus on creatives, podcast creators, and entrepreneurs.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The mission of Afros & Audio is to ensure equity in a developing and evolving media industry. In contrast to television and radio, podcasting is still a relatively new medium. I believe that it is up to podcast creatives and audio professionals to understand what’s at stake when conglomerates are the only ones that have the ability to “win” in an industry that couldn’t exist without its content creators.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
The Afros & Audio conference is still very much a grassroots project, and each year that it’s been in existence we have had a need for funding, marketing, and affordable venues. The first year, we lost our venue a month to the day before the event. The fact that the event took place at all was due to determination and resourcefulness. For the past two years, we continued the event virtually due to the global pandemic that impacted us all. This year, we’re back in person which is exciting but the financial needs far exceed the slow pace in which we’ve been forced to scale due to the setbacks of Covid-19 which not only impacted our business but potential sponsors, and most importantly our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.afrosandaudio.com
- Support Matters: Support Afros & Audio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afrosandaudio
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/afrosandaudio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/afros-audio-llc
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/afrosandaudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnBvQ5SEDJb1S_AHHjdhTNg