Imani Ellis, the dynamic founder and CEO of CultureCon and The Creative Collective, is pushing the boundaries of storytelling with her new video podcast CultureCon UnCut. The show, which spotlights the creative journeys of Black culture-shifters, offers everyone a first-hand perspective about both the triumphs and the challenges of their careers and personal lives.
As the host, Ellis provides a space for guests to share their experiences, giving audiences the tools and teachings to excel within their respective fields of endeavor. In this case, knowledge is something that isn’t exclusive to only the listener. “I think I learned something in every conversation because with CultureCon Uncut, we were going deeper than we ever have in these conversations,” she admits. “That’s kind of the joy of the series—really being unfiltered and raw.”
Each episode of the series dives into the multifaceted nature of success, showing how creatives move through different seasons of their lives. Ellis hopes that listeners will see themselves in these stories, whether they’re in a period of stagnation or a time of abundance. “It’s not always winning season, it’s not always conditioning season,” she states. “We all move through these different seasons, so I think that’s going to be very encouraging for people.”
As CultureCon NYC approaches in October, the show serves as a perfect lead-up to the event. “CultureCon Uncut is really a taste of what you’re going to get in person at CultureCon,” the Vanderbilt graduate notes. The podcast’s finale is timed to coincide with the conference, which will be packed with programming, workshops, and celebrity appearances, and Ellis envisions the podcast as an extension of the CultureCon experience, helping to prepare the masses by offering intimate, weekly conversations.
Looking ahead, Imani is eager to see CultureCon UnCut grow. She envisions future episodes that continue to push the boundaries of creative discussions. “The sky’s the limit for us,” she says. With her trademark optimism, Imani is poised to keep expanding the impact of both the podcast and the broader platform, inspiring a new generation of creatives to forge their own paths, just as she has.
ESSENCE: So what inspired you to launch CultureCon Uncut in partnership with Spotify?
Imani Ellis: CultureCon has really become known for telling really great stories where Black and brown creatives can show up in the fullness of themselves, both talking about the triumphs and the moments that are larger than life but also sharing moments of vulnerability or when maybe they had run into challenges. So CultureCon Uncut takes it a step further. We are unfiltered, raw, uncensored, and just really talking to some incredible individuals and talking about moments of incredible joy and moments where they weren’t really sure about the next step.
So when we thought about bringing these stories to life, Spotify and CultureCon, we’ve been partnering in different ways over the years, and this was just such a beautiful, seamless next step to take together, especially because of our shared values and just how well we work together.
What was your process in choosing which guests you wanted to incorporate within the first season of this podcast?
We just wanted people who really had something to say, especially about the difficulty of their journey at times. This season we have so many great conversations, we have Rickey Thompson, who is blowing up social media and doing it his own way, and Fawn Weaver, who is building a billion dollar brand as an entrepreneur of Uncle Nearest. Elaine Welteroth, who of course started in the editorial space but is the definition of what it means to kind of carve your own lane and pivot. Jay Ellis, who is America’s favorite boyfriend on Insecure, and then of course Jordyn Woods as well, really navigating what it’s been like to grow up in the spotlight and not come into that later in your life. And so what you’ll see is these are all very different kinds of conversations. We touch on everything from dating to being in your waiting season to a lot of the joy and challenges of entrepreneurship. So there’s a little bit of something for everyone.
You speak to a lot of people, and you interact with a lot of people. In speaking with some of your guests, is there anything that surprised you about one or more of their journeys?
I think one of the things I really loved was what Fawn Weaver said in her episode. She really talks about reimagining challenges as an entrepreneur or if you’re not an entrepreneur. And so she calls herself a hurdler and she says, “Hurdlers expect hurdles.” And I love that because I think a lot of times in entrepreneurship when it gets hard, we’re kind of surprised like, “Wait, this is hard.” But I think she helped me realize that hard things are hard. So it’s not that you’re not expecting them, but it’s like, “How can I keep my eye on the goal despite an obstacle, despite a hurdle?” And that really stuck with me because it really expanded my mind in terms of life is not going to be no obstacles, no hurdles. So because we know that, how can we prepare ourselves to face these challenges and not let them stress us out?
In addition to what you’ve learned from your guests, what do you hope that listeners will take away from the creative journeys discussed in this podcast?
I think one of the things I hope listeners take away is really leaning into the seasonality of your life. I think one of the things we’re doing is we’re taking these larger than life people, culture shifters, and we’re really showing the duality and the seasonality of your life. So I think that’s going to be very encouraging for listeners who maybe they are in a waiting season and it feels like it’s never going to change, or maybe they are in a slower season and it feels like the sun’s never going to come up. I really hope that they take away optimism and hope and they can see themselves or pieces of themselves in all of these different conversations.
I love that. I know you’re excited because CultureCon NYC is right around the corner. How does this podcast serve as a lead-up to that event?
We’re going to be having the same conversations like the ones that we’re having at CultureCon Uncut live on our culture stage. And I think guests who are really getting ready for what they can expect or the types of vulnerability they can expect, they can tune in every single week to listen to CultureCon Uncut, and we’ve timed it perfectly so that the finale is happening right leading up to CultureCon so that our community doesn’t have to wait much longer to experience the event side of the conference.
You’ve been an inspiration as an entrepreneur but as a philanthropist as well. I wanted to ask: What advice would you have for a creative that’s just starting their career?
I think some advice I’d have for them is to really give as much thought to the aesthetic as also to the function. So I think a lot of times creatives, we are so inspired and we’re very visually inspired people, so we might gravitate towards the logo or the brand colors or things that you can really feel and taste and touch. But I really also encourage creatives to think about the inside of the cake, which is going to be more the function. So what are you trying to build? Is there an actual audience for it? And is there any case studies or data that shows you that this is going to be a viable business? Because one of the things we can kind of relieve ourselves from is every idea doesn’t have to be monetized. Sometimes your ideas should be hobbies, and what you find is when you try to monetize them, you no longer like them.
I love thrifting. I love estate sales. I thought for a second I was going to start a business where I opened up an antique shop, but what I found was something that I loved as a hobby, when I tried to sell tickets and monetize it, suddenly I didn’t like doing it anymore. So I would encourage creatives and entrepreneurs to really ask themselves, “Is this idea for me only or is this an idea I need to bring to the world?” And once you have answered that, then you can just hit the ground running.
“Every idea does not have to be monetized.” See, I have to write that one down because that’s definitely a word, for sure.
We got to free ourselves.
Being a fellow creative, you think that whatever you do, you have to be able to get paid for it. I definitely love that advice, and I’m going to take that in. So, how do you envision CultureCon Uncut evolving in the future? Are there any topics or guests you’re eager to explore in future episodes?
I’m so excited for this opportunity. I think the community, as we’ve seen, is really rallying behind it, and they’re excited to see the types of conversations that we’re having that you really don’t see in a lot of places. Obviously, we’re focused on its first amazing season, but we’d love to continue working with [Spotify]. I think that, like I mentioned, we have such amazing shared values and missions and audiences and so would love to continue CultureCon Uncut and continue telling these stories.
