July 30, 2025 ā¢ 40 mins
In this special birthday month episode - We dive into a mix of celebrating the entire month in true Leo fashion while also tackling topics like teen slang and corporate buzzwords. The highs and lows of Essence Festival and SumFest, and the importance of community in these events. Sanika addresses the need for clarity, transparency, and intentionality in organizing large festivals, urging for feedback to be met with modifications and improvements. She also emphasizes the significance of being present at such events and discusses the evolving landscape of community organizing and festivals, highlighting new generations of organizers who bring intentionality, intimacy, and integrity to the forefront.
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Sanika is a storyteller, vibe architect, and crowd igniterāpassionate about self-discovery, culture, and the power of words. With a background in technology and marketing communications, sheās built a platform rooted in authenticity and resonance. Whether commanding the stage or leading deep conversations, Sanika doesnāt just hold spaceāshe transforms it. Her work inspires growth, challenges perspectives, and amplifies the voices that need to be heard most
As the host of How Do You Divine?, she invites listeners to redefine meaning, embrace transformation, and navigate lifeāone word at a time. Her mi...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Welcome back to this episode of How Do You Divine.
And today we are gonna stick up.
Pin Yes, the show Were we.
Pause, reflect and hold ourvibe.
I'm your host, Sonika Nikki.
And listen, this stick up hintepisode is very special because
it's my birth day, month.
It's my birth day, month.
(00:21):
And yes, you really be thinkinglike birthday month, the girl we
celebrate day.
Not over here.
Okay?
In true Leo fashion.
We celebrate the entire month ofAugust, and now if we're honest,
the world actually celebratesholidays in August.
Everyone feels a vibe in August,so welcome back and let's get
(00:42):
into it.
in honor of my birthday, we'regiven fresh episodes every
single week.
That's every single Wednesday.
So grab a snack, take a littlewalk and lock in, because we
making space for truth growthand a little bit of mess in
between Exploring how we grow.
We evolve and we do thattogether as a community.
(01:02):
This week we're talking TeenTalk drama, corporate Cap
Essence Festival, some fest, andthat little deeper shift in how
we gather Oh, and of coursewe're ending with full Leo
season energy because duh.
First, let's get into teen talkand broken communication.
I was mid-conversation with myteenager when I caught myself
(01:26):
saying literally.
At least three times.
I was like, literally, I can'tbelieve this is literally just
literally happened.
I had to stop and said tomyself, Sika, girl, what are you
saying?
It is interesting.
Having a teenager will hijackyour entire vocabulary.
You'll start repeating theirslang and picking up on weird
(01:49):
cadences and even mirroringtheir dramatics, and suddenly,
here we are all in the midst ofchaos.
Suddenly we start sounding likeone of them, like we live on
TikTok and every day is acrisis.
I miss the bus.
It's the worst day ever.
I can't find my AirPods, callthe authorities.
I had to stick up in and remindmyself one.
(02:12):
I'm a millennial, I'm not ateenager.
And one of us needs to have anemotional regulation.
Spoiler alert, it's me.
Okay.
If you have a teenager or a lotof young people around you, take
a break, take a pause.
Maybe they may be affecting yourcommunication style.
'cause I know my teenager hasdefinitely.
Impacted mine, so no moreliterally.
(02:34):
And if you hear me, call me out.
Literally what the literally,ābut let's pivot to corporate
life for a second.
Why are so many people.
Using these fancy languages tosay absolutely nothing.
now incorporate It's, let'salign on the strategic levers
(02:55):
that optimize cross-functionalverticals for a scalable
synergy.
Say what now?
No.
What are we doing?
Say it clean and say itstraight.
As someone who has sold retainedsoftware and built partnerships
and coach leaders.
Here's what I've learned.
Vagueness is a form ofavoidance.
If you can't say it clear, youprobably don't understand it
(03:18):
yourself, generalization killsclarity.
And clarity builds trust.
So stick up in, if you areleading, stop hiding behind
buzzwords.
Precision is power.
Take your time to articulateyourself, your mission, and what
your ideal outcome would be.
Just hold up in, stick it thereand take your time.
(03:41):
Now let's raise the vibes.
It is summertime in New YorkCity, and if you already know
what that means.
Rooftop rum punch on beer,linkups, everyone is outside.
For me every single summer.
It is like I'm honoring my20-year-old self.
Because 20-year-old Sanika wasnot outside doing anything.
(04:02):
20-year-old sneaker was raisingchildren, creating systems.
So she wasn't beon, she wasn'tat the function.
She was working heads down inrooms, building my career, and
also nurturing my family.
She was invited, but I wasn'tout.
So now I go outside for her.
I flirt with joy for her.
(04:23):
I laugh and dance for her.
So stick a pin and celebrate theversions of yourself who didn't
have the time.
Maybe the resources for softlife.
Give her a little something,something everything she didn't
have she can have today.
So as someone who truly enjoys aNew York summer.
Get into it'cause it's a goodtime.
(04:43):
Okay.
A very good, good time.
And if summertime, wherever youare, can also be an amazing
time.
So please take the time, enjoythe spaces, because we only have
one life to live.
If you get an invite, consideractually going outside.
And speaking of going outside,let's talk about these
festivals.
(05:04):
s in fest because Woo, theconversations online are hot.
I went last year and honestly Ihad a time, Southern Bells,
Caribbean, Queens, Midwestmamas, African aunts, blackness
was blending in, shining in allits form.
Yes, there were hiccups.
Yes, there were moments
Speaker (05:24):
that I was,
Speaker 2 (05:26):
could have been tighter, right?
But the pros definitelyoutweighed the cons.
So when I see all these heatedconversations online and people
dragging it this year, I have toask the question, are we being
too critical of our own or areexpectations not being set
(05:47):
clearly enough?
The Essence Festival in NewOrleans is historic.
It brings women from all acrossthe world to enjoy and have a
moment of sisterhood.
That moment that we are notaccustomed to that moment, that
just feeds our souls and ourhearts.
There is something special aboutEssence Festival and we cannot
(06:10):
deny that, but as we grow and weevolve, it is a community.
It is fair to question, is itstill meeting the need?
Is the execution aligning withits actual mission?
It's fair to question, but howwe question each other has to be
different when it's within ourown community.
How we question what ourexpectations versus what we were
(06:34):
given is rightfully so, but how?
But questioning the experience,isn't justified.
Because for me, as a black womanin America, essence has always
been a beacon of love and honorfor black women.
I think we should question theexecution question, the
(06:57):
production value question, theamount of time and integrity it
takes to put on such a festival.
And then ask yourself,everything requires resources.
Where are the resources?
And if the resources isdependent on having certain
sponsorships that we are nolonger aligned with.
(07:17):
Let's discuss how thoseresources are being used.
As we evolve as a community, Ithink transparency will be the
key to unlock unity because.
There are strong emotions aroundsponsorships, experiences,
concerts, the performances,their favorite artists.
Each and every aspect of thisfestival holds an independent
(07:40):
part of someone's experience,someone's life, right?
I remember last year when I wentand saw Janet Jackson.
I was like, oh my God.
This is Janet Jackson, thesister of the amazing Michael
Jackson.
And I recalled moments in mychildhood when I first saw Janet
Jackson.
So that personal experience inconjunction with how the concert
(08:05):
was being ran and seeing ReginaKing come on that stage and the
way.
Everyone held her with so muchlove and honor, and it brought
me to tears because we love usand Katrina King.
And now hearing about whathappened this year, at Essence
(08:25):
Festival reminds me that inorder to properly execute an
event, a moment where people aregathered, you have to honor
everyone's experience.
And at that scale, how do youhonor everyone's experience
while also being transparentabout resources?
(08:47):
How is this being planned?
Right?
It's like, it's not, it's ajoke, but it's not a joke.
In what areas, and how theessence fest is being developed
and planned.
Can we tweak?
I think it's very obvious thatthere are areas for improvement,
but as a community, what areaswould you like them to focus on
first?
Right, because we, there is nota thing of unlimited resources,
(09:10):
and we should acknowledge thatas a community, notoriety does
not equate to revenue.
And as someone who has operatedin corporate spaces that are
evaluating margins, and what'sthe difference between income
and profit?
I think we should take a stepback as a community and say, we
want this to be better.
(09:31):
We want the Essence Fest.
We want Sun Fest to blow ourminds away every single time,
but we're not holding thebalance sheet.
We.
But you know, I think what wecan appreciate is transparency.
Yeah.
We can appreciate to say, Hey,instead of us doing a four hour
(09:52):
concert, a six hour concert,we're gonna drop this down to a
three hour concert to improvethe overall experience.
Instead of the convention centerbeing open from 9:00 AM to 6:00
PM we're gonna drop it down tofour hours because we wanna make
sure the moment you walk intothe moment you leave, we are
(10:13):
meeting your expectations.
I feel like resetting how thoseresources are being allocated
for what amount of time and whatareas of the business gives
everyone the opportunity tomeet.
The expectation because I don'tthink anybody packed up their
bags, corporate sponsors or not,and went to New Orleans, or
(10:37):
hopefully lived in New Orleansbecause New Orleans is the place
now to disappoint, to fall flaton their face.
I saw a review that someone hada space in the convention center
and they didn't sell.
Not one thing..
No one makes that investmentopen to fail.
No one makes that investmentthinking they'll get nothing out
(10:59):
of it.
And sometimes the things thatyou do get from these community
gatherings and experiencesaren't actual deals, Just make
amazing connections.
I walked away from can festivalof creativity, feeling seen,
feeling inspired, feeling revvedup for what next year will be
and all that I will accomplish Iwalked away from Essence last
(11:20):
year feeling like, oh, this isan amazing sisterhood.
I met some awesome women.
We became social media friendsand we still stayed connected to
this day.
It was really opening up what itmeant and the layers and levels
of being a black woman from thesouthern bells to the aunties to
the Caribbean girls, we were allthere and there was so many
(11:44):
similarities but differences inus.
I remember speaking to someoneabout spices and how I can't
even take pepper, and she lookedat me like you was the worst
Caribbean girl I've ever met,but it was a great conversation
about food, culture, children,generations, still my girl.
Till this day, I walked awayfrom Essence feeling like, Ugh,
(12:05):
that was a weekend with mygirls, the ones I came with, and
the ones that I made.
So what hurts my heart to seeonline that there are women
walking away feeling like mytime was wasted, my money was
wasted.
In this day and age, resourcesare limited.
Even if you are wealthy,resources are limited.
So when you use those resourcesto invest in an experience, to
(12:29):
connect, to live, and feel free,you want to feel like you're
getting something from it.
So it hurts my heart to see thatonline.
Many people are feeling likethey walked away with time.
Wasted connections, not made,vibes, not vibing, especially at
home.
When it comes to Sun Fest.
(12:49):
Listen, Jamaica, your dad,everything boats at nice, people
come to the island sometimes forthe first time for some fest
because each and every night hasa different theme from dance
hall to pop there's no agelimit.
There is no race.
There is no gender that do notfind enjoyment in Sun Fest.
(13:10):
Here's the thing, if you tellme, Hey, this show might be
running late, or here's howwe're making the weight feel
intentional.
I feel considered.
But Communication is absentfrustrations grows.
So I think lack of communicationand misaligned expectations
(13:33):
raised the level of frustrationthis year.
So here are my two questions forthe timeline.
What qualifies accreditablefeedback in 2025?
Because not every rant with aring light is gospel speaking
from someone in front of a ringlight, right?
(13:54):
What makes that person'sfeedback creditable and could
better communication save thevibe.
Nine times outta 10.
Yes.
We don't need perfection.
We need respect.
And I think if we get morecommunications from the
(14:15):
organizations, from theconcerts, from how the shows are
being ran, I think we walk awaywith a better experience.
Okay.
Which brings me to Sun Fest inMontego Bay, Jamaica.
Tradition versus trust.
Now let's bring it home becauseyou know me, I'm a big girl,
literally I need to stick a pinon Sun Fest.
(14:36):
The pride of of caribbeanculture vibes unmatched.
I remember being at Sun Fest asa child.
Eight, nine years old and I'm alinen suit with a liquor
cutouts.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
The Christ who was them?
Yeah.
Raise your hand in the commentsif you actually attended Sun
Fest before.
So Sun Fest is part of myculture.
I recall when, you know,minister Hall, formerly known as
Lady Sa, was on stage and my, myparents pinched me.
I was like, turn wrong, turnwrong because she was up there,
uh, Goan, but with herself backin the days.
(15:10):
So yes, I have been in the parkto see Sun Fest at its very
best, right?
The conversations, the laughs,the jokes.
But there's such a significantdifference between a stage show
and a concert.
The expectations for each typeof performance is very
different.
A stage show is all about vibesand energy.
(15:32):
From the moment you touch thestage to the moment you leave,
people are coming to go, rahrah.
That's the type of vibe Sun Festis, which leads me to believe
that the modification needs tohappen on the length of time.
Every artist is on stage, andmaybe stack the Sun Fest stage a
little bit more, or shorten theentire show down to just a few
(15:54):
hours.
Someone who did not attend thisyear, but was definitely on the
stream.
Boy, I have some notes for thestream.
Right, because the streamactually had me laughing on
multiple occasions.
The man with the drawn, listen,he was having a good time.
No, no, no.
What am giving him?
But he was in and out of thatdaggone park in the audience in
(16:16):
my room.
The stage in my, the dronefootage I thought was comical at
best.
I don't know if we really got avibe of the actual Sun Fest.
And Sun Fest does a great job ofstacking the schedule with great
MCs, right?
And a joke that I heard isNobody call My Sun Fest for the
MCs, but big up to the MCs.
As an mc myself, we hold thevibe of the overall event.
(16:40):
We make sure that, you know, agood time is had and transitions
are natural.
And also analytical spice to theoverall experience.
But when the audience can seethat there is something going on
or something that's gone wrongbehind the scenes, behind the
curtain, essentially.
(17:00):
Uh, that's where we felt, right,that's where there is room for
improvement.
As someone, again, who hasorganized events and big parties
and gatherings and assisted onmany different levels.
It's important as the audienceto know that when it comes to an
event, a festival, astro,whatever you wanna call it,
(17:21):
people are gathered and music isbeing played.
Murphy's Law is also inattendance.
And if for those that don't knowwhat Murphy's Law is, it is
anything that can go wrong willgo wrong.
So the math around eventcoordination and putting on a
good show.
Really boils down to loweringthose probabilities to ensure
(17:44):
that the chance that somethingcan go wrong is so slim that
when it does go wrong, theaudience doesn't even notice.
That is where there is room forimprovement in both Sun Fest and
Essence Festival.
Because as the audience, wenoticed something was going
wrong and on multiple occasions,right?
But we can do that with love andhonor to what it has become.
(18:09):
'cause for myself, sun Fest hasbeen part of my upbringing.
And if you have never traveledto Jamaica to Gussy Sun Fest,
highly recommend.
10 out 10 Highly recommend theshow itself is amazing.
The patrons, the food, thevibes, but the parties that
surround Sun Fest Jaja, you willnot be sleeping that weekend.
(18:32):
Okay?
If you having a good time, sleepis not going to be the thing you
do that we get there.
But.
Okay.
Speaking of Murphy's Law, whenit comes to attending events and
festivals, as we are deep in thesummer, we wanna get together
and we wanna have a good timeand we want to create memories.
I think it's important that wealso touch on.
(18:55):
The N Tech yet, which is alsoknown as Don't play in my Face.
Ultimately, I think a lot of thefrustration comes from the lack
of respect by underestimatingthe intelligence of your
audience that they don't, thatthey won't notice something's
going wrong.
Trust me, they're noticing,right?
(19:16):
What can improve that overallexperience is by over
communication.
It is a methodology that I havefollowed religiously in
corporate, in my consultancy.
And also when I mc, I think noone is offended by a level of
over communication when thereare expectations involved,
(19:37):
right?
So.
A Patriot buys a ticket, attendsa festival, flies into New
Orleans, or flies into Jamaica,and they're here for an
experience.
There is an expectation.
So once you know that anexpectation is present over
communicate, the Sho Gusta won.
Oh, listen, we had, we, we, weput like a wata outside.
(19:59):
We've made small accommodationsto.
Remediate the frustration of theinconvenience, because what is
happening is people are justgetting more and more and more
furious behind the you are youplaying in my face?
Same coin, different sides.
(20:20):
People do not wanna beunderestimated.
No one wants to feel like youare not taking their concerns
seriously.
That.
Listen, you paid your ticket, soyou wanna take what you take.
That's, that's how slowly butsurely the attendance for these
festivals will start to diminishdown to, I don't wanna waste my
(20:42):
money.
To waste my time, right?
And as someone who truly, Ienjoy these experiences.
Essence, like I said before, wasamazing.
From the food in New Orleans tothe ladies, to the men I met, I
met so many entrepreneurs.
I met so many people just makingmoves and following and pursuing
their dream.
(21:04):
And their goals and aspirationsin life and just also people who
want, who lived in the southernpart of America, and this was
their homecoming, this is wherethey saw their friends from
college, their old colleagues.
There are so many deep rootedexperience tied to these
festivals right, and this is myplea to the organizers of these
(21:27):
large organizations is take astep back and remember that
you've resonated withgenerations of human beings and
these generations of people arecoming back year after year,
time after time.
Not only looking for thatnostalgic feeling, but also
bringing their generationalongside with them.
(21:48):
Sharing those experiences withnew friends, old friends.
So honor the commitment that isthat nostalgia.
Honor the generations before.
Right?
So when I think of Essence andwhen I think about Sun Fest,
these are legacy festivals.
They're not going nowhere andthey better not go nowhere.
But how do we evolve it intoday's day and time?
(22:12):
Speaking of Sun Fest, listen,the stream was entertaining at
best, but definitely a bit adhoc.
It was de, it felt like.
Someone was being thrown infront of the screen at every
given moment and when there wasno one to be thrown in front of
the screen, they was like, putthe drone on.
Put the drone back.
Which I understand, right?
(22:34):
Because in life you can't, youcan't expect too much from free,
right?
Because the stream was free.
But is there an opportunity tocreate a premium experience?
Listen, I don't wanna be givingaway no free gems on this
podcast'cause that's what theypay me for.
But there are definitely levels.
Of experiences that can comefrom Sun Fest if coordinated and
(22:56):
organized correctly if usheredin this new generation.
That's really what I lookforward to.
Also, with Essence this year,everyone felt the pain and the
heartbreak.
From the disappointment ofessence, but as someone who did
not attend and spoke to a few ofmy friends who actually attended
Essence, they had a great time.
(23:18):
Their biggest frustration comingout of there was the playing on
my face.
Don't play in my face.
If things is gonna be late, letme know if I'm coming to the
convention center and the linesare gonna be crazy.
And then you're out of product.
Send a notification so thatpeople don't take Ubers and walk
a few blocks to come over to seetheir favorite brand or their
favorite activation, and thebooth is empty and nobody's in
(23:41):
there.
It's the waste of time that Ithink is slowly diminishing the
loyalty and the excitement forthese festivals.
And these events, and we can'thave that because again, there
are new community organizersgrowing and building and really
killing it.
DJ Puffy was here in Brooklynand Women month, shell dunk the
(24:04):
place.
Listen, I did not get to attend.
I actually passed by because Iwas on my way to another event.
But dj, puffy big up yourselfbecause you brought Barbados and
the whole vibe to Brooklyn and.
Every single person in thebuilding left feeling like,
yeah, I saw you on I short.
(24:24):
So how do we take these lessonsforward without criticizing and
critiquing and bringing down awhole entity, making these bold
statements like, I'm never goingto essence again.
I'm never going to, I'm nevergonna som fest again.
Come on now.
This is a relationship and whenyou in the culture and you were
part of the culture, we have togive each other a little bit of
(24:44):
grace.
There has to be a conversationthat happens around, listen, how
do we make this better?
And then if time after time youfeel like those police and those
cries aren't being met, thenwe'll come to another, you know,
decision.
But until then, now I think theplea is very loud.
(25:06):
The feedback is enormous.
These massive shows, theseiconic pillars of the summer.
It needs a little reworking.
It needs to be revamped,reorganized, rebranded, and I'm
glad to see that theorganization leaders are taking
(25:26):
ownership and coming out andsaying, I hear you.
We are working on it, and wecoming back better.
'cause next year I'll be sittingright here telling you how it
went.
'cause I plan to be in theactual stadium for both events
to me to be in the place and inthe space of these two
magnificent, iconic events helpadd color to the overall
(25:48):
experience.
Five people can be in one placeand have five different
experiences, and that we knowfor certain.
What happens when one event hasthe ability to have different
levels of experiences?
Hmm.
It makes me think of Sun Fest,right?
Because I was not in Jamaica,but my cousin was.
And I spoke to them about it,and their weekend was amazing.
(26:13):
They said Sun Fest was allright, but the parties was going
on.
There was different partiesgoing on around Sun Fest that
really made the weekend the weekamazing.
But when I asked them about theshow, they was like, listen
here, Nikki, listen.
Never play with mine time.
You know?
So next year I plan to be inseat in the stadium for both
(26:37):
Essence Fest and Sun Fest.
And I know, I have a feelingmaybe I'll be on the stage.
But ultimately, I'll be rightback here on this podcast
telling you about theimprovements, the upgrades,
because it is one thing to makea mistake.
It's another thing to the lackaccountability and without
making change, and I feel likechange is coming.
(26:59):
I see a lot of communicationscoming out of these
organizations and they're makingit very clear, we hear you.
We are gonna make modifications,especially with some of the
artists on Sun Fest who wascoming for them directly.
Macia Musk, right?
And also saying artists likeVibes Cartel has outgrown the
venue.
That could be true because Vibesis now a global star.
(27:22):
But how do we createaccommodations for vibes in that
same space?
Because the space itself isiconic.
Do we move Sun Fest?
That sounds crazy, but.
We can change up the show.
Sometimes logistical changes isreally what needs to happen.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
They love the culture, but the logistics is
not given what it's supposed togive.
So the question I pose becomes,can we honor tradition while
still evolving to retain theconfidence of the audience?
Because Sun Fest is legendary.
The band, the Steward Shore, buteven the legends need structure.
(28:05):
That's not disrespectful.
It's stewardship.
As we evolve in a digital ageand every single year, I wanna
say every single day we'regetting better.
How are we building community ina more intentional way?
But here's the thing.
Thankfully, we're seeing a lotof new generation of community
organizers stepping up, doingtheir thing.
(28:27):
They're filling a gap that isnecessary between relatability
and execution.
Yes, these events are happeningon smaller scales, but what they
lack in size, they make up forin soul and systems.
These are the moments where thestudent has become the teacher
(28:49):
and.
They have found the secretsauce, intentionality, intimacy,
integrity in how they organizethese events and put them on.
We're watching a new class ofcurators shift the entire game.
It's not just happening in NewYork or la, it's happening on a
global scale.
(29:10):
Community organizers arebringing back that feel good
nature.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
And again, I'm just talking head telling you my
thoughts on what I think wouldpreserve the culture and amplify
the impact.
'cause preservation above all ismost important.
These.
Experiences that we have, wewill pass down for generations
of stories of what we wore, whathappened, the things we drank,
(29:35):
the music that played, the newartist that were on the stage,
that turned into be the bigartist, which reminds me of
Beyonce's Cowboy Carter tourthat has recently wrapped in Las
Vegas with DC three on thestage.
Again, another huge moment ofnostalgia.
(29:56):
Because if you don't knowDestiny's Child, what are you
even doing here?
It it was beautiful to see DCthree end, the Cowboy Carter
tour, which has just recentlybeen announced as the.
Record breaking concert.
It was the most revenuegenerated for any concert in the
(30:16):
world.
Something like that.
I'll fact check that and put itin the description box.
But I think the Cowboy Cartertour itself again brought out so
much creativity and vibes.
But at a way, I love the waythat Beyonce had the ladies
putting on they best cowboy fitsthe creativity, the different
(30:39):
artistry.
I don't think I've seen so manywomen in the Michael's until
Beyonce comes out with thesetours.
The Renaissance had us drift insilver and nose that did a
little gold, you know, a littlerazzle dazzle and change it up.
But Cowboy Carter really broughtthe people out and it was just
beautiful to see Beyonce nottake back country'cause we owned
(31:02):
it to begin with, but amplifythe impact of African American
music and artistry in countrymusic.
And one thing I always say, loveher or hate her.
You cannot.
Deny the work ethic and theamount of work that Beyonce put
in these shows.
Production value, top tier, manycan learn a lot of lessons, and
(31:29):
Murphy's Law is also in thebuilding.
So how does she adjust for that?
We saw, we saw that, we saw thatcar tilted to the side and we
was all worried about b.
But the show still went on.
They made adjustments in thenext few states, and the show
went on and just wrapped inVegas with DC three and Jay-Z on
(31:50):
the mic.
Uh, I love a good experience,and I'm glad that these are the
moments that we have to just bepresent.
One thing I hate the most is tobe at a concert and see
everybody like this.
With they phone you, like you'reactually, you're looking at a
concert through the lens of yourphone.
(32:10):
We gotta stop that.
Put that away.
You are in the concert to bepresent and be free.
Everyone wants to get, they, youknow, they two clicks off for
they Instagram story.
It's, it's required, it'sexpected, but not every
monumental moment when the musictransition, when she hit the
one, two, when the, when anotherartist bring another artist on
(32:31):
the stage or they hit a one Wehave to be present in these
moments, or we will then onlysee it through the lens of our
Instagram stories when you wereactually in the building.
So.
Let this be a little reminder toyou that get your Instagram
stories off at the top, maybetwo or three at the end.
(32:52):
But be present in the moment.
Oh my gosh, I've seen someawesome, like DJs that's down
Mr.
Some man in a halfway tree.
He down there playing music andhad be, man, you know, a DJ
right next to him, right inHalfway Tree Jamaica and I loved
it.
What I hated the most is whenyou look around in the crowd,
(33:13):
everybody was like this.
Everybody, everybody was likethis.
And I'm just like, yeah, get itoff of the one in two times.
But there's no honor in sayingthat.
Oh yeah, I was in Halfway Tree.
My watch be the perform and seethe whole thing here on my
phone.
It's not, it's not given.
It's not, it's not it, it's notit to say I was a halfway tree
(33:35):
and I saw a beanie performer.
I got with him sugar, and I, youknow, winding up.
Hey, to me that's the wholereason to be there a bit.
But if you not gonna do that,you're not gonna dance and
actually be in the space andenjoy it.
(33:56):
What are we even doing it for?
But critiques and all, I'm soglad to see that we are outside
and we are gathered and we arehaving a good, uh, time.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
I was just in France at the Festival of Creativity
and I was blown away by thelevel of intentionality in
everything from the panels tothe parties, to the activations,
to the networking.
It wasn't about the flashylights and the crystal and the
champagne and everybody dressed'cause it was hot.
(34:29):
It was about connection.
From the outside, it looks likea lot of logos and lights, I
feel you.
But from inside, it's cosmicfriendships.
It's divine alignment.
It's real.
Collaborations born in realmoments.
They, they, they figured it out.
People aren't leaving theirhomes anymore just to be a part
(34:54):
of something or just to be seenor the way of fit.
We want to be a part ofsomething meaningful.
They wanna feel free.
We want fun, we want freedom.
With shared values and sharedpurposes That's the real unlock.
The sweet sauce is in between.
I want to let loose, but I alsowanna be me.
(35:17):
I wanna show up and be seen, butdo you see me?
That's the question I poses tothe larger organizations putting
on these events.
If your space can hold thatyou've won.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
I dropped an entire vlog on can because while
chaotic, it is not as muchdetail as I'd like because I was
very much in the moment the canfestival for creativity.
Was remarkable because everyonecame with a purpose that I'm
gonna meet someone, I'm gonnacollaborate, I'm going to
(35:50):
execute.
It was very purposeful And whenyour circle starts to change in
that way, my friends are betterthan pocket money, as we would
say, as Jamaicans.
The circle of people that youkeep around you will definitely
help you stay focused on yourpurpose and can was just that
for me, god is truly helping mytribe find me in a very
(36:11):
interesting way that I'menjoying.
One day at a time.
I love that.
I have found my sisters, mygirlfriends that keep me
uplifted.
So shout out to you guys'cause Iknow you listen and support
everything that I do.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
If you feel that shift happening inside of you,
don't fight it.
Walk into it as someone whodanced around it.
Come on, let's just own it.
Glow with us.
I hope that you're leaning intothis version of your life.
It could be your best version,your worst version, but every
buildup come on, every setback.
Come on.
Church is for a huge, hugetriumph.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
As a true Leo, big Lion energy, we all about giving
back and making sure everyone'shaving a good time.
Like I mentioned earlier at thetop of this show that it is my
birthday month and like a trueLeo, everybody getting the gift,
we going back to back, back, toback all August because and I
(37:12):
may have some other surprisescoming up.
I hope you're enjoying theseepisodes
Speaker 2 (37:17):
so whether you're decoding teen lingo, leading
teams with more clarity,questioning festivals with love.
And building your own corner ofculture.
Stick a pin, pause, reflect,vibe with us.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
I wanna hear more of your feedback in the comments.
Is there anything that you feellike goes unaddressed in the
culture?
What emotional drawbacks do youfeel are coming up in this
season?
Thank you so much for watchingthis episode.
My name is Ika Nikki and thisis, how do You Divine?
Stick A Pen.
Welcome back to this episode of How Do You Divine.
And today we are gonna stick up.
Pin Yes, the show Were we.
Pause, reflect and hold ourvibe.
I'm your host, Sonika Nikki.
And listen, this stick up hintepisode is very special because
it's my birth day, month.
It's my birth day, month.
(00:21):
And yes, you really be thinkinglike birthday month, the girl we
celebrate day.
Not over here.
Okay?
In true Leo fashion.
We celebrate the entire month ofAugust, and now if we're honest,
the world actually celebratesholidays in August.
Everyone feels a vibe in August,so welcome back and let's get
(00:42):
into it.
in honor of my birthday, we'regiven fresh episodes every
single week.
That's every single Wednesday.
So grab a snack, take a littlewalk and lock in, because we
making space for truth growthand a little bit of mess in
between Exploring how we grow.
We evolve and we do thattogether as a community.
(01:02):
This week we're talking TeenTalk drama, corporate Cap
Essence Festival, some fest, andthat little deeper shift in how
we gather Oh, and of coursewe're ending with full Leo
season energy because duh.
First, let's get into teen talkand broken communication.
I was mid-conversation with myteenager when I caught myself
(01:26):
saying literally.
At least three times.
I was like, literally, I can'tbelieve this is literally just
literally happened.
I had to stop and said tomyself, Sika, girl, what are you
saying?
It is interesting.
Having a teenager will hijackyour entire vocabulary.
You'll start repeating theirslang and picking up on weird
(01:49):
cadences and even mirroringtheir dramatics, and suddenly,
here we are all in the midst ofchaos.
Suddenly we start sounding likeone of them, like we live on
TikTok and every day is acrisis.
I miss the bus.
It's the worst day ever.
I can't find my AirPods, callthe authorities.
I had to stick up in and remindmyself one.
(02:12):
I'm a millennial, I'm not ateenager.
And one of us needs to have anemotional regulation.
Spoiler alert, it's me.
Okay.
If you have a teenager or a lotof young people around you, take
a break, take a pause.
Maybe they may be affecting yourcommunication style.
'cause I know my teenager hasdefinitely.
Impacted mine, so no moreliterally.
(02:34):
And if you hear me, call me out.
Literally what the literally,ābut let's pivot to corporate
life for a second.
Why are so many people.
Using these fancy languages tosay absolutely nothing.
now incorporate It's, let'salign on the strategic levers
(02:55):
that optimize cross-functionalverticals for a scalable
synergy.
Say what now?
No.
What are we doing?
Say it clean and say itstraight.
As someone who has sold retainedsoftware and built partnerships
and coach leaders.
Here's what I've learned.
Vagueness is a form ofavoidance.
If you can't say it clear, youprobably don't understand it
(03:18):
yourself, generalization killsclarity.
And clarity builds trust.
So stick up in, if you areleading, stop hiding behind
buzzwords.
Precision is power.
Take your time to articulateyourself, your mission, and what
your ideal outcome would be.
Just hold up in, stick it thereand take your time.
(03:41):
Now let's raise the vibes.
It is summertime in New YorkCity, and if you already know
what that means.
Rooftop rum punch on beer,linkups, everyone is outside.
For me every single summer.
It is like I'm honoring my20-year-old self.
Because 20-year-old Sanika wasnot outside doing anything.
(04:02):
20-year-old sneaker was raisingchildren, creating systems.
So she wasn't beon, she wasn'tat the function.
She was working heads down inrooms, building my career, and
also nurturing my family.
She was invited, but I wasn'tout.
So now I go outside for her.
I flirt with joy for her.
(04:23):
I laugh and dance for her.
So stick a pin and celebrate theversions of yourself who didn't
have the time.
Maybe the resources for softlife.
Give her a little something,something everything she didn't
have she can have today.
So as someone who truly enjoys aNew York summer.
Get into it'cause it's a goodtime.
(04:43):
Okay.
A very good, good time.
And if summertime, wherever youare, can also be an amazing
time.
So please take the time, enjoythe spaces, because we only have
one life to live.
If you get an invite, consideractually going outside.
And speaking of going outside,let's talk about these
festivals.
(05:04):
s in fest because Woo, theconversations online are hot.
I went last year and honestly Ihad a time, Southern Bells,
Caribbean, Queens, Midwestmamas, African aunts, blackness
was blending in, shining in allits form.
Yes, there were hiccups.
Yes, there were moments
Speaker (05:24):
that I was,
Speaker 2 (05:26):
could have been tighter, right?
But the pros definitelyoutweighed the cons.
So when I see all these heatedconversations online and people
dragging it this year, I have toask the question, are we being
too critical of our own or areexpectations not being set
(05:47):
clearly enough?
The Essence Festival in NewOrleans is historic.
It brings women from all acrossthe world to enjoy and have a
moment of sisterhood.
That moment that we are notaccustomed to that moment, that
just feeds our souls and ourhearts.
There is something special aboutEssence Festival and we cannot
(06:10):
deny that, but as we grow and weevolve, it is a community.
It is fair to question, is itstill meeting the need?
Is the execution aligning withits actual mission?
It's fair to question, but howwe question each other has to be
different when it's within ourown community.
How we question what ourexpectations versus what we were
(06:34):
given is rightfully so, but how?
But questioning the experience,isn't justified.
Because for me, as a black womanin America, essence has always
been a beacon of love and honorfor black women.
I think we should question theexecution question, the
(06:57):
production value question, theamount of time and integrity it
takes to put on such a festival.
And then ask yourself,everything requires resources.
Where are the resources?
And if the resources isdependent on having certain
sponsorships that we are nolonger aligned with.
(07:17):
Let's discuss how thoseresources are being used.
As we evolve as a community, Ithink transparency will be the
key to unlock unity because.
There are strong emotions aroundsponsorships, experiences,
concerts, the performances,their favorite artists.
Each and every aspect of thisfestival holds an independent
(07:40):
part of someone's experience,someone's life, right?
I remember last year when I wentand saw Janet Jackson.
I was like, oh my God.
This is Janet Jackson, thesister of the amazing Michael
Jackson.
And I recalled moments in mychildhood when I first saw Janet
Jackson.
So that personal experience inconjunction with how the concert
(08:05):
was being ran and seeing ReginaKing come on that stage and the
way.
Everyone held her with so muchlove and honor, and it brought
me to tears because we love usand Katrina King.
And now hearing about whathappened this year, at Essence
(08:25):
Festival reminds me that inorder to properly execute an
event, a moment where people aregathered, you have to honor
everyone's experience.
And at that scale, how do youhonor everyone's experience
while also being transparentabout resources?
(08:47):
How is this being planned?
Right?
It's like, it's not, it's ajoke, but it's not a joke.
In what areas, and how theessence fest is being developed
and planned.
Can we tweak?
I think it's very obvious thatthere are areas for improvement,
but as a community, what areaswould you like them to focus on
first?
Right, because we, there is nota thing of unlimited resources,
(09:10):
and we should acknowledge thatas a community, notoriety does
not equate to revenue.
And as someone who has operatedin corporate spaces that are
evaluating margins, and what'sthe difference between income
and profit?
I think we should take a stepback as a community and say, we
want this to be better.
(09:31):
We want the Essence Fest.
We want Sun Fest to blow ourminds away every single time,
but we're not holding thebalance sheet.
We.
But you know, I think what wecan appreciate is transparency.
Yeah.
We can appreciate to say, Hey,instead of us doing a four hour
(09:52):
concert, a six hour concert,we're gonna drop this down to a
three hour concert to improvethe overall experience.
Instead of the convention centerbeing open from 9:00 AM to 6:00
PM we're gonna drop it down tofour hours because we wanna make
sure the moment you walk intothe moment you leave, we are
(10:13):
meeting your expectations.
I feel like resetting how thoseresources are being allocated
for what amount of time and whatareas of the business gives
everyone the opportunity tomeet.
The expectation because I don'tthink anybody packed up their
bags, corporate sponsors or not,and went to New Orleans, or
(10:37):
hopefully lived in New Orleansbecause New Orleans is the place
now to disappoint, to fall flaton their face.
I saw a review that someone hada space in the convention center
and they didn't sell.
Not one thing..
No one makes that investmentopen to fail.
No one makes that investmentthinking they'll get nothing out
(10:59):
of it.
And sometimes the things thatyou do get from these community
gatherings and experiencesaren't actual deals, Just make
amazing connections.
I walked away from can festivalof creativity, feeling seen,
feeling inspired, feeling revvedup for what next year will be
and all that I will accomplish Iwalked away from Essence last
(11:20):
year feeling like, oh, this isan amazing sisterhood.
I met some awesome women.
We became social media friendsand we still stayed connected to
this day.
It was really opening up what itmeant and the layers and levels
of being a black woman from thesouthern bells to the aunties to
the Caribbean girls, we were allthere and there was so many
(11:44):
similarities but differences inus.
I remember speaking to someoneabout spices and how I can't
even take pepper, and she lookedat me like you was the worst
Caribbean girl I've ever met,but it was a great conversation
about food, culture, children,generations, still my girl.
Till this day, I walked awayfrom Essence feeling like, Ugh,
(12:05):
that was a weekend with mygirls, the ones I came with, and
the ones that I made.
So what hurts my heart to seeonline that there are women
walking away feeling like mytime was wasted, my money was
wasted.
In this day and age, resourcesare limited.
Even if you are wealthy,resources are limited.
So when you use those resourcesto invest in an experience, to
(12:29):
connect, to live, and feel free,you want to feel like you're
getting something from it.
So it hurts my heart to see thatonline.
Many people are feeling likethey walked away with time.
Wasted connections, not made,vibes, not vibing, especially at
home.
When it comes to Sun Fest.
(12:49):
Listen, Jamaica, your dad,everything boats at nice, people
come to the island sometimes forthe first time for some fest
because each and every night hasa different theme from dance
hall to pop there's no agelimit.
There is no race.
There is no gender that do notfind enjoyment in Sun Fest.
(13:10):
Here's the thing, if you tellme, Hey, this show might be
running late, or here's howwe're making the weight feel
intentional.
I feel considered.
But Communication is absentfrustrations grows.
So I think lack of communicationand misaligned expectations
(13:33):
raised the level of frustrationthis year.
So here are my two questions forthe timeline.
What qualifies accreditablefeedback in 2025?
Because not every rant with aring light is gospel speaking
from someone in front of a ringlight, right?
(13:54):
What makes that person'sfeedback creditable and could
better communication save thevibe.
Nine times outta 10.
Yes.
We don't need perfection.
We need respect.
And I think if we get morecommunications from the
(14:15):
organizations, from theconcerts, from how the shows are
being ran, I think we walk awaywith a better experience.
Okay.
Which brings me to Sun Fest inMontego Bay, Jamaica.
Tradition versus trust.
Now let's bring it home becauseyou know me, I'm a big girl,
literally I need to stick a pinon Sun Fest.
(14:36):
The pride of of caribbeanculture vibes unmatched.
I remember being at Sun Fest asa child.
Eight, nine years old and I'm alinen suit with a liquor
cutouts.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
The Christ who was them?
Yeah.
Raise your hand in the commentsif you actually attended Sun
Fest before.
So Sun Fest is part of myculture.
I recall when, you know,minister Hall, formerly known as
Lady Sa, was on stage and my, myparents pinched me.
I was like, turn wrong, turnwrong because she was up there,
uh, Goan, but with herself backin the days.
(15:10):
So yes, I have been in the parkto see Sun Fest at its very
best, right?
The conversations, the laughs,the jokes.
But there's such a significantdifference between a stage show
and a concert.
The expectations for each typeof performance is very
different.
A stage show is all about vibesand energy.
(15:32):
From the moment you touch thestage to the moment you leave,
people are coming to go, rahrah.
That's the type of vibe Sun Festis, which leads me to believe
that the modification needs tohappen on the length of time.
Every artist is on stage, andmaybe stack the Sun Fest stage a
little bit more, or shorten theentire show down to just a few
(15:54):
hours.
Someone who did not attend thisyear, but was definitely on the
stream.
Boy, I have some notes for thestream.
Right, because the streamactually had me laughing on
multiple occasions.
The man with the drawn, listen,he was having a good time.
No, no, no.
What am giving him?
But he was in and out of thatdaggone park in the audience in
(16:16):
my room.
The stage in my, the dronefootage I thought was comical at
best.
I don't know if we really got avibe of the actual Sun Fest.
And Sun Fest does a great job ofstacking the schedule with great
MCs, right?
And a joke that I heard isNobody call My Sun Fest for the
MCs, but big up to the MCs.
As an mc myself, we hold thevibe of the overall event.
(16:40):
We make sure that, you know, agood time is had and transitions
are natural.
And also analytical spice to theoverall experience.
But when the audience can seethat there is something going on
or something that's gone wrongbehind the scenes, behind the
curtain, essentially.
(17:00):
Uh, that's where we felt, right,that's where there is room for
improvement.
As someone, again, who hasorganized events and big parties
and gatherings and assisted onmany different levels.
It's important as the audienceto know that when it comes to an
event, a festival, astro,whatever you wanna call it,
(17:21):
people are gathered and music isbeing played.
Murphy's Law is also inattendance.
And if for those that don't knowwhat Murphy's Law is, it is
anything that can go wrong willgo wrong.
So the math around eventcoordination and putting on a
good show.
Really boils down to loweringthose probabilities to ensure
(17:44):
that the chance that somethingcan go wrong is so slim that
when it does go wrong, theaudience doesn't even notice.
That is where there is room forimprovement in both Sun Fest and
Essence Festival.
Because as the audience, wenoticed something was going
wrong and on multiple occasions,right?
But we can do that with love andhonor to what it has become.
(18:09):
'cause for myself, sun Fest hasbeen part of my upbringing.
And if you have never traveledto Jamaica to Gussy Sun Fest,
highly recommend.
10 out 10 Highly recommend theshow itself is amazing.
The patrons, the food, thevibes, but the parties that
surround Sun Fest Jaja, you willnot be sleeping that weekend.
(18:32):
Okay?
If you having a good time, sleepis not going to be the thing you
do that we get there.
But.
Okay.
Speaking of Murphy's Law, whenit comes to attending events and
festivals, as we are deep in thesummer, we wanna get together
and we wanna have a good timeand we want to create memories.
I think it's important that wealso touch on.
(18:55):
The N Tech yet, which is alsoknown as Don't play in my Face.
Ultimately, I think a lot of thefrustration comes from the lack
of respect by underestimatingthe intelligence of your
audience that they don't, thatthey won't notice something's
going wrong.
Trust me, they're noticing,right?
(19:16):
What can improve that overallexperience is by over
communication.
It is a methodology that I havefollowed religiously in
corporate, in my consultancy.
And also when I mc, I think noone is offended by a level of
over communication when thereare expectations involved,
(19:37):
right?
So.
A Patriot buys a ticket, attendsa festival, flies into New
Orleans, or flies into Jamaica,and they're here for an
experience.
There is an expectation.
So once you know that anexpectation is present over
communicate, the Sho Gusta won.
Oh, listen, we had, we, we, weput like a wata outside.
(19:59):
We've made small accommodationsto.
Remediate the frustration of theinconvenience, because what is
happening is people are justgetting more and more and more
furious behind the you are youplaying in my face?
Same coin, different sides.
(20:20):
People do not wanna beunderestimated.
No one wants to feel like youare not taking their concerns
seriously.
That.
Listen, you paid your ticket, soyou wanna take what you take.
That's, that's how slowly butsurely the attendance for these
festivals will start to diminishdown to, I don't wanna waste my
(20:42):
money.
To waste my time, right?
And as someone who truly, Ienjoy these experiences.
Essence, like I said before, wasamazing.
From the food in New Orleans tothe ladies, to the men I met, I
met so many entrepreneurs.
I met so many people just makingmoves and following and pursuing
their dream.
(21:04):
And their goals and aspirationsin life and just also people who
want, who lived in the southernpart of America, and this was
their homecoming, this is wherethey saw their friends from
college, their old colleagues.
There are so many deep rootedexperience tied to these
festivals right, and this is myplea to the organizers of these
(21:27):
large organizations is take astep back and remember that
you've resonated withgenerations of human beings and
these generations of people arecoming back year after year,
time after time.
Not only looking for thatnostalgic feeling, but also
bringing their generationalongside with them.
(21:48):
Sharing those experiences withnew friends, old friends.
So honor the commitment that isthat nostalgia.
Honor the generations before.
Right?
So when I think of Essence andwhen I think about Sun Fest,
these are legacy festivals.
They're not going nowhere andthey better not go nowhere.
But how do we evolve it intoday's day and time?
(22:12):
Speaking of Sun Fest, listen,the stream was entertaining at
best, but definitely a bit adhoc.
It was de, it felt like.
Someone was being thrown infront of the screen at every
given moment and when there wasno one to be thrown in front of
the screen, they was like, putthe drone on.
Put the drone back.
Which I understand, right?
(22:34):
Because in life you can't, youcan't expect too much from free,
right?
Because the stream was free.
But is there an opportunity tocreate a premium experience?
Listen, I don't wanna be givingaway no free gems on this
podcast'cause that's what theypay me for.
But there are definitely levels.
Of experiences that can comefrom Sun Fest if coordinated and
(22:56):
organized correctly if usheredin this new generation.
That's really what I lookforward to.
Also, with Essence this year,everyone felt the pain and the
heartbreak.
From the disappointment ofessence, but as someone who did
not attend and spoke to a few ofmy friends who actually attended
Essence, they had a great time.
(23:18):
Their biggest frustration comingout of there was the playing on
my face.
Don't play in my face.
If things is gonna be late, letme know if I'm coming to the
convention center and the linesare gonna be crazy.
And then you're out of product.
Send a notification so thatpeople don't take Ubers and walk
a few blocks to come over to seetheir favorite brand or their
favorite activation, and thebooth is empty and nobody's in
(23:41):
there.
It's the waste of time that Ithink is slowly diminishing the
loyalty and the excitement forthese festivals.
And these events, and we can'thave that because again, there
are new community organizersgrowing and building and really
killing it.
DJ Puffy was here in Brooklynand Women month, shell dunk the
(24:04):
place.
Listen, I did not get to attend.
I actually passed by because Iwas on my way to another event.
But dj, puffy big up yourselfbecause you brought Barbados and
the whole vibe to Brooklyn and.
Every single person in thebuilding left feeling like,
yeah, I saw you on I short.
(24:24):
So how do we take these lessonsforward without criticizing and
critiquing and bringing down awhole entity, making these bold
statements like, I'm never goingto essence again.
I'm never going to, I'm nevergonna som fest again.
Come on now.
This is a relationship and whenyou in the culture and you were
part of the culture, we have togive each other a little bit of
(24:44):
grace.
There has to be a conversationthat happens around, listen, how
do we make this better?
And then if time after time youfeel like those police and those
cries aren't being met, thenwe'll come to another, you know,
decision.
But until then, now I think theplea is very loud.
(25:06):
The feedback is enormous.
These massive shows, theseiconic pillars of the summer.
It needs a little reworking.
It needs to be revamped,reorganized, rebranded, and I'm
glad to see that theorganization leaders are taking
(25:26):
ownership and coming out andsaying, I hear you.
We are working on it, and wecoming back better.
'cause next year I'll be sittingright here telling you how it
went.
'cause I plan to be in theactual stadium for both events
to me to be in the place and inthe space of these two
magnificent, iconic events helpadd color to the overall
(25:48):
experience.
Five people can be in one placeand have five different
experiences, and that we knowfor certain.
What happens when one event hasthe ability to have different
levels of experiences?
Hmm.
It makes me think of Sun Fest,right?
Because I was not in Jamaica,but my cousin was.
And I spoke to them about it,and their weekend was amazing.
(26:13):
They said Sun Fest was allright, but the parties was going
on.
There was different partiesgoing on around Sun Fest that
really made the weekend the weekamazing.
But when I asked them about theshow, they was like, listen
here, Nikki, listen.
Never play with mine time.
You know?
So next year I plan to be inseat in the stadium for both
(26:37):
Essence Fest and Sun Fest.
And I know, I have a feelingmaybe I'll be on the stage.
But ultimately, I'll be rightback here on this podcast
telling you about theimprovements, the upgrades,
because it is one thing to makea mistake.
It's another thing to the lackaccountability and without
making change, and I feel likechange is coming.
(26:59):
I see a lot of communicationscoming out of these
organizations and they're makingit very clear, we hear you.
We are gonna make modifications,especially with some of the
artists on Sun Fest who wascoming for them directly.
Macia Musk, right?
And also saying artists likeVibes Cartel has outgrown the
venue.
That could be true because Vibesis now a global star.
(27:22):
But how do we createaccommodations for vibes in that
same space?
Because the space itself isiconic.
Do we move Sun Fest?
That sounds crazy, but.
We can change up the show.
Sometimes logistical changes isreally what needs to happen.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
They love the culture, but the logistics is
not given what it's supposed togive.
So the question I pose becomes,can we honor tradition while
still evolving to retain theconfidence of the audience?
Because Sun Fest is legendary.
The band, the Steward Shore, buteven the legends need structure.
(28:05):
That's not disrespectful.
It's stewardship.
As we evolve in a digital ageand every single year, I wanna
say every single day we'regetting better.
How are we building community ina more intentional way?
But here's the thing.
Thankfully, we're seeing a lotof new generation of community
organizers stepping up, doingtheir thing.
(28:27):
They're filling a gap that isnecessary between relatability
and execution.
Yes, these events are happeningon smaller scales, but what they
lack in size, they make up forin soul and systems.
These are the moments where thestudent has become the teacher
(28:49):
and.
They have found the secretsauce, intentionality, intimacy,
integrity in how they organizethese events and put them on.
We're watching a new class ofcurators shift the entire game.
It's not just happening in NewYork or la, it's happening on a
global scale.
(29:10):
Community organizers arebringing back that feel good
nature.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
And again, I'm just talking head telling you my
thoughts on what I think wouldpreserve the culture and amplify
the impact.
'cause preservation above all ismost important.
These.
Experiences that we have, wewill pass down for generations
of stories of what we wore, whathappened, the things we drank,
(29:35):
the music that played, the newartist that were on the stage,
that turned into be the bigartist, which reminds me of
Beyonce's Cowboy Carter tourthat has recently wrapped in Las
Vegas with DC three on thestage.
Again, another huge moment ofnostalgia.
(29:56):
Because if you don't knowDestiny's Child, what are you
even doing here?
It it was beautiful to see DCthree end, the Cowboy Carter
tour, which has just recentlybeen announced as the.
Record breaking concert.
It was the most revenuegenerated for any concert in the
(30:16):
world.
Something like that.
I'll fact check that and put itin the description box.
But I think the Cowboy Cartertour itself again brought out so
much creativity and vibes.
But at a way, I love the waythat Beyonce had the ladies
putting on they best cowboy fitsthe creativity, the different
(30:39):
artistry.
I don't think I've seen so manywomen in the Michael's until
Beyonce comes out with thesetours.
The Renaissance had us drift insilver and nose that did a
little gold, you know, a littlerazzle dazzle and change it up.
But Cowboy Carter really broughtthe people out and it was just
beautiful to see Beyonce nottake back country'cause we owned
(31:02):
it to begin with, but amplifythe impact of African American
music and artistry in countrymusic.
And one thing I always say, loveher or hate her.
You cannot.
Deny the work ethic and theamount of work that Beyonce put
in these shows.
Production value, top tier, manycan learn a lot of lessons, and
(31:29):
Murphy's Law is also in thebuilding.
So how does she adjust for that?
We saw, we saw that, we saw thatcar tilted to the side and we
was all worried about b.
But the show still went on.
They made adjustments in thenext few states, and the show
went on and just wrapped inVegas with DC three and Jay-Z on
(31:50):
the mic.
Uh, I love a good experience,and I'm glad that these are the
moments that we have to just bepresent.
One thing I hate the most is tobe at a concert and see
everybody like this.
With they phone you, like you'reactually, you're looking at a
concert through the lens of yourphone.
(32:10):
We gotta stop that.
Put that away.
You are in the concert to bepresent and be free.
Everyone wants to get, they, youknow, they two clicks off for
they Instagram story.
It's, it's required, it'sexpected, but not every
monumental moment when the musictransition, when she hit the
one, two, when the, when anotherartist bring another artist on
(32:31):
the stage or they hit a one Wehave to be present in these
moments, or we will then onlysee it through the lens of our
Instagram stories when you wereactually in the building.
So.
Let this be a little reminder toyou that get your Instagram
stories off at the top, maybetwo or three at the end.
(32:52):
But be present in the moment.
Oh my gosh, I've seen someawesome, like DJs that's down
Mr.
Some man in a halfway tree.
He down there playing music andhad be, man, you know, a DJ
right next to him, right inHalfway Tree Jamaica and I loved
it.
What I hated the most is whenyou look around in the crowd,
(33:13):
everybody was like this.
Everybody, everybody was likethis.
And I'm just like, yeah, get itoff of the one in two times.
But there's no honor in sayingthat.
Oh yeah, I was in Halfway Tree.
My watch be the perform and seethe whole thing here on my
phone.
It's not, it's not given.
It's not, it's not it, it's notit to say I was a halfway tree
(33:35):
and I saw a beanie performer.
I got with him sugar, and I, youknow, winding up.
Hey, to me that's the wholereason to be there a bit.
But if you not gonna do that,you're not gonna dance and
actually be in the space andenjoy it.
(33:56):
What are we even doing it for?
But critiques and all, I'm soglad to see that we are outside
and we are gathered and we arehaving a good, uh, time.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
I was just in France at the Festival of Creativity
and I was blown away by thelevel of intentionality in
everything from the panels tothe parties, to the activations,
to the networking.
It wasn't about the flashylights and the crystal and the
champagne and everybody dressed'cause it was hot.
(34:29):
It was about connection.
From the outside, it looks likea lot of logos and lights, I
feel you.
But from inside, it's cosmicfriendships.
It's divine alignment.
It's real.
Collaborations born in realmoments.
They, they, they figured it out.
People aren't leaving theirhomes anymore just to be a part
(34:54):
of something or just to be seenor the way of fit.
We want to be a part ofsomething meaningful.
They wanna feel free.
We want fun, we want freedom.
With shared values and sharedpurposes That's the real unlock.
The sweet sauce is in between.
I want to let loose, but I alsowanna be me.
(35:17):
I wanna show up and be seen, butdo you see me?
That's the question I poses tothe larger organizations putting
on these events.
If your space can hold thatyou've won.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
I dropped an entire vlog on can because while
chaotic, it is not as muchdetail as I'd like because I was
very much in the moment the canfestival for creativity.
Was remarkable because everyonecame with a purpose that I'm
gonna meet someone, I'm gonnacollaborate, I'm going to
(35:50):
execute.
It was very purposeful And whenyour circle starts to change in
that way, my friends are betterthan pocket money, as we would
say, as Jamaicans.
The circle of people that youkeep around you will definitely
help you stay focused on yourpurpose and can was just that
for me, god is truly helping mytribe find me in a very
(36:11):
interesting way that I'menjoying.
One day at a time.
I love that.
I have found my sisters, mygirlfriends that keep me
uplifted.
So shout out to you guys'cause Iknow you listen and support
everything that I do.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
If you feel that shift happening inside of you,
don't fight it.
Walk into it as someone whodanced around it.
Come on, let's just own it.
Glow with us.
I hope that you're leaning intothis version of your life.
It could be your best version,your worst version, but every
buildup come on, every setback.
Come on.
Church is for a huge, hugetriumph.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
As a true Leo, big Lion energy, we all about giving
back and making sure everyone'shaving a good time.
Like I mentioned earlier at thetop of this show that it is my
birthday month and like a trueLeo, everybody getting the gift,
we going back to back, back, toback all August because and I
(37:12):
may have some other surprisescoming up.
I hope you're enjoying theseepisodes
Speaker 2 (37:17):
so whether you're decoding teen lingo, leading
teams with more clarity,questioning festivals with love.
And building your own corner ofculture.
Stick a pin, pause, reflect,vibe with us.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
I wanna hear more of your feedback in the comments.
Is there anything that you feellike goes unaddressed in the
culture?
What emotional drawbacks do youfeel are coming up in this
season?
Thank you so much for watchingthis episode.
My name is Ika Nikki and thisis, how do You Divine?
Stick A Pen.
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