Ep 93 - The power of documenting your story ft Coodie Simmons

Coodie Simmons is an American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and producer. Coodie started directing from his music video fo Kanye West, entitled "Through the Wire", which was nominated for a MTV Viewers Choice Award, and won a Source Award for Best Music Video of the Year. Coodie has continued his music video success directing "Two Words" and the third version of "Jesus Walks" off Kanye West's The College Dropout album, Pitbull's "Culo" video, Mos Def's "Ghetto Rock" video, Erykah Badu's controversial video "Window Seat" and most recently Lupe Fiasco's "Old School Love" video. 

Coodie received acclaim for their ESPN 30-for-30 film, Benji (2012), a film about a high school basketball player who was tragically killed. In 2013 they directed Good Morning, a short film for American Family Insurance. Good Morning debuted at the 2013 American Black Film Festival. In 2022 Coodie released the documentary series jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, Act 1 of which premiered on Netflix on February 16, 2022.

In this episode, Alicia and Coodie delve into a variety of fascinating topics, including:

• Their experiences as tourists in Ghana and the cultural insights gained from the trip

• The artistry, story, and profound impact of Ernie Barnes

• Reflecting on their upbringing in Chicago and the harsh realities they faced

• The motivation behind Coodie's meticulous documentation of life moments

• The journey of losing everything and finding the strength to start anew

• The deep passion and purpose driving their Jeen-yuhs documentary project.

Connect with Coodie here - https://www.instagram.com/coodierock/?hl=en