Kamron Waithe and D’Andre Wilson are two 22-year-old creative minds on a mission to facilitate progressive conversations through their work. D’Andre recently graduated from the University of the Southern Caribbean where she studied Psychology. Her passion for mental health, women’s issues and the arts is her driving force. She started her own YouTube channel in 2013 and has managed to amass a following of over 27,000 people. In doing so, she has strived to cultivate a space to both share her passions and educate her followers.
Kamron is a creative director and content creator. Along her creative journey she had the opportunity to receive mentorship from and work alongside moguls such as Christophe Pierre of Design by Spirit, Dexter Musgrave and Keron Niles. Her passion for creativity and connecting with people bleed into everything she does. Therefore, she expresses herself through whatever creative medium she deems fit at the time; whether it’s songwriting, singing, hosting her pop-up thrift shop ‘Snatched’, or creating and directing a Father’s Day mini-series, “Intoviews”.
Together, these two young women started ‘Recess: Creative Convos’; a podcast that introduces their listeners to the world of creatives across the country and digs into the deeper scope of their experiences and lessons thus far. The WE Mag team got the opportunity to learn more about these young podcast hosts who are changing the landscape and conversations among creative entrepreneurs.
Here’s what they had to share with us:
What are you all working on at present
and what is keeping you excited?
Currently, we are working on wrapping up Season 2 of our podcast, Recess: Creative Convos. This season’s theme is ‘Identity and Culture’ and it looks at those things from a creative’s perspective. We believe that this themed conversation is so important for the current climate of our culture and it makes us so eager to finish this project and put it out for everyone to hear.
Tell us what we can expect from
the podcast this season?
This season’s theme addresses a deeper issue within all of us and it is important for us to participate in the dialogue amongst ourselves and in our own narratives. Who are we at our core? How has identity and culture been shaped thus far and how has it affected us? Season 2 attempts to answer these questions and provoke deeper thought that we hope can inspire active change.
What are some of your treasured
milestones thus far?
Since starting the podcast, it has been available on most streaming platforms. We have been honoured to see the immediate positive feedback on these various platforms and its impact thus far.
We believe that seeing how we have been able to help people who are interested in creative careers, or people who appreciate the arts in general, has been our biggest milestone to date. The main goal for us is always ensuring that we leave a positive message in whatever we create. The podcast is no different for us and we hope to have the same effect with Season 2.
What is your ultimate goal or biggest dream
for your future as a team?
Our ultimate goal would be to see Recess grow into a brand that is able to reach across T&T and the region at large. We started this for, and still focus on, Trinbagonians but we also believe that these conversations can benefit almost anyone. Our Caribbean-ness tends to overlap no matter which island you are from and we find ourselves having very similar experiences.
This podcast is for the Caribbean person who wants a safe space to learn from and relate to people just like them. We would also love to have more visual content in the future that explores even deeper aspects of creativity and the great artefacts that have come from it.
Why do you do what you do?
We do this podcast and contribute to this movement because at the core, this is who we are. We are creative people who have desired a space where we can express ourselves and spark necessary conversations for the current and future generations. We started this because we saw a major gap in the space where there wasn’t a fair amount of dialogue about the nuances of the creative industry and we believe very much in creating that dialogue. It not only benefits us, but it benefits those who did not have the opportunity to hear these perspectives in the past.
Do you have any advice you’d like to
share with fellow creatives?
Find a network, a support system in the field, people that you feel comfortable connecting with and people who can share in your strength and may have more strength than you - people you can learn from.
Have mentors, they can help you to grow, these are the people that will contribute to your progress. Finally, be authentic, don’t rush the process; rather, be patient with yourself so that you are honest with who you are and what you do so that your content remains authentic.