Sammus and Lanre 3K

The term "Zero Suit" refers to  a mode from the popular Metroid video game franchise, in which the main character Samus is not wearing her famous full-body armor. By extension the "Zero Suits Podcast Situation" is a patreon-funded podcast in which two black creatives—PhD candidate and Afrofuturist producer & rapper Sammus as well as YA author Lanre Akinsiku—remove their armor to discuss the highs and lows of their new journey as full-time artists in Philly, as well as their relationships with music, writing, and each other.

Ultimately this monthly podcast is designed to help artists navigate their own creative endeavors and educate supporters about some of the things that make artists tic.

Subscribe and listen:

• On iTunes
• On Soundcloud
• On Tune In
• On Google Play
• Or HERE on Patreon

While the podcast is absolutely free, living and working as full-time artists is absolutely not! Your monthly contributions help two black creatives to pursue their art sustainably (and keep the podcast going). In exchange, you can get a whole bunch of neat perks, including:

Look to the right of the page to check out all of the perks and provide your monthly contribution.

The Patreon-only posts (listicles, updates, exclusive access to tracks, etc) will go up roughly 2-4 times per month and the podcast is recorded once a month. Every episode features the following segments:

• The breakdown: a conversation about the specific technical aspects (cadence, references, audio engineering decisions) of one of Sammus' songs;

• This reminds me: the hosts use the song as a springboard to share humorous, painful, and sometimes inspirational stories; 

• Listener question: the hosts answer 1-2 questions submitted by you!

• Inspiration // Affirmation: the hosts share one source of inspiration and conclude with an affirmation of our worth and yours

Sammus: My name is Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo and I'm a PhD candidate at Cornell University but I'm probably better known by my stage name Sammus (based on Samus, the main character from the Nintendo video game, Metroid). Sometimes I rap about cartoons and video games (like Metroid, duh), sometimes I rap about social justice and mental health issues that are important to me, sometimes I rap about weird things like words that I really like, and sometimes I just like to make beats. Things seem to be going pretty well so far according to the good folks at the  LA Times, Afropunk, Black Girl Nerds, Bitch, The Mary Sue (among others!) Excited to share my knowledge with you.

Lanre: Hey, my name Lanre Akinsiku and I'm a YA author and a fiction writer from Oakland, CA. I received my MFA from Cornell University in 2015 and have since then written four YA books published by Penguin as well as a few pieces including this one for NPR. Working on my next thing.