Photography by Danielle Higgins for Department
Isa Nakazawa is an Oakland-based writer, producer, podcaster and astrologer. She is currently the host for Stars and Stars with Isa, a weekly podcast where she sits with the most talented artists and thinkers of our time to read them their birth chart and discuss their life’s purpose. She is also the host for Transmission Studio, a bi-weekly show produced by BAVC Media, featuring candid conversations with San Francisco’s independent artists.
Isa elevates conversation to an artform – fluidly weaving references from her spiritual practices in astrology and tarot to her vast web of cultural knowledge. She is generous and warm, inviting her guests to tap into their power and purpose. Musicians, artists and actors leave her readings feeling seen, empowered, and more in tune with their innermost desires.
e-mail: inakazawa@gmail.com
twitter: @isanaka
instagram: @isanaka
PRESS
Photography by Ashleigh Reddy
“In that moment, it struck me that these small moments of spontaneous connection and fellowship are what we’ve all been missing. Live music has always created a necessary context for people to come together and unite through its spellbinding power. And even in the tedious moments of long bathroom and food lines, I observed people make new friends (even if it was bonding over shared complaints), reunite with old ones and find the silver lining in the inevitable messy swirl of festival life. ”
Photo by Kate Seifert
“When you have that one person in your life that holds you in your darkness, that changes you. When someone in your life who looks like you or doesn’t look like you, is brave with you and shares their insecurities or their vulnerabilities and holds yours, there’s something very magical that happens. When I do my daily gratitude for all living beings, it’s that everyone has profound connections in their life because that to me is what matters. ”
Photography by Ashleigh Reddy
“We still got the Caribbean flavor but with the Cali, it’s different,” explains Raka Rich as we watch the sun slowly set over Lake Merritt – a daily Oakland ritual to bask in the town’s signature beauty. “Everyone thinks only bad things come from the ghetto. We are here to show that that’s not true.”
Photography by Ashleigh Reddy
“Portland-raised, Oakland-based, super producer, musician and vocalist Bosko Kante defies easy classification. Bosko embodies the cross-pollination of old and new, tradition and innovation, music and technology. It is this unique blend of futurism, music and imagination that allows a Renaissance Man like Bosko to continually reinvent himself.”
Photography by Isa Nakazawa
“If hip-hop is dead than the No Poison No Paradise tour is raising ghosts from their graves. With the imminent release of Black Milk’s highly anticipated full-length album No Poison No Paradise, Detroit’s finest is back on the road accompanied by live band Nat Turner (Aaron “Ab” Abernathy on keys and vocals, Malik Hunter on bass, Z Horton on drums and Bill Sharp as DJ) and special guests Quelle Chris and DJ Sober.”
Photography by Isa Nakazawa
“Oakland needs a win. Rent is too high, food is too fancy, helicopters are too loud and many in the sky. The air is thick with 40 years of hoping and another Black man was shot and killed by the cops in broad daylight yesterday morning. It was on Lakeshore and none of the media reports add up. And neither does this game. Everyone is aching with an all too familiar pain. But it’s opening night for D’Angelo & The Vanguard’s Second Coming Tour and no loss can stop the spirit filling up The Fox.”