City So Real with Kevin Coval

The mind of Titus Wonsey is always conceptualizing. Titus observes and creates. In this convo, Kevin and Titus walk through his current installation at Artruss to map his jorney toward artistic expression. You'll hear the details of his sweat equity to tell stories through every media imaginable -- like giant bales of ramen noodles and punctuation marks made of soap. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

Here's another Chicagoan who shoots straight. "Most people are afraid to get old," says Kevin's cousin Jackie. In her 94 years, Jackie has lived a large life surrounded by the complications of a very loving family. This is a chat with a family matriarch who shares how first gens survive in this town. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

The number of firsts Maxine Walters can claim will floor you. Maxine jokes that her achievements are accidental. But as you hear Kevin unpack her story, you'll pick up why this Jamaican artist, curator, dancehall DJ, and film producer is a force of nature. Maxine's work is featured in an exhibition called "Dancing the Revolution" at the Museum of Contemporary Art.Check our Maxine's book Serious Things A Go Happen: Three Decades of Jamaican Dancehall Signs.City So Real is recorded live to tape at VSG Contemporary. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

One of Chicago’s greatest organizers is also one of our dopest artists. Teel One’s Made You Look crew may be the most prolific graffiti writers on the planet. This is a convo about the audacity of hip hop culture and Teel’s legendary refusals to accept “no” as a directive.Battle4TheCity returns to Chicago Saturday August 22nd, 2026. City So Real is recorded at VSG Contemporary in West Town. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

Chicago fosters a rare space for the infinitely curious. No one understands that quite like Clayton Hauck. Clayton's passion for photography represents his deep belief that everyone has a story. In this chat, Kevin unpacks Clayton's path to doing the work he loves most.Check out Clayton's 'zines like "Pointing At Stuff" at Realm Books. Or drop by his See You Soon space at the Kimball Arts Center. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

To see, and feel, and respond to a space is the work of an empath. DJ Ca$hEra has a sonic sixth sense for reading the room. Chicago, and now the planet, flock to hear her mixes in lounges, clubs, and events for major global brands. During this conversation, Cash and Kevin talk about her life as a high school nerd, her craving for quiet, and her drive for queer advocacy. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

The flyest cultural space in Chicago now has to be the culinary scene. Junho Lee's Haru Haru is very much at the center of this movement. It is fed by immigrant kids, and the kids of immigrants. During this chat, Kevin talks with Chef Lee about his memories of food and how expanding flavor profiles are creating a bridge to conversations about what citizenship means. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

You may know Alex Fructher as DJ RTC or the leader of a blog called Ruby Hornet -- to this day, his passion for music is rooted in lifting up the creators. In this chat, Kevin and Alex go deep on the blog era in Chicago and its significance in hip hop. Plus, you'll hear his origin story as founder of Closed Sessions. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

In a city known for its segregation, organizers are the oxygen that connect communities. Niso Ulmasova and Talyssa Delgado have created a young emergent organization called Meet Your Neighbor. In this chat, Kevin explores how Niso & Talyssa came together to create spaces where all people feel cared for and seen. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

For Jesse De La Peña, music is an infinite journey. Back in the day, those trips lured Kevin and his fake ID to The Blue Groove Lounge, where Jesse ran the turntables.During this convo, Jesse shares how he helped lay the foundation for Chicago’s vibrant Hip Hop scene. Plus, you’ll hear what his south side roots taught him about getting your story told and why he’s still spinning all over the city and on De La Peña LIVE. City So Real is recorded live to tape at VSG Contemporary in Chicago's West Town Art District. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

Ten conversations with Regan Burke can't cover the depth and breadth of her life and work as an activist and friend. During this chat, Kevin unravels Regan's journey from hippie communal living to guiding Bill Clinton's path to the Presidency. Plus, you'll hear about her adventures as an organizer in Chicago's infamous 10th Ward. Regan's 2020 book In That Number is on its way to becoming a streaming series. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

Idris Goodwin is a playwright, poet, essayist, a creative organizer, and cultural architect. As Kevin would say, he's the Hip Hop generation's August Wilson. In this episode, we join a live audience at VSG Contemporary for a conversation about Idris' journey to discover his super power. Plus, you'll hear readings from his latest book King of the Neuroverse. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

Alyssa Low seems to have found the recipe for creating visual art without compromise. In many ways, the isolation of the pandemic was the key ingredient. Kevin and Alyssa talk about why your dreams can be suffocating and how her designs and murals have found their way to some very renowned brands. Plus, you'll hear why her competitive nature as a soccer player feeds her artistic skills.City So Real is recorded a VSG Contemporary in Chicago's West Town neighborhood. Alyssa Low also invites you to check out the city's only sports bar for women's sports: Babes. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

Who are the people in your neighborhood? Tom Bullistron is the kind of guy who knows. Gathering the names and faces on his block matters to him. That's probably why Tom's stories are so rich. And complicated. His mom arrived in Chicago as an indentured servant from Ireland. Tom's tried to leave the city, but something keeps calling him back. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

How do you land in Chicago by way of Benin and France? The answer to that only scratches the surface of Larry Tchogninou's artistic odyssey. Larry's an architect, a poet, an industrial designer, a "space" maker, and more. This is a conversation about why you would author multi-discipline creative engines for some of the world's biggest brands from our city by the lake. You can check out the designs of Larry Tchogninou and Points of Sail and Rupturvision. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

It is fair to say sneaker culture was born in Chicago, because of the GOAT. Following the early '90s Bulls, we watched what Mike had on foot -- and we wanted it.In this episode, Kevin chops it up with Dre the Shoe god -- sneaker restorer, designer, and historian. Growing up on Chicago's east side, Dre's passion for shoes kept him out of the trouble and stirred his entrepreneurial vision. Follow @dretheshoegod.Remember to check out Shards of Me and My January 21st-25th and the Kimball Arts Center. The show features legendary poet Marc Kelly Smith, in a one-man performance of monologues and poems directed by Kevin Coval. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

You'll find Good Things Vending at ten locations across Chicago, including at the Chicago Avenue stop on the CTA's Red Line.Kevin is directing Shards of Me and My starring Marc Kelly Smith at the Kimball Arts Center January 21st-25th. It's Marc's not-to-be-missed first one-man show of monologues and poems. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

The Trib’s Rick Kogan is one of Chicago’s last great newspaper men. His magnetism as a writer is fed by an insatiable appetite for listening. As a kid, Rick’s ears were filled with the mystical voices of Nelson Algren, Studs Terkel, Marcel Marceau and countless other renowned characters who joined his parents’ late night parties in their Old Town living room.In this conversation, Kogan speaks the truth about why “knowing Chicago” is impossible, and what leads him to the stories nobody else gives a sh!t about. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

This week's guest is the ring leader of a sideshow that sits under the el tracks at Van Buren & Clark. Anais tends bar at a joint named after a carnival ride made famous by the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition. This is a conversation about what it means to grow up on four blocks, how Humboldt Park might be heaven, and why real superheroes live amongst us on the regular. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

Jerod grew up with high expectations hooping in the same neighborhood as some of the city’s greatest rappers. Then, an injury and a deeply personal loss changed everything. In our debut episode, Jerod gets real about the gifts he was hiding.Jerod Haynes is on an epic run as an actor, with performances on Hulu’s Good American Family, 9-1-1 Nashville on ABC, Madina in the Summertime, and Horsegirls. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe

When you love a place for real, you’ll tout its beauty while shooting straight about its painful truths. City So Real is a series of conversations about life and work in Chicago, right now.You’ll hear some names you know, but mostly voices you don’t know. Either way, you’ll get stories that contrast beauty and struggle from all walks of existence: laborers and artists, activists and inventors. Host Kevin Coval will introduce you to a lot of folks who do their work under your radar.Kevin is a writer and filmmaker who emerged in the spoken word and hip hop scene of the ‘90s. He grew up on basketball courts and Chicago’s Red Line, and got hooked on the stories of the folks he met on the train and at his aunt’s seder table.Join us as we listen to the stories of the people who make this city so real. Get full access to Kevin's Substack at kevincoval.substack.com/subscribe