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Bonsu Thompson

@bonsudreamz

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Cultural Writer/Producer
@storyavefilm (Co-Writer)
@sundanceorg Screenwriter’s Lab (2x)
@naacpimageawards (Nominee)
Lit Agent: @cherisefisher

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First @hbodocs credit loading… 9/18

#CultureIsCurrency
#AprilInParis
#RocNation
#Producer
#hbodocs by @bonsudreamz

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a month ago

“That’s where love starts”. @bonsudreamz #thinkingoutloud

During our conversation with Bonsu, he speaks on his journey as a writer, becoming a visual storyteller, humanity and its flaws, the importance of movies reflecting his reality, the complexity of characters, the story of Malcom X, the need to contribute to this world, the system’s impact on self love and more.

For the full conversation, please visit our YouTube channel, subscribe, and share your thoughts with us (Link in bio).

We appreciate your support as we continue to build this platform, connect with people, and share more insights and perspectives by @bonsudreamz

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a year ago

The premiere week of my life begins today. This Friday, my first feature film as a screenwriter hits theaters. Obvious bias aside, @storyavefilm is a special one. It’s actually a world of story. This particular world happens to be the Bronx. A place that leads the entire world in deaths by overdose. A borough that not too many decades ago was allowed to remain ablaze by its own city’s neglectful governance. How does a “Kid” find their voice and place outside of this hilly world? Maybe he finds his wings alongside a dark angel. Story Ave hits @quadcinema on 9/29 and select theaters nationwide 10/6. Been a minute since a film was made for you.

#storyave
#storyavefilmm
#bronx by @bonsudreamz

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3 years ago

SEPT -> NYC -> L.A. -> CHI -> NYC♿️

1. The highest form of Love is a Verb

2. Nolan Wells, Karmelo Anthony, 2026 Strange Fruit and they got you satiated, distracted and scared to be angry.

3. “While you’re tryna strategize to get over, I’m trying to get you to love yourself.”- @jasonreynolds83

4. “Hoes are trained therapists to wounded men.”-@comedianrong

5. “But does she wake up looking like that?”- @jazziebelletv

6. “The work actually suffers when you stop having fun.”- @myleik

7. Mississippi may have to go…

#CultureisCurrency
#NolanWells
#KarmeloAnthony
#CyrusCarmackBelton
#TheHumanityArchive by @bonsudreamz

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a day ago

The story behind my Jay-Z In ♾️ producer credit:

March 2023. I’m having dinner (RIP @scampinyc) when I receive an email that Rick Rubin is looking for me. A few days later, I’m on a zoom with Rick. He reveals his plans to produce a version of his Hulu series 3, 2, 1–five dope episodes of he and Paul McCartney disussing all things Beatles music and life—but with Jay-Z. Rick wanted to interview Jay the scribe at the Paris Library. The plan was for him to converse with Jay on the brilliance behind his invisible pen and the web of nuance which comprise his verses. I’ll never forget this: Rick says, “I heard that if I wanted to learn about Jay-Z, you’re the person to speak with.” I remember being equally flattered and perplexed. The latter responded for me: “But you produced 99 Problems. You co-founded Def Jam.” (The first major record label that Jay signed to three decades ago). Rick admitted that as (iconic) producer, he primarily hears just music; he doesn’t ingest rap lyrics like the average Jigga fan. A week later, I’m living at Rick’s studio Shangri-La. For the next month, my job was to sit with Rick in his backyard that overlooks the Pacific ocean to consume, dissect and discuss the finest of Jay-Z’s discography before the two former Def Jam giants met in Paris. I’ve had worse jobs.

Catch Ep 3 and 4 tonight. The Scarface story alone is worth the watch.

#CultureIsCurrency
#AprilInParis
#RocNation
#HBOdocs by @bonsudreamz

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7 days ago

A fresh Premiere Week never gets stale. Began last Sunday with a truly epic celebration slash screening for the “Jay-Z In ♾️” @hbodocs series. Refused to let my Injured foot prohibit me from doing the Kid-N-Play for my first HBO producer credit. Slid on some black tie fabrics, grabbed my African staff and bathed in the Dusse and gold bottle flushed Roc Nation takeover of @lincolncenter. Screening two eps of your doc series at the @metopera is insane but also apropos. I cannot wait for y’all to consume this work of art on the art of work. Most of the world has never seen or heard Jay this transparent, this vulnerable, this deep into his writing process. You’ve never witnessed Hov this human in interview. He pulls legend Rick Rubin back into his trauma from childhood (shooting his brother) as well as manhood (miscarriage before a record deal), while decoding his gold bars with delectable detail (Did you realize his line, “Jigga man is diesel when I lift the 8 up” was also a Shaq & Kobe reference?!). To think, Rick and I laid the ground work for this series over 3 years ago. I’ll tell that story after tonight’s eps. For now, just know that when S. Dot raves about Rick’s song/verse selections….”it’s ya boy!”

#CultureIsCurrency
#RocNation
#AprilInParis
#CulturalEngineer taken in Lincoln Center by @bonsudreamz

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14 days ago

Haven’t written an Editor’s letter in 15 years. This one—for the @dreamville coffee table mag I coproduced—was a fun write. A couple of your favorite MCs make the cut. Excerpt below:

True story: South Beach, Miami. It’s January, the first week of 2001. I’m on the video set for Nas and the Bravehearts’ hit “Oochie Wally.” The shoot served what those familiar with the devilish single would expect: curvaceous lights, cameras, and women––from Georgia to Florida––providing the pixels. The vibe inside Nas’ trailer was the polar opposite. The day sizzled so electric that both the set sun outside of the mobile lodge and the consuming quiet inside felt foreign. I sat across from Nasir Jones, separated only by a cubed table that perched two plastic cups and a bottle of Hennessy. I’m a 23-year-old writer interviewing the writer I worshipped at 17 years old, while drinking (on the job) my spirit of choice. Life is good. My intentions, though, were not the holiest. I flew to Miami, fixated on one mission: ignite or prevent a King of New York war between Nas and Jay-Z….

www.thefalloff.com

#cultureiscurrency
#rapmagazines
#hiphopmedia
#thefalloff
#BonsuWroteIt by @bonsudreamz

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a month ago

A media personality stands adjacent to a journalist, but not always parallel. All journalists are not writers and vice versa. While a recording device may be necessary to conduct an interview for public consumption, the quality of that interview rests on the depth of curiosity and research prior to any mic being powered on. A personality’s talent may shine in their ability to converse and ask questions, but taking the clay that is their Q&A and building a new experience or world with their pen is an entirely different skill set. For that very reason, on behalf of Culture Is Currency, I must throw flowers toward every single craftsman (“2 way player”) who contributed beautiful ideas, insight and prose to @thefalloff26 coffee table magazine. The consortium of brilliance has conjured a visceral effect in whomever held the issue in hand for the first time. Get yourz and see what I mean. www.thefalloff.com

#CultureIsCurrency
#Dreamville
#TheFallOffMagazine
#hiphopjournalism by @bonsudreamz

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2 months ago

SUMMER ‘26 MIDTERM: A-

1. People who can’t prioritize their own happiness, will not be able to make you happy.

2. Jay-Z x Roots Picnic >> Yankee Stadium Day 2 & 3

3. Ryan Clark took that public L so you wouldn’t have to go through that. We are now watching every @thepivot ep.

4. I don’t wanna hear about how pretty she is. Is she well?

5. I don’t wanna hear about what he did. Is he consistent?

6. Nemesis >> Raising Kanan

7. Black parents: If your kid is unaware of the names Karmelo Anthony and Nolan Wells, you are failing them.

8. If @tierrawhack is not on your 2026 rapper list…

9. If you dress up to take pictures at a party more than you dance, you are missing the point of living.

10. Fruit with seeds only

#cultureiscurrency
#bonsuwroteit
#brooklynstillwinning
#thefalloffmagazine
#lifeistobelived by @bonsudreamz

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2 months ago

Although Hip-hop journalism has predominantly been a cultural documentarian of the urban Black and Hispanic life that both orbit and generate rap music, it has historically been carried by men and women of various race and ethnicities. The former half of the previous statement underscores why journalists of a certain hue or background should be most concerned with the dilution of this specific media. For the Brooklyn writer with Jamaican parents or Los Angeles photographer with Puerto Rican heritage, hip-hop journalism is grandiosely more than just a hobby or gig or disposable trade for clicks and upward thumbs on social media. It is a craft. Full stop. Moreover, it’s a media reservation dedicated to the visibility of that scribe and photog and designer and rapper as well as their roots.

But here’s the larger point and ugly truth: In the U.S., erasure and historical bleaching is a present attack on any representation of “Niger.” If critical thought is defanged from the media that speaks for those in danger of being erased, then the erasers increase their lead. American racism thrives on unilateral ignorance. It not only requires the majority race to prioritize their pink and blonde above their well being, it also need the oppressed to remain blind and/or complicit in their own fade—like distilling a once powerful voice down to performance antagonism or giving cultural authority to those whose ancestry or life are not presently endangered. It’s bigger than rap. At least, for some.

Full convo in bio

#cultureiscurrency
#thefalloffmagazine
#hiphopjournalism
#rapmedia
#protectblackmedia by @bonsudreamz

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2 months ago

The @dreamville Fall-Off “Magazine” has lived out in the world for only a week and yet it’s felt like a month. The feedback and support have been almost overwhelming, yet gratitude and appreciation reign above it all. Can’t remember the last time a commissioned project manifested better than initially envisioned. This publication is marketed as a mag, but it’s both greater and grander. Just hold those matte pages in your hands and you’ll feel the weight (heavy on the wrist) before consuming the weight. Crack it open and greet the bylines of today and tomorrow’s finest journalists/scribes. The photography is munificent and expansive. The stories are as edu-taining as they are luminous. The star power wattage beams high thanks to names like @mslaurynhill @rza @killermike @bia @lenawaithe and of course my cover boy and publisher @realcoleworld. We even paid homage to The Source’s classic “Last Word” page with an illustration by its creator @andreleroydavis.

This is my first EIC command in 15 years and absolutely one of my career favorites. Mainly because we didn’t just feed fans with a mag for the moment. We made an editorial culture classic in a digital era. Don’t take my word for it —> www.TheFallOff.com

#cultureiscurrency
#thefalloffmagazine
#dreamville
#journalism
#hiphopjournalism by @bonsudreamz

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3 months ago

The Fall-Off Mag roundtable out now on YouTube! 🎙️ 📖 #TheFallOff #TheFallOffMagazine

@bonsudreamz @feltonamus @jamiylachisholmwrites @keithnelsonjr @ivie.ani @paulcantor @weketchum

🎥 @joecavallini @sleepingonmars by @bonsudreamz

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3 months ago