SPEAKEASY

SPEAKEASY: THE LINGO ON THE LINGO

Two NYC natives share their love for their city's culture with listeners.

words by Noah Estling | photos by Zoë McCreary

Face it: every single one of you reading this has had a shitty idea for a podcast. I’m not immune to this either: freshman year, my friend Mia and I were hellbent on making a history themed podcast even though we didn’t know anything about history. Who was gonna listen to that? Thankfully, people exist who have good podcast ideas and possess the capability to make great content. That's where Syracuse seniors Money Mesbah (they/them) and Omari Romain (he/ him) enter with The Lingo. Money is a Communication and Rhetorical Studies Major, African-American Studies Minor, and Romain is a Finance and Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises double major. The Lingo began when Money was working on WERW Radio and Romain floated the idea of a joint podcast. Romain came up with the name The Lingo freshman year and, realizing how much NYC slang is incorporated into their daily vernacular, it ended up fitting perfectly. They started the series off on their hour-long radio slot, but quickly realized, and came to resent, the box they were putting themselves in. And if there’s one thing Money and Romain hate, it's being boxed in. “We are not a music podcast, we are a chameleon podcast,” said Money. As a result, they invite everyone from every corner of the creative universe to come and talk to them. This ranges from music to physical art to sculpting, they even had a chef sit in on a recent episode. Both being from Brooklyn, they have a shared culture that they love and want to introduce to their audience. They both want to talk about what’s important to them without constraining themselves to just one topic. Money and Romain say they’re “in the business of putting people on” inviting guests from all facets of art and culture to bring something new to their listeners. “I love the synergy of it,” Romain told me. “Being able to put someone onto something that's dope, I don't know, I feel like that's a huge honor.” Romain shared that a huge part of New York City culture is communication and that's exactly what they both hope to express in theri podcast, be it showcasing artists from their own networks or, including segments with guests talking about the niche slang phrases they use. When asked what they want people to take away from their podcast Money stated, “We're just two people who really love the culture we grew up in and this podcast is our physical creation to amplify that.” Romain put it in even simpler terms stating, “You just have to come along.”