It’s hard to ignore the emotion in someone’s voice. You can’t help but picture someone acting out the story that they’re telling. There’s something almost magical in the way that every person’s voice is as unique as a fingerprint.
The fingerprints and voices of Black men and women across America have been ignored and shut out for far too long. The Sooth came about as a thought. A way to tell the story of the Black community from the perspective of the black community. No more portrayals, no more representations. Just us. Our voices and our stories.
Akoda and Aseda have elected to be your Soothsayers bringing healing and inspiration via art, authentic discussion and genuine humor. All these and more are part of The Sooth.
Sooth is commonly acknowledged and defined as the truth, reality, or fact.
The Sooth shall set you free.
“I have always loved listening to my family tell stories. Tales of dark knights and barely dodged skillets; of pastors with 12 gauges and and a time when the public library wasn’t so public. There is something powerful in a story, true or otherwise. The narration guides your mind but the scene is yours to paint. It is perhaps this love of the spoken word, this draw to a time when history lessons came at the knee of an elder that led me to The Sooth. In a world where my people are constantly ill portrayed and misinformed I felt there needed to be something that was for us. We have so much beauty in our community, so much power and potential that many refuse to acknowledge. So many voices that have gone unheard. I wanted to to be a loudspeaker for those voices. And so the idea for a podcast was born. I had the equipment, had the ideas, but I needed something more. I needed some help. Some people say to raise a child, it takes a village. Well to raise consciousness, it takes a partner.” – Sayer Aseda
“I have always been in love with reading. I enjoy the idea of finding an author who has written something about almost any subject I can think or conjure up, and having a one-on-one conversation with them at any time I want with the ability to control the pace. I have grown to realize that a conversation with a like-minded person was what I desired. I have experienced the most growth, knowledge and healing from the words and stories of others than I have had with any author because I was able to understand an element of conversation that is not easily conveyed via writing; emotion. That added emotional context for situations made topics more understandable on an interpersonal level, and spurned my new obsession: podcasts and listening to the stories of those willing to share their story. The words that were shared during this time were both inspiring and healing and I wanted to a way to share these things with others. My idea of sharing my voice and the voice of others like me, people who found healing in the words of others, my desire to become a real Soothsayer, and the duty to explore my culture more intentionally was matched with Aseda’s idea to start a podcast; and The Sooth was born. ” – Sayer Akoda
Click to hear an episode of The Real Sooth where Soothsayers Akoda & Aseda discuss what it means to them to be a Soothsayer.
The Sooth 