2017 possessed enough tumultuous turpitude to exasperate even the most sage amongst us, but on the heartfelt flip, it also forced us to raise our game when it came to dialogue, expression, and conscious conversation. Because it comes down to this: If you can’t frame the problem, how are you going to solve it? So with that being a sort of mantra carrying us into this holiday season, this felt like the right time to share one of our favorite interviews of 2017, from a young man and artist who is a righteous avatar for the sorts of ambassadors-of-consciousness we need on the many fronts that ooze like wounds on our culture.

Taylor Bennett had a good year as a recording artist (releasing his acclaimed [i]Restoration Of An American Idol[/i] LP, and a big year as a man coming out to his fans as bisexual, and an even bigger year as a human pulling off the delicate dance of outgrowing the shadow cast by his extraordinary brother (Chance The Rapper) and stepping into a light all his own — fortifying his role as a soothsayer who can speak truth to the hyper-local issues facing people on his Chicago El stop, as much as the more global notions of identity facing young people wherever they be based. Taylor and I went long here, 40 minutes uninterrupted in REVOLT studios in Hollywood, talking about all of this, and so much more.

Enjoy, and thanks again to Taylor for making the time and being so real.