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Nadeska Alexis has maintained the fort of the Everyday Struggle studios with professionalism and grace, helping to corral the often extreme personalities that appear on the show. Alexis is now heading off on her own in a new Beats 1 music and culture series that will take a deeper look inside the current culture.

Billboard exclusively reports:

Speaking with Billboard about the premiere, Alexis explained that it’s “a chance to showcase a part of me that people don’t necessarily see. Everyday Struggle is an entertaining, intense place for debate, but it isn’t the easiest space for me to have a dialogue or a voice. This gives me an opportunity to be open; I have two hours to play music, interview artists who wouldn’t fit with my other work, and introduce the audience to new artists.” (Full disclosure: Alexis and I worked together for a time at Complex.)

The first episode will feature a number of New Yorkers, including A$AP Rocky, Flipp Dinero and ItsTheReal, highlighting Alexis’ kinship with the city and her interest in documenting the city’s hip-hop scene. “New York has always been a multicultural place,” she says.

“The show will showcase artists coming up now — sometimes from my neighborhood, in Brooklyn,” Alexis says. “I spoke to STJHN about growing up between Brooklyn and Guyana, which is similar to my background, since I’m originally from Grenada. I want to hear from the people creating the music about that current sound of New York.” The show will include picks from the Apple Music playlist “The New New York.”

The show makes its debut Friday, Feb. 15 at 3PM ET and airs weekly at the same time slot.

Big up to Nadeska Alexis!

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Photo: Getty