![field genius youtube field genius youtube](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BmT_wZLlVl8/maxresdefault.jpg)
When she was ill in the last two years, I visited bell several times. In her home, she pointed out her most precious possessions and places: her books, her kitchen, her meditation space. We broke bread, shared intimate stories about our histories and exchanged visions of our future. The mixtape moved her to invite me to Berea, Ky., on several occasions. Placing her ideas on the turntables created a soundtrack of her range and rigor. And with courage, discipline and dedication, she carved out space for me to exist.
![field genius youtube field genius youtube](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-5_RDzKczcE/maxresdefault.jpg)
She was vulnerable and complex, sharp and unashamed of how she walked the world. In fact, the notion - to reposition the DJ’s role from a party purveyor to an archivist, cultural custodian, and information specialist of music with critical value - emerged from a commissioned mixtape, “ Soulful Critical Thought: bell hooks and the Making of a DJ Scholar.” My selections were true to who I thought hooks was, both within and beyond print. She was a primary collaborator in developing a concept I call DJ Scholarship.
![field genius youtube field genius youtube](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W98prsLr4uk/hqdefault.jpg)
“I am driven to write, compelled by a constant longing to choreograph, to bring words together in patterns and configurations that move the spirit.”