Schondra Aytch is a Buffalo, NY-based Freelance Writer who covers all things Music + Culture

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Prevention in Practice in Erie County’s Health Assessment

Last August, Lindsay Riggs was diagnosed with colon cancer. The forty-year-old working wife and mother of three received the devastating news a few days after sharp stomach pains brought her to an emergency room. Doctors assumed it was an abscess and prescribed antibiotics, but Riggs’ pain persisted. She went back to the doctor’s office shortly after for what she thought would be a small operation. “I woke up with a nine-inch incision on my abdomen and a colostomy bag,” Riggs says. “A tumor had...
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Jae Skeese Comes Home

In November 2024, rapper and lyricist Jae Skeese held his first headlining show in Buffalo. At the time, Ground Level had been released just a few months prior, anticipation was growing for his tour, and Skeese was ready to “put on for his city.” That night, Rec Room was packed with Buffalo’s hip-hop upper echelon: to name a few, Toney Boi, Billie Essco, K Pistol, and Conway the Machine graced the stage. Out-of-town artists like Big K.R.I.T, Berry A, and 100 Grand Royce also made appearances, se...
Buffalo Magazine •

Crafting statement makers: DAME’s handcrafted leather wares

His interest piqued by experimenting with different materials, the skilled craftsman then began recycling old leather clothes from family and friends to create keepsake wallets. With over a decade of experience in design and a growing passion for leather work, Dame started making custom bags and purses—an effort first initiated by his own need for a camera bag when he had to pick up an additional job during the pandemic.

“I had to travel, and I was doing sports marketing and content creation. I
Buffalo Magazine •

Spinning the status quo: Colored Girls Bike Too

The creator of Colored Girls Bike Too, a grassroots organization turned nonprofit, Hill integrates her passion for wellness and efforts as an activist to challenge the status quo in Buffalo.

With a focus on supporting Black women who ride across the city, CGBT has become a resource to support and aid Buffalo’s underserved communities.

“I see the bike as a cool way to … gain access to mental wellness, find a sisterhood that I didn’t have at that time, but then also to disrupt systems,” Hill say
Buffalo Magazine •

Providing everyday needs & hands-on education

Within the first month of her new job as a business teacher at PS 198 International Preparatory in Lower West Buffalo, Rachel Kent prepared a personal care drive for her students. A few months later, she helped give away free turkeys to families during Thanksgiving. And by December, Kent had partnered with Colvin Cleaners and National Grid to give free coats, gloves and hats to the high schoolers.

A former small business owner with over 17 years of teaching under her belt, Kent put her organizi
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Beau Fleuve returns to Central Terminal

When most Buffalonians hear beau fleuve—French for “beautiful river”—they recall the urban myth of French voyagers coming to their city in the mid-1700s and conferring this descriptor on the Niagara River. But in the past few years, the name has taken on new meaning, thanks to Lindsey Taylor.

Creator of the Beau Fleuve Music and Arts Celebration (Sunday, August 28 at The Buffalo Central Terminal), Taylor plays on the name to highlight the diversity, richness, and resurgence of Buffalo’s musical
Buffalo Magazine •

Supporting positive sexual health

Since the mid-1990s, MOCHA Buffalo has been a program for Black and brown LGBTQ+ communities to socialize and get access to sexual healthcare. An acronym of its original name—the Men of Color Health Awareness Project—MOCHA has redefined itself over the years to be more inclusive and provide expanded resources. Joining Evergreen Health last spring, the hub’s recent reworking is all for the cause to further support their community.

Burnell, who’s been visiting the MOCHA Center since he was 15 and
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In the cut with Neph B. Chilli

Her initial failure helped Ivory Vasquez strengthen her purpose. A dedicated fan and participant in Buffalo’s 2010s-era hip-hop scene, Vasquez, popularly known as Neph, was ready to curate her first show. Naming the event the Spotlight Series, the aspiring organizer put her ideas in motion and set the debut event for mid-spring 2013. To her surprise, only half of her artist roster showed up to perform. “I was a little discouraged,” the organizer recalls. “I knew I had the support, but I was disc
Buffalo Magazine •

Motherdear’s Jamaican cuisine from the soul

Many people know her as Hyacinth Morris, but to me she’s Motherdear. A close family friend, and matriarch, Motherdear has been cooking her Jamaican cuisine for my family since I was 5 years old.

Whether we were eating her savory, slide-off-the-bone oxtails, hearty brown stew or steamy curry goat, Motherdear’s dinners always felt like more than just food. I only understand now that I was experiencing the essence of her rich life in every bite.

“I love the food in Jamaica because most of the foo