For the greater good, Philadelphia, and the hell of it.
Art & Life. Music & Madness.
From The Ground Up.
The City Root is established by, and published on behalf of, those trying to break through and make their mark while spinning on this rock through creative innovation and simple goodwill.
All done with the deliberate intention to bring uniquely entertaining and important content to the oversaturated social media and internet arena.
MAG
Articles and videos in all shapes and sizes, on just about any subject you can imagine — from the harsh reality of gun violence in Philadelphia to a foreign nosedive in a satirical world of sports psychology, and everything in between.
MIC
The Greater Philly area’s impressive music & creative scene. Flower handouts and funny shout-outs to the killers out here doing incredibly dope shit. Nothing weak. The bigger picture is that of community connection, charitable fundraising, and furthering youth development resources.
Contributors
Kevin Chevalier
FOUNDER & EDITOR
The City Root is the culmination of 15+ years of dedication to the craft. From writing raps in high school to articles and everything in between today. Beyond City Root stuff, Kevin is now a full-time educator: teaching Math & Personal Finance at West Philadelphia High School and as a UACS Program Director with UPenn’s Netter Center.
Close friends and mortal enemies may also know him as Shago Marlin… but he mostly goes by Chev.
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Elijah Brocco
WRITER
Elijah writes in the moment — in musical trances, occult wormholes, and mental health deep dives. They’re also a science-fiction novelist, proud bearded dragon parent, and a music theory nerd.
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Eli Edison
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Eli lent his artistic hand to our aesthetic and his active, creative mind to our development. While it was still in operation, Eli was the co-director of Yung Kandy, a gallery/music venue in Brewerytown. He was raised in Baltimore but has called Philly home for quite a while.
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Kelsey Cruz
WRITER
As a journalism graduate from Temple University, Kelsey has credits with Policygenuis, Philadelphia Neighborhoods, and the late, great Levo League. She loves gin, feminist theory, and Dave Matthews Band, and currently lives in South Jersey with her husband, two rescue dogs, and infant daughter.
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Caper Elliot
WRITER
Casper writes media & music articles and was a massive help during our launch process across the board. When they’re not binging their latest TV or music obsession, you can find them painting, making playlists, and drinking unhealthy amounts of iced tea.
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Chris Kennedy
VIDEOGRAPHER
For years, Chris put on live shows in his parent’s basement in the Lehigh Valley, providing a place to play for local bands and a place to convene for the area’s creative scene. For The City Root, he shot and edited some of our Shootin’ episodes.
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KayLeigh MacFarlan
MARKETING COORDINATOR
A recent Temple University graduate, Kayleigh is now at Harmelin Media and working in Media Planning and Public Relations. While here, she facilitated the original #SmallBizPHL initiative to highlight local businesses that were affected by the pandemic.
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Diana DeVincent
MARKETING COORDINATOR
As a writer, marketing coordinator, interviewer, jack of all trades, Diana helped evolve The City Root from an idea to an online publication in 2020 and early 2021.
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Yemme Mojo
MARKETING & CREATIVE ASSOCIATE
Talented and inspired graphic/tattoo/music artist. Yemme is a jack of all trades who contributed to The City Root, The Boom Box, and Phight Club. Yemme loves community, creativity, connection, and tasty vegan food.
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BASHIR JACKSON
VIDEO ASSISTANT
In only a few months with The City Root, Bashir worked on everything from social media video reels, to sports articles, to Neighborhood Tour edits.
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Kevin Fox
WRITER
Kevin wrote a few movie reviews & social commentary pieces for The City Root. We also published articles from his own personal blog with Vulpes Journal and Paste Magazine.
