In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers speaks with Massima Bell—music producer, model, activist, and co-creator of Transa—about her journey through gender, place, and chosen family.

Massima grew up between two vastly different worlds: a 100-year-old farmhouse in rural Iowa and a life on the move with her mother, a PhD who brought her to urban and suburban spaces from Maryland to Buffalo. Her relationship with place—particularly the tension between the beauty of nature and the discomfort of rural social spaces—forms a backdrop to her story of coming into her identity.

Massima shares how coming out as nonbinary and later as a trans woman shaped her relationships with her parents, especially the profound moment her father responded to her transition with just one word: “Congratulations.” She opens up about estrangement and reconciliation with her mother, the challenges of early transition, and the emotional weight of building a life where her body and spirit could align.

This episode explores themes of gender identity, ancestry, estrangement, reconciliation, rural vs. urban America, and the power of chosen family—especially the trans women she calls her “sisters,” who form the heart of her most meaningful bonds.

Guest: Massima Bell

Host: Nabil Ayers

Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji

Production Company: Palm Tree Island

In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers speaks with Massima Bell&mdash;music producer, model, activist, and co-creator of Transa&mdash;about her journey through gender, place, and chosen family.
Massima grew up between two vastly different worlds: a 100-year-old farmhouse in rural Iowa and a life on the move with her mother, a PhD who brought her to urban and suburban spaces from Maryland to Buffalo. Her relationship with place&mdash;particularly the tension between the beauty of nature and the discomfort of rural social spaces&mdash;forms a backdrop to her story of coming into her identity.
Massima shares how coming out as nonbinary and later as a trans woman shaped her relationships with her parents, especially the profound moment her father responded to her transition with just one word: &ldquo;Congratulations.&rdquo; She opens up about estrangement and reconciliation with her mother, the challenges of early transition, and the emotional weight of building a life where her body and spirit could align.
This episode explores themes of gender identity, ancestry, estrangement, reconciliation, rural vs. urban America, and the power of chosen family&mdash;especially the trans women she calls her &ldquo;sisters,&rdquo; who form the heart of her most meaningful bonds.
Guest: Massima Bell
Host: Nabil Ayers
Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji
Production Company: Palm Tree Island

Welcome to 'Identified', a podcast hosted by Nabil Ayers, music executive and author of 'My Life in the Sunshine'. This show explores the intricate and often complicated world of family and identity.

In his memoir, Nabil shared his journey of understanding his mixed-race identity, navigating a distant relationship with his father, renowned jazz musician Roy Ayers, and discovering new family connections. 'Identified' continues this exploration, broadening the scope to encompass universal themes of family dynamics.

Join Nabil as he engages in heartfelt conversations that traverse cultural histories, the impact of non-traditional childhoods, and the ways our relationships shape our identities. Through personal stories, the show confronts the challenges of loss and grief, while celebrating the unique bonds that define us. Each episode seeks to answer the profound question: What is family?

Discover remarkable stories from individuals of diverse backgrounds as 'Identified' unravels the complexities that make family so unique.

The executive producer for 'Identified' is Kieron Banerji, and is produced by Palm Tree Island.

Welcome to 'Identified', a podcast hosted by Nabil Ayers, music executive and author of 'My Life in the Sunshine'. This show explores the intricate and often complicated world of family and identity.
In his memoir, Nabil shared his journey of understanding his mixed-race identity, navigating a distant relationship with his father, renowned jazz musician Roy Ayers, and discovering new family connections. 'Identified' continues this exploration, broadening the scope to encompass universal themes of family dynamics.
Join Nabil as he engages in heartfelt conversations that traverse cultural histories, the impact of non-traditional childhoods, and the ways our relationships shape our identities. Through personal stories, the show confronts the challenges of loss and grief, while celebrating the unique bonds that define us. Each episode seeks to answer the profound question: What is family?
Discover remarkable stories from individuals of diverse backgrounds as 'Identified' unravels the complexities that make family so unique.
The executive producer for 'Identified' is Kieron Banerji, and is produced by Palm Tree Island.

Identified with Nabil Ayers

Welcome to 'Identified', a podcast hosted by Nabil Ayers, music executive and author of 'My Life in the Sunshine'. This show explores the intricate and often complicated world of family and identity.
In his memoir, Nabil shared his journey of understanding his mixed-race identity, navigating a distant relationship with his father, renowned jazz musician Roy Ayers, and discovering new family connections. 'Identified' continues this exploration, broadening the scope to encompass universal themes of family dynamics.
Join Nabil as he engages in heartfelt conversations that traverse cultural histories, the impact of non-traditional childhoods, and the ways our relationships shape our identities. Through personal stories, the show confronts the challenges of loss and grief, while celebrating the unique bonds that define us. Each episode seeks to answer the profound question: What is family?
Discover remarkable stories from individuals of diverse backgrounds as 'Identified' unravels the complexities that make family so unique.
The executive producer for 'Identified' is Kieron Banerji, and is produced by Palm Tree Island.

Massima Bell on Coming Out, Gender, Identity, and Building Her Chosen Family

What if your most formative identity traits come from people you didn’t grow up with?

In this powerful episode of Identified, rapper and queer icon Cakes Da Killa reflects on growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey, raised by his teenage mother and grandmother. He shares openly about the complexities of reconciling with an absent father, discovering inherited traits in unexpected family members, and why — as a queer person — chosen family has always played a central role in his life.

This episode touches on:


Intergenerational strength from women in his family


The slow repair of fractured paternal relationships


The trauma of losing family homes and generational wealth


The nuance of chosen vs. biological family


And why his mother’s strength remains his biggest inspiration

With clarity, wit, and raw honesty, Cakes shows that family — like identity — is something you get to define on your own terms.

What if your most formative identity traits come from people you didn&rsquo;t grow up with?
In this powerful episode of Identified, rapper and queer icon Cakes Da Killa reflects on growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey, raised by his teenage mother and grandmother. He shares openly about the complexities of reconciling with an absent father, discovering inherited traits in unexpected family members, and why &mdash; as a queer person &mdash; chosen family has always played a central role in his life.
This episode touches on:
<ul data-start="963" data-end="1247">
<li data-start="963" data-end="1018">
Intergenerational strength from women in his family
</li>
<li data-start="1019" data-end="1074">
The slow repair of fractured paternal relationships
</li>
<li data-start="1075" data-end="1136">
The trauma of losing family homes and generational wealth
</li>
<li data-start="1137" data-end="1183">
The nuance of chosen vs. biological family
</li>
<li data-start="1184" data-end="1247">
And why his mother&rsquo;s strength remains his biggest inspiration
</li>
</ul>
With clarity, wit, and raw honesty, Cakes shows that family &mdash; like identity &mdash; is something you get to define on your own terms.

Rapper Cakes Da Killa on Growing Up Queer and the Women Who Raised Him

In this episode of Identified, host Nabil Ayers speaks with Bandsplain host Yasi Salek, who shares a moving, honest account of growing up Iranian-American in 1980s Los Angeles. Yasi discusses her family’s immigration story post-Iranian revolution, her experience being the “other” in a predominantly white community, and the identity conflict that shaped her early life — including moments of rebellion in pursuit of American assimilation.

The conversation explores the nuances of Middle Eastern family dynamics, the pressures of cultural tradition, and the value of commitment — both in blood ties and chosen families. Yasi reflects on a formative high school chapter in Singapore, her deep bond with her cousins, and the remarkable legacy of her grandfather: a communist, a vegetarian in the 1920s, and an enduring symbol of independence and personal philosophy.

Guest: Yasi Salek

Host: Nabil Ayers

Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji

 

In this episode of Identified, host Nabil Ayers speaks with&nbsp;Bandsplain host Yasi Salek, who shares a moving, honest account of growing up Iranian-American in 1980s Los Angeles. Yasi discusses her family&rsquo;s immigration story post-Iranian revolution, her experience being the &ldquo;other&rdquo; in a predominantly white community, and the identity conflict that shaped her early life &mdash; including moments of rebellion in pursuit of American assimilation.
The conversation explores the nuances of Middle Eastern family dynamics, the pressures of cultural tradition, and the value of commitment &mdash; both in blood ties and chosen families. Yasi reflects on a formative high school chapter in Singapore, her deep bond with her cousins, and the remarkable legacy of her grandfather: a communist, a vegetarian in the 1920s, and an enduring symbol of independence and personal philosophy.
Guest: Yasi Salek
Host: Nabil Ayers
Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji
&nbsp;

Bandsplain Host Yasi Salek on Defining ‘Home’ Across Cultures

In this episode of Identified, host Nabil Ayers is joined by Jad Abumrad—artist, musician, journalist, and creator of Radiolab, Dolly Parton’s America, More Perfect, and Fela Kuti: Fear No Man—for a conversation about grief, family history, and what it means to belong to a culture you weren’t fully given.Jad shares stories from his Lebanese family: a great-grandmother whose ring he lost in the sea, a grandfather who buried his mother on the side of the road at age 10, and a father who narrowly survived a civil war and brought his entire extended family to Tennessee. But it’s only in recent years that Jad began to ask the deeper questions: What actually happened in Lebanon? Why did his family never talk about it? And what does it mean to claim a cultural identity that was never fully passed down?We also talk about:
Growing up Arab in the U.S. during the Iran hostage crisis and 9/11
His early reporting in Lebanon and how it helped shape his voice
The grief that shaped his family, and the one loss that reshuffled everything
Choosing to raise kids with a sense of inherited identity—even when you didn’t grow up with one yourself

Jad’s story is a moving reminder that family is built not just on what we’re given—but also on what we ask, uncover, and pass forward.

Guest: Jad Abumrad
Host: Nabil Ayers
Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji
Produced by: Palm Tree Island
Music by: Noella & Patricia Brennan

In this episode of&nbsp;Identified, host&nbsp;Nabil Ayers&nbsp;is joined by&nbsp;Jad Abumrad&mdash;artist, musician, journalist, and creator of&nbsp;Radiolab,&nbsp;Dolly Parton&rsquo;s America,&nbsp;More Perfect, and&nbsp;Fela Kuti: Fear No Man&mdash;for a conversation about grief, family history, and what it means to belong to a culture you weren&rsquo;t fully given.Jad shares stories from his Lebanese family: a great-grandmother whose ring he lost in the sea, a grandfather who buried his mother on the side of the road at age 10, and a father who narrowly survived a civil war and brought his entire extended family to Tennessee. But it&rsquo;s only in recent years that Jad began to ask the deeper questions: What actually happened in Lebanon? Why did his family never talk about it? And what does it mean to claim a cultural identity that was never fully passed down?We also talk about:
<ul data-stringify-type="unordered-list" data-list-tree="true" data-indent="0" data-border="0">
<li data-stringify-indent="0" data-stringify-border="0">Growing up Arab in the U.S. during the Iran hostage crisis and 9/11</li>
<li data-stringify-indent="0" data-stringify-border="0">His early reporting in Lebanon and how it helped shape his voice</li>
<li data-stringify-indent="0" data-stringify-border="0">The grief that shaped his family, and the one loss that reshuffled everything</li>
<li data-stringify-indent="0" data-stringify-border="0">Choosing to raise kids with a sense of inherited identity&mdash;even when you didn&rsquo;t grow up with one yourself</li>
</ul>
Jad&rsquo;s story is a moving reminder that family is built not just on what we&rsquo;re given&mdash;but also on what we ask, uncover, and pass forward.
Guest: Jad Abumrad Host: Nabil Ayers Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji Produced by: Palm Tree Island Music by: Noella &amp; Patricia Brennan

Massima Bell on Coming Out, Gender, Identity, and Building Her Chosen Family

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