#TriggerWarning: A big part of identity is race and in light of recent events, quarantine, and a time where some white people are scared and/or ashamed to open dialogue and some black people are exhausted with the cycle, Alex and I try to discuss what the reasons actually are
This is the longest episode yet and it could have been so much longer! Jilo is a good friend of mine and we chat over a cup of tea, both finding out things about each other's journeys that neither of us knew! We talk about everything from healing and what/who that attracts, how her tenacity and relationship with struggle has led to her being able to connect to the underdogs in any story, to Africa being a superpower, to why her husband will be the wealthiest man alive because of who he is marryi...
Supermalcom is what I call a #dancerpreneur. Founder of SuperstepsAcademy.com and Www.Aquafitpro.Co.Uk hailing from Congo, France and UK, Malcom Wa Mbombo Mbombo talks to me about his journeys in dance, business and African history! He reveals why he chose to work for himself, the cultural challenges of dancing full time, and the importance of role models on his journey, and how the Congolese fight to survive has manifested itself in various chapters of his life so far...
Today I sit with Issata who is in beauty, marketing, and journalism and we get stuck into culture, reconnection with heritage on both parents sides, and freedom. From our minds, from burdens, and how she uses awareness as a tool to keep her mind body and soul in check. We talk about why she has a word for each year - why last year was called breathe, and this year, 2020 is for her, a year of rebranding!
Mechanikool and I have an interesting conversation about his 20+ years of dance so far, racism, his ability to use empathy to create a space for discourse with mindsets that different to his own, and the impact dealing with depression in his late teens had on where he is today. We talk about building good relationships and being observant so not to lose sight of who you are in the midst of what life may throw at you, and I also learned how analytical his mind is to be able to connect dots while ...
Today, Sara Dos Santos and I follow her experiences from Portugal to East London, gumboots to social inclusion and international cultural policies in arts, and why self care is so important. We talk about faith and activism, loyalty, burnouts and connection. We explore her relationship with sports and arts growing up, and how her not being chosen spurned a desire to create her own spaces and messages for the world to see. It seems Toni Morrison was right - If there is a book that you want to rea...
This episode is packed! I sit with Joe and we talk about his relationship with Zimbabwe, UK, art, music, mental health and his experiences navigating as a young black male in Britain. We talk about early father figures, choice and identity, language, the role of deeds to replace addictions, his relationship with death, trauma, and a higher power. We even set a #ThirdQuarterChallenge - to wake up every night, ask for what you want in life, and send us a voicenote at www.anchor.fm/tlltw/message wi...
Mariama is founder of Smiling Through Light and the One Child One Lamp Campaign - She buys certified solar lamps from manufacturers and employs women as agents to sell them at affordable prices to their communities, at a mark up that pays for their salaries and company overheads. She explains her desire for international development but how working in the solar industry as a woman has brought challenges in the commercial and private spaces. This has led to her developing a scheme that supports m...
Today I sat with Isaac Ouro Gnao , the Togo born, international and multidisciplinary artist journalist and poet and creator of The Oreo Complex , living in London. We talk about his current relationship with both Togo and UK spaces and cultures, and their impact on his journey communicating his socio-political messages through words and movement. For me, this was a reconnection story. His Ewe roots are manifesting in his mindset and development of ritual entertainment - bringing culture to the ...
#HappyMothersDay! This is a special bonus episode because I'm interviewing my greatest inspiration in life, and you get to find out why. Some as me why I am the way I am, and now you get to meet the source - my mum! We talk about her relationship with Sierra Leone, UK, mortgage, retirement and her boys! How her foundation guides her decisions, what drives her, her relationship with God, and her ministry of caring for the dying, sick, bereaved and others in distress
Susan and I talk about Cameroon and her base in Brixton, her journey so far. She drops great tools on how she navigates through life and stays sane, safe environments, and even some struggles within the dance industry where she said "If it's going to jeopardize my truth, it's not worth it". We talk about gifts, legacy, purpose, and the pressures of the world as a young black woman living in London and what she wants for herself
"If you think small is insignificant, try being locked in a room at night with 1 mosquito" Usifu Jalloh , of the Cowfoot Prince documentary , is a Sierra Leonean scholar, keynote speaker, drummer, activist, transformative storyteller, founder of the annual Maambena Fest in Kamakwie, and co-founder of the National Storytelling Festival, Freetown. We talk about his own history and experiences, his views on education, religion and how to approach FGM issues, how to develop knowledge and love of sel...
Rudzani is a South African artist living in London and we have a beautiful exchange - taking responsibility and forgiving yourself, separating nos from you as an identity, harnessing your uniqueness as a power, and mindset in the families, countries and spaces she's been in!
We get provocative this week as Sean shares his experience as a young, black, british born Jamaican Guyanese cis male artist, navigating the socio political world. We talk gentrification of his neighbourhood and how he's seen that reflected in the institutions of the arts, and why he started the CSDC
This week, I talk to Oluwatosin (Tina) Omotosho and we start at the beginning. We talk about what she remembers of living in Lagos, Nigeria, the culture and temperature shock of moving to UK, and how she felt she had to remain resilient to survive school in north west London. We touch on her career working for a charity and her experiences in the corporate world as a young black woman, and her relationship and history with dance as a form of both expression and therapy, which led to the birth of...
Some may know Nancy as founder of @NigerianYouthInDiasporaOrg but we delve into her experience as a British born Nigerian growing up in Nigeria but living in UK. We explore how her culture and thinking differs from those around her, her curiosity in cultures, and how having God as her anchor has helped her stand firm in who she is regardless of her environment. We even talk about business and how from a young age she knew that her gift and her why, is people!...
I catch up with Karim about his journey of identity through dance, diversity and inclusion, and his company, New Beings . We talk about an early experience with a teacher and what that prepared him for, his change in profession, the impact of SOAS and the black female councillor who made him feel validated, his career in diversity and inclusion, and why its important that spaces like New Beings, where people can discuss and explore issues around identity, exist...
Bekky is a dance physio and founder of Safe In Motion currently living in Austria, but moving to London. We talk about her relationship with dance, risk physiotherapy, her family, Austria and UK, and the rehabilitation process when doctors told her she could not walk for months. We talk about the psychology of her mind and those around her, the support/lack of, and how her awareness of self through meditation helped her keep hold of who she is.
Joe Faulkner has an incredible story about how and why he started The Krio Kanteen , and how he uses it to introduce Sierra Leone culture into different spaces. We talk about the power of support from our communities, taking ownership and doing things for ourselves, and the positive and negative impacts of traditional thinking
Joe Faulkner has an incredible story about how and why he started The Krio Kanteen , and how he uses it to introduce Sierra Leone culture into different spaces. In part 1, we talk about his relationship with Sierra Leone as foundation of his identity, the value he sees in its culture, history and people, and the identity crisis of Sierra Leoneans in the continent and diaspora...
Nyasha was born in Zimbabwe, lived most her life in UK and now in Sweden empowering disadvantaged refugee communities in an innovation space. We talk about that, where she calls home and how she feels about it, how she manages her mental health, and about her relationship with gratitude. She's a creative and a connector, so a lot of her work helps people grow so is in a place to see the effects of that on people's perception of identity...
In this episode, we wish you a Happy New Year and launch season 2 of #TLLTW! Upon returning from a roller coaster of a trip to Sierra Leone to network, spend time with family, host the National Storytelling Festival with PAN and Usifu Jalloh, and have general enjoyment, Andre attempts to process all the positives and negatives to see what Sierra Leone has taught him about identity empowerment and creativity. It's a lot!
This episode is short but sweet. At the time this will be released, I will be going through customs at Heathrow with my mum en route to Freetown, Sierra Leone to see family and for me to deliver the National Storytelling Festival with Usifu Jalloh, the Patriotic Advocacy Network, and other partners. It's an opportunity to be thankful for getting this idea this far, and an opportunity to thank you, the listeners, for investing your time in it when there are so many other things you could be doing...
In this extra long episode, I was blessed to sit with Michael Lutterodt-Quarcoo - Business Development Manager at Invest in Africa and founder of www.atcp.co - who drops tangible information, strategies and sources for anyone looking to build their knowledge of African contributions to history. We talk about identity's role in empowerment, his journey from finding out he was 'black' when he moved to UK and challenging the position of African nations from age 10, to working in African affairs, le...
I had the honour of sitting with @black_superhero, @makeda_leilah and @jitta_92 from www.youngsl.com - a hub for young Sierra Leoneans with a mission to increase the visibility of Sierra Leone at home and in the diaspora, and change the narrative through the arts. They held #SLACfest (Sierra Leonean Arts and Cultural Festival) where @andrebright did the keynote speech that birthed this podcast. We also talk about their vision of creating opportunities for young people back home in the arts &...
In this episode, I talk to the Nosa Odiase - author of the new book A Cry to War (The Last Warrior King) by Enosadeda Odiase and Karen Pumpuni. We talk about the battles, politics, betrayal, love, 5 pre-colonial African civilisations, and 2 years of research that went into this fictional book dramatised from the stories of real people, places and events from the African continent. We discuss why balancing the last 500 years with at least 5000 years of African history is important to changing the...
This is the second part of a conversation with Sitsofe. We talk about her relationship with psychologists, GPs, lack of being seen, and why she believes eurocentric institutions don't make space for her lived experiences. We talk about her body and affect that diet has had to create balance, and even her self as an empath and how she protects her own self and suggests how those with the same gift can do the same. She also announces her new business at www.sitsofewellness.com coming soon, offerin...
This is the first part of a conversation with British Born Ghanaian Sheila Attah about the importance of finding your therapy, release and wholeness. We talk about her connection to self and why she is now adorning her Ewe name, Sitsofe. We talk African psychology, African spirituality and Physical forms of expression from the continent and why she's using her dance and psychology background to create spaces for others to heal
First of all, we're into double figures, how amazing is that!? To mark the occasion, someone thought it would be a great idea for ME to be interviewed as a special episode, so here we are! We talk about my Yoruba name Ebunola, my history, my culture, how I change to become closer to who I would like to be, my connection to and project in Sierra Leone, awareness of self, what angers me, drives me, and what makes me...ME! If YOU have any questions you want me to answer or topics you would like me ...
This is the second half of a conversation with Sia and we get personal and talk about mental health. Before that, we use her reading list of "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe , "Heart Of A Woman", by Dr Maya Angelou , "Milk And Honey" by Rupi Kaur , "The Little Book Of Thinking Big" by Richard Newton and "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as stimulus to touch on the meaning and power of a name, your connection to culture, maintaining holistic health, and empowering yours...
