Black Prose New Strange

I'm genuinely so proud of Shaé Universe. Even though I don't know the UK R&B sensation personally, it's been beautiful watching her slow yet steady rise. From going viral on Twitter in 2017 to her debut album Love's Letter, she has continued to wow fans and industry peers with her distinct and sultry voice. In this episode, we spoke about having a clear vision, why she was insecure about her songwriting at one point, being on the cusp of superstardom, the importance of rest, heartbreak and what love has got to do with the music she makes. 

Listen to Shaé's new album Love's Letter.
Follow Shaé on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
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Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
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When George the Poet — also known as George Mpanga — decided to be a poet and not a rapper, he wanted to undermine the expectations that come with it. So after leaving Island Records to develop his BBC Sounds Peabody award-winning podcast Have You Heard George's Podcast? he found a way to use fiction, non-fiction and music to tell expansive stories about society, history and culture. In his latest book, Track Record: Me, Music, and the War on Blackness, he continues to tell our side of the story through his anti-colonial messaging and elegant use of words. In this episode, we speak about his complex relationship with rap music, how becoming a dad changed the way he measures success, why language can be political, and the responsibility Black writers have to our community.

Listen to George's podcast Have You Heard George's Podcast? 
Order George's new book Track Record: Me, Music, and the War on Blackness. 
Buy tickets to The Poets' Revival at Royal Albert Hall.
Follow George on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DJ, writer and artist manager Elijah is someone who prioritises original thinking, doesn't like to waste time making things perfect and wants other writers to just write the thing. It's probably why his Yellow Squares project has been such a huge success. He's managed to take the art of writing and translate it across to a social media platform that was primarily made for images and build a community where people love to have thought-provoking conversations in the comments. This has led him to university lecture theatres across the world and has even seen his work on billboards and football stadiums. In this episode, we speak about his unconventional writing style, why we need to make the most of our lives, the impact lockdown had on his worldview, building our own lanes, and taking the risks that scare us.

Listen to Elijah's album Make The Ting. 
Watch Elijah's Yellow Square project lecture. 
Follow Elijah on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aniefiok Ekpoudom and I really nerded out over our love for the craft of writing. I can’t remember when I first came across the writer and journalist from south London who documents the people, voices and communities of modern Britain. But I do know how his words made me feel. It’s always rich yet delicate. Concise yet fluid. Illuminating yet intimate. In this episode, we speak about how he went about writing his debut book Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain, a writing exercise I was really fascinated by called tracing, pitching your ideas to editors, discovering your niche as a writer, the British dream and why his Guardian interview with The Adenuga’s still means so much to him. 

Buy Aniefiok’s new book Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain.
Follow Aniefiok on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cameroonian-American singer Libianca knows her strengths when it comes to songwriting. It's why her breakout single People went viral on TikTok and changed the trajectory of her life overnight. But before the music therapist – as she likes to call herself – captured hearts around the world, she was already making music that feeds the soul. And with the recent release of her new EP Walk Away, Libianca tells me about her peculiar writing practices, why she allows her intuition to guide her, how she goes about transforming her pain and heartbreak into art and discovering emotional intelligence later on in life. 

Listen to Libianca's new EP Walk Away.
Follow Libianca on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rap is poetry for dynamic West London rapper, pianist and producer Keys the Prince. It's how he best articulates where he has come from, how tables have turned for him this year and where he's headed next. But things weren't always like this for Keys, and our conversation touches on some of the obstacles he's faced over the last few years as a musician. From feeling rejected by the industry to falling out of love with music and everything in between. We also spoke about why gratitude and patience are a must, his rekindled relationship with God, Nigerian heritage, the need for story arcs in success stories, what his recent COLORS performance meant to him and how he's managed to cement his carefully curated sound. 

Listen to Keys' new EP Pressure On.
Listen to Keys' new single E Se.
Watch Keys' COLORS performance. 
Follow Keys on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices