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cover of episode George the Poet on Music, Memory, and the War on Blackness (Part One)

George the Poet on Music, Memory, and the War on Blackness (Part One)

2025/3/10
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Intelligence Squared

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George the Poet
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Mia Sorrenti
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Shantae Joseph
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Mia Sorrenti: 我介绍了今天的嘉宾George the Poet,他是英国最具影响力的诗人和社会评论家之一。他通过艺术与政治的交集,揭示了种族和不平等如何塑造了今天的英国。在2019年,他拒绝了MBE荣誉,以抗议英国帝国对他祖籍乌干达的对待。他的新书《Track Record: Me, Music and the War on Blackness》探讨了他的个人故事与英国种族和身份的社会历史。 Shantae Joseph: 我对与George的对话感到非常兴奋,他的新书《Track Record》非常出色。我强烈推荐大家购买George的新书,并希望他能签名。 George the Poet: 西北伦敦的多样性塑造了我,让我接触到不同的文化和视角。伦敦的变化让我感到越来越失去个人化的空间,社交场所也在减少。Brent Summer University是我艺术生涯的起点,也是连接不同社区的桥梁。在疫情期间,社会分裂加剧,我反思了自己拒绝MBE的决定,并开始研究更广泛的历史和全球背景。在2020年,我意识到自己无法回答一些重大问题,感到自己准备不足。在George Floyd事件后,我感到自己作为公众人物,准备不足应对这一时刻。我意识到自己的政治观点不够成熟,感到内疚,认为这是对年轻一代的不负责任。我们当时对种族问题的讨论过于表面化,缺乏深度。我成长在西北伦敦的一个黑人社区,尽管父母来自不同背景,但我们都在相同的经济困境中。资本主义让我们相信个人的成功完全取决于自己的努力,忽视了结构性的不平等。资本主义从诞生之初就带有种族身份,这些观点并不主流。嘻哈音乐从多元化的表达转向了极端的个人主义和物质主义。在英国,我们经常被否认种族问题的存在,这让我们开始怀疑自己的现实。我们的教育系统从未提及非洲领导人的历史,这让我们无法理解全球资本主义的影响。殖民地的政策最终会反噬英国的工人阶级,这是我们今天看到社会恶化的原因之一。英国工人阶级历史上曾有过强烈的抵抗和自我教育传统,但今天我们看不到这些。英国工人阶级曾经与全球南方的工人阶级团结一致,但今天我们不再看到这种团结。乌干达是我第一个真正爱上的地方,它对我的精神产生了深远的影响。乌干达的兄弟姐妹们也在经历与英国工人阶级相同的困境,如工作不稳定和住房问题。

Deep Dive

Chapters
George the Poet, a compelling UK voice in poetry and music, discusses his upbringing in North West London and how it shaped his identity and work. He reflects on the diverse cultural influences and community programs he participated in.
  • George the Poet hails from St Raphael's estate in Neasden, a diverse area in North West London.
  • He has spent over a decade working at the intersection of arts and politics.
  • George reflects on how the diversity of North West London influenced his perspectives and work.
  • Brent Summer University was a pivotal program in his artistic development.
  • He highlights the cultural and social changes in London over time.

Shownotes Transcript

George Mpanga, known as George the Poet, is seen by many as one of the UK’s most compelling voices in poetry, music, and social commentary. 

Originally hailing from St Raphael’s Estate in Neasden, Mpanga has spent over a decade working at the intersection of art and politics reflecting on his upbringing to shed light on how race and inequality still shape Britain today.

His debut poetry collection in 2015, Search Party, tackled the north-south divide, the housing crisis and critiqued government anti-immigration policies, to widespread acclaim. Since then, Mpanga’s work has bridged grime, prose, spoken-word performance, and most recently longer-form audio, as he has continued to interrogate the socio-political status quo.

In February 2025 he joined us on stage to discuss the themes of his new memoir, Track Record: Me, Music, and the War on Blackness. He discussed his personal story alongside a broader social history of race and identity in Britain, and examined what he terms “the war on Blackness”: the systemic forces that continue to oppress people of African descent worldwide.

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