Show Notes
Over one billion Africans on the continent. 200 million in the diaspora. 18% of the world’s population. Thousands of artists with a gazillion listeners every day. What will it take for Black music to truly liberate Black people? Warning: This episode contains very strong language and language that may offend. Credits: Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Mixing, recording and editing by Benbrick. Soundtrack: Mahalia Jackson - Summertime / Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 00:57 - 07:36 Dave & Stormzy - Clash 09:39 - 11:26 Nas - If I Ruled The World (Imagine That) ft. Lauryn Hill 12:34 - 13:04 Bobi Wine - Maama Mbile ft Juliana 14:17 - 14:46 Damian Marley - Welcome to Jamrock 19:01 - 20:20 Jazmine Sullivan - Pick Up Your Feelings 20:42 - 21:41 Solange - F.U.B.U (feat. The-Dream & BJ the Chicago Kid) 22:47 - 24:47 Benbrick - Falling Tide (performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra) 24:57 - 29:04 Thank you to: My team: Sandra, Vidhu, Birungi, Luke AG. BBC Sounds: Dylan and Jason. BBC Concert Orchestra. Evan Rogers, who worked with Benbrick on the orchestrations and prep for Abbey Road, Tom Kelly, our conductor, and Adam Miller, our engineer, for those Abbey Road sessions. The Common Ground team. Zeze Mills and Trend Centrl. My PHD team Mariana Mazzucato and Karen Edge. The Fisk Jubilee Singers. A very big thank you to Kasana and Jade for their contributions on Common Ground which we included in this episode used at 08:35 and 08:50. Want to contribute? www.GTPCG.com Archive: The clips of George chatting with Zeze Mills used first at 00:34 are taken from George’s appearance on The Zeze Mills show. The clips of George chatting with economist Mariana Mazzucato used first at 01:36 are recorded by George. The clip of Sam Cooke used at 05:28 is taken from his interview with Dick Clark on American Bandstand. The clip used at 06:29 is taken from the ABC News 20/20 Hip Hop special report from 1981. The clip used at 07:02 is taken from the BBC News documentary London’s Bleeding. We used various clips from different Chapter 3 episodes: The clip from Episode 20 used at 11:52 featured Benbrick’s remake of My First Song, originally by Jay-Z. The clip used at 12:34 is taken from Episode 21 . The clip from Episode 22 used at 19:01 features archive of Damian Marley from his interview with Seani B on 1Xtra, and a clip of Bob Marley taken from his interview with Gil Noble for WABC-TV’s “Like It Is”. The clip from Episode 23 used at 13:28 featured Dot Rotten’s BBC 1Xtra Westwood freestyle. The clip used at 14:17 is taken from Episode 23. The clip used at 20:42 is taken from Episode 25. The clip from Episode 26 used at 15:17 featured the music Sounds & Vibrations, and The State of the Ends both by Benbrick. The archive clip used is taken from the BBC documentary “Roots, Reggae, Rebellion”. Have You Heard George’s Podcast is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland Commissioning Senior Producer: Alex Entwistle Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
More from Have You Heard George's Podcast?
In Uganda’s capital city, a young cab driver forms an unlikely bond with a sex worker during the crippling lockdown of 2021. They are both forced to make tough decisions. Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick & George the Poet Original Music and Sound Design by Benbrick.
George responds to audience questions taken from Common Ground, the platform he co-created in Chapter 3. Listeners discuss everything from art to race using prompts from previous episodes, reaffirming the importance of the artist/audience relationship.
Shaken by the passing of his grandmother, George reflects on the post-colonial struggles of her generation. 1970s Jamaica provides an early case study of the weaponised debt that went on to re-colonise much of the global South. A look back on previous episodes illuminates patterns of exploitation and extraction across African/Western relations. This is the global context that frames the questionable role of the International Monetary Fund in the perpetuation of poverty. George is reminded by his grandmother’s legacy that fighting for justice is always an option.
When keeping it real goes…wrong? For a moment in the seventies, Jamaican democracy produced an ambitious plan to end inequality between countries. But when the island’s socialist leader, Michael Manley, flew too close to the sun, he got burnt. What was the New International Economic Order? Why did it rattle Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan so much? On this fast-paced tour of Jamaican history, George looks back at the rise and fall of the Third World’s biggest political project. Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Original score composed by Benbrick and recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra
When is a breakup not a breakup? When your ex controls every aspect of your life. After walking through the freedom struggles of Ghana and the Congo in previous episodes, George turns his attention towards the “former” French colonies of West and Central Africa. What happens when freedom is gifted conditionally, not won through revolution? Is all independence created equal? Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Original Score by Benbrick recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra Sound Design by Benbrick