Show Notes
George reflects on the role of trauma in black art. A slice of American history provides insight into the ghettoisation of African voices, leading to a strangely familiar story. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Across 110th Street by Bobby Womack, The Message by Grandmaster Flash, Ghetto Quran by 50 Cent, Many Men (Wish Death) by 50 Cent Featured guests: Julie Adenuga as Dija This episode features clips taken from Foxy Brown, Trouble Man, The Spook Who Sat By The Door, and The Mack. It also features comments from Vonetta McGee, Oscar Williams, and Jim Brown taken from the documentary Black Hollywood: Blaxploitation And Advancing An Independent Black Cinema (1984). The clip of Cicely Tyson is taken from an interview with ABC News (1972) and appears at 00:07:26. These comments on Blaxploitation are chosen to show that black people working within different areas of the movie industry had similar reservations and concerns in how black people were being used as accessories, and that even back in the 1970’s-1980’s that feeling was understood and could be voiced clearly and concisely. The quotes by Ari Melber on 50 Cent growing up in Queens and surviving a 9-shot gun attack are taken from the October 2nd episode of The Beat With Ari Melber produced by MSNBC Network. Clip appears at 00:23:23. Foxy Brown (1974) directed by Jack Hill. Production Company: American International Pictures (AIP), Hollywood West Entertainment. Distributor: American International Pictures (AIP). Clip appears at 00:06:46 Trouble Man (1972) directed by Ivan Dixon. Production Company: JDF/B Productions. Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox. 00:06:49 The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) directed by Ivan Dixon. Production Company: Bokari. Distributor: United Artists. 00:06:54 The Mack (1973) directed by Michael Campus. Production Company: Harbor Productions, Harvey Bernhard Enterprises. Distributor: Cinerama Releasing. Clip appears at 00:06:57 Black Hollywood: Blaxploitation And Advancing An Independent Black Cinema (1984) directed by Howard Johnson. Distributed by Screen Edge / MVD. Featuring clips of Actress and Producer Vonetta McGee, Writer and Director Oscar Williams, and Actor and Producer Jim Brown. Clips appear at 00:07:34, 00:07:39, 00:07:44, and 00:08:13. Additional clips from the BBC Archive: Panorama Crack Crisis – Is Britain Next? The U.S. Presidential Inauguration of Ronald Reagan Friday Night With Jonathan Ross (courtesy of Open Mike Productions) Top Of The Pops Saturday The Graham Norton Show (courtesy of So Television) We also used clips from the Pan African Alliance documentary The Nation of Gods and Earths: Who are the Five Percenters? Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps
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