Bringing it Black

You know the world doesn't run without Black creativity and this episode is packed with nothing but people making waves in their industries🤩

I start by chatting with Kobi Axel who is the founder of Black Blueprint, a project that you can take part in if you're from London, West Sussex or Brighton and want to get involved with a photoshoot and part of documentary filming. 

I then had the pleasure of speaking with Samm Henshaw, one of my fave artists. Samm is a singer songwriter and producer who was handpicked by Chance the Rapper to support him on tour. Bringing everything full circle, he's now touring with his album 'Untidy Soul'. 

Lemme know what you think of the ep!

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

Check out Kobi on insta @88kobi.

Follow Samm: @sammhenshaw

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

Did somebody say a 💎 GRAMMYS special 💎

It's only right that I dedicate an entire show to the celebrations of outstanding achievements in the music industry that went down in Vegas last week.

Do you wanna know why the Grammys are called the Grammys? Or why SZA ended up in hospital after the event?

I've got you covered with everything you need to know from the gossip, to the outfits, to award winners, to ill-joked comedians. 

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

Carving his own path in the music industry and sharing the mic (& vibes!) with me this week is the incredible Siah!

Siah has worked hard to exist in a space where he is loved for being and creating music that is 100% authentic to himself - which is a tough place to get to!

The artist chats all about his experience getting to where he is today, the inspiration behind his music journey, how social media gave him his first taste of fame AND he made it through a game of SiahYAH or SiahNAH first impressions 😋

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

Connect with Siah on Instagram: @siahthekid 

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

If you don't yet know Ben Wynter or 'Billionaire Ben', then now's the time to get to know.

Ben is the founder of Unstoppable Music Group, entrepreneur and outreach manager at the Association of Independent Music and the co-founder of Power Up - so you could say he's a pretty busy guy. 

Ben chats to me all about Power Up, his long-term initiative which supports Black music creators, industry professionals and executives, as well as addressing anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector. 

We talk about Ben's experiences in the industry, how Power Up is making a change and how you can be a part of the Power Up team next year.

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

Connect with Ben on Instagram: @BillionaireBen and find out more about the Power Up scheme here. 

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

The younger generation truly are KILLING IT in 2022, and two of London's talents already making a mark on their industries are screenwriter and film director Peter N Rose and digital creator Nayana Mena. 

In this episode I chat to founder of Nort3y Productions, Peter N Rose, about his creative process, the journey to where he is today and how he brought one of his films to Amazon Prime.

To mark the release of the new Kanye trilogy 'Jeen-yuhs', Nayana and I delve into the world of Ye and all the craziness that has surrounded him in the media this month. 

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

Connect with Peter N Rose: @nort3yproductions @p_rose98

Follow Nayana: @nayanam.official

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

As we're in 02/2022, it’s only right that it gets astrological up in here. There's only one person for the job, and that’s London’s very own professional intuitive tarot reader & tropical astrology enthusiast, Nubian!

Over a third of us regularly read our horoscopes, and tarot and astrology are becoming more and more ‘mainstream’, with celebrities like Doja Cat regularly hinting about star signs and spirituality in their work, so Nubian has got our backs with an exclusive insight into her world.

Listen in to find out Nubian's journey into tarot, how crystals can change your life, how to spot a fake tarot reader and why tarot readers and astrologists can't tell you the winning lottery numbers!

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌 Connect with Nubian on Twitter here.

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

I've launched a lil book club on the show and cutting the ribbon on the feature is Author, Education Activist & YouTuber Vee Kativhu!

Vee joins the show to chat about 'Empowered', her book which sums up who she is and what she does - from growing up in Zimbabwe to studying at Oxford, whilst growing a study and purpose driven community on YouTube along the way!

We chat finding strength and resilience in your struggles, how growing up in Zimbabwe shaped Vee into the woman she is today, breaking down barriers and the importance of taking accountability for your dreams.

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

Connect with Vee on Instagram: @veekativhu and get your copy of 'Empowered'. 

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

Bringing you some sushine as I chat with two of the hottest talents from around the world: Jamaican artist Khalia and the incredible Nigerian talent Seyi Shay.

Khalia met Reggae legend Shaggy in 2016, who was impressed with her talent and introduced her to the multi-Grammy award-winning Tony ‘CD’ Kelly, who she’s been working with ever since. Khalia gives us a behind-the-scenes insight into her latest song featuring Dre Island, what it's like being a female in reggae and what goes into preparing for a music video.

Seyi Shay has built her following to over 1.1 million global fans, and has just released her latest album 'Big Girl'. She shares what it's like to work with industry leaders (Matthew Knowles!), her journey of growth, becoming a judge on Nigerian Idol and touring with Beyoncé.

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌 

Connect with Khalia and Seyi Shay on Instagram: @khalia100 / @seyishaygram

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

I chat to the co-founder of the Black Swim Association and the man behind the feature film "Blacks Can't Swim", Ed Accura.

95% of Black adults & 80% of Black children in England don’t swim. Ed was part of that majority until a few years ago when he embarked on his journey of learning to swim, and has documented his experience whilst setting up The Black Swimming Association (BSA) - a UK charity set up to highlight the importance of swimming and water safety in the African, Caribbean, and Asian communities.

We delve into the facts, figures and misconceptions that people have around the Black community and swimming, and discuss what can be done to turn the stats around!

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

For more info on the Black Swimming Association, visit their website blackscantswim.com 

Connect with Ed: @ed_accura on Twitter and @edaccura on Instagram

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]

I chat with East London's RnB artist Ants XI about following in his family's footsteps in music, the process of creating the content which has gained him a huge online following and his advice on what has elevated him to become a one to watch in the industry. 

In part 2 (from 23:48), I meet the cast and director of the coming of age movie of the moment: Pirates - Reggie Yates' director debut for a feature film. Elliot Edusah plays Cappo, Jordan Peters as Two Tonne and Reda Elazouar as Kidda - the film follows the 3 teenagers who are on pirate radio as they drive across London, desperate to get tickets for the best millennium party EVER. It features music from Wookie, Sia, So Solid Crew and more garage artists and is out in cinema's now. Definitely one to go and support!

Bringing it Black exists to celebrate, showcase and collaborate with the hottest talent from London's Black community 🙌

Follow Ants XI on: @antsxi

Follow the cast and director of Pirates on: @elliotedusah, @_jordandpeters, @redaelazouar & @regyates

Find me on: @Mary.Mandefield & [email protected]