ISIRKA

This episode of Ragga Dambe is on Khadar Keyow, the young prince of Somali music. While Keyow shot to popularity for his overzealous nature and boyish charm, he offers the Somali people and his fans alike so much more. Through his artistry and personal example he is encouraging us all to be better and do better. The idea of 'Ragga Dambe: A profile on Somali male artists and vulnerability' was inspired by him. It is very encouraging and necessary to usher in new norms when it comes to relating to one another and its great to see a young artist owning that responsibility - all while giving us dope looks + tunes! Enjoy this episode and stay tuned for more!

This quick episode is paying respect to how Somali music and arts is killing it this past month. I talk on Suldaan Seeraar's London show, the screening of The Gravedigger's wife at the National Theatre in Mogadishu and Nimco Happy. After this fall, we can not say there is not space for Somalis in the arts, or that Somali music doesn't bang. Viva Fanka!!

In this episode I talk to Hoda Ali who we previously talked to in S2EP9. The Gravediggers Wife ft. Omar Abdi. Hoda has combined her love for film and community throughout her career and we talk about that journey here. We discuss the ways in which Somalis are coming together, creating and recreating notions of identity, community and belonging in the diaspora. We also of course discuss the homeland and the ways Somali creativity is shining these days. Enjoy this episode!

In this episode I reflect on and discuss Oct 21, 1969, the day the Somali nation was changed forever. Its been over 50 years since Barre took up power but the way he shaped Somali nationalism, community and identity has altered us forever. This episode is titled "Ubaxii Kacaanka 50 years later" as a way to make sense of how the young kids who were raised on his ideologies are now mature adults who are identifying themselves in a way that works for them. Your childhood does not have to circumscribe your life unless you allow It to. Learning and unlearning social norms that allow you to become a healthier and whole human being is what the life thing is about and I believe cultural identity can also work the same way. This episode also reflects on what art, identity and cultural diplomacy looked like during this time.

In this episode I referenced:

The Cost of Dictatorship by Jama Ghalib

Sharks and Soldiers by Ahmed Omar Askar

The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed

Hadraawi's "Hal la Qalay" https://www.poetrytranslation.org/poems/the-killing-of-the-she-camel

This episode of Ragga Dambe was recorded after the Toronto premier of The Gravedigger's Wife, the recent Somali film that's buzzing across the world. It is the first mainstream film in Somali, with Somali actors and directed by a Somali. At the Toronto premier, Somalis came out to watch a film in their native language and Omar Abdi, the lead actor and Hoda Ali speak about this screening, the film and their impressions. Enjoy this episode!

This episode features Sagal Ali, the founder and Executive Director of the Somali Arts Foundation (SAF), the first contemporary art institution in Somalia. She also served as the former Deputy Secretary General for Somalia National Commission for UNESCO. She is a champion of culture, arts, free-expression and is a great force for positive social change. She shares some of her brilliance and experience of working and living in Mogadishu/East Africa for the past five years. To connect with Sagal and SAF check out their website: https://www.somaliartsfoundation.org. Enjoy this conversation!

This is the second episode of the Ragga Dambe series featuring K'naan and his recent song with Sharma Boy "Waayo Waayo". I spoke about them both in the first episode of Ragga Dambe but this episode offers a bit more into this series, into K'naan's artistry and about this fire collabo. This song has excited young and old about Somali music, displays the tenacity of Somali music and how music will always be the voice of the people. Enjoy this episode. Follow isirka on instagram.com/_ISIRKA.

In this episode I talk to Anisa Hagi-Mohamed, a writer and creative behind My Diasporic Diary and Designs for Dhaqan, who is bringing us to reflect, embrace our language, and doing it all with positivity. Anisa has been curating a lot of positive and honest conversations across the Somali online space, and making Somali language a lil bit more palatable for the next generation. I appreciate the commitment to language, culture with a lil pizzazz and negating toxicity. Check her out on her socials and her website at anisahagi.com.

This episode is commemorating a whole year of this podcast, I can't believe ISIRKA is still going. I'm enjoying this process and hope you're enjoying It as well. In this episode, I reflect on ways I'm finding meaning and connection in this reflective exercise.

This episode features Sagal Bihi who is currently a Member of Somali Federal Parliament, House of the People. In this episode she takes us on a timeline of her activism and subsequently how development has looked like in Mogadishu. The title of this episode comes from the late John Lewis of GA's personal ideologies around being a positive force for change in your society. He said, "When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something. Get in trouble! Good trouble! Necessary trouble!"