Mawunyo Gbogbo was raised as a church-going African Australian girl in the sleepy mining town of Muswellbrook, before she grew up to become a hip-hop journalist and a writer (R)

Mawunyo's parents had met in Ghana, migrating to Australia when she was a baby.

At high school, Mawunyo fell hard for a charismatic boy, and for the first time, she was introduced to hip hop music.

When she was offered a chance to further her budding media career in New York City at the Bible of hip hop, The Source magazine, she grabbed it.

But while her time in New York was thrilling, it also threatened to derail her dreams.

This episode of Conversations explores Biggie, Tupac, hip hop, rappers, Eminem, Kanye, music, addiction, African diaspora, regional NSW, religion, God, faith, love, migrant communities, relationships, first love.

Hip Hop and Hymns is published by Penguin. The book has has been optioned by Tony Briggs, who created and wrote The Sapphires

She is now working on her next book, a novel about a psychiatrist who is more unhinged than his patients.