Singer-songwriter and musician Shelley Nicole, frontperson of Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe, joins Our Black Gay Diaspora host Erick to discuss her career, which blends rock, soul, blues, jazz, and funk. Shelley shares the inspiration behind her acclaimed album I Am American, produced by Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, and her Afrofuturist electronic music project, The Tao of Abbey Lincoln. Shelley reflects on collaborating with Black Rock Coalition co-founders Greg Tate and Vernon Reid, performing at Lincoln Center, and entering NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. She also explores the theme of honoring Black women in her anthem “Black Girls.” This conversation is about creative freedom, ancestral connection, and the enduring relevance of Black artistry.

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Tim Vincent, co-founder of Brothers of the Desert, and member Aigner “Anye Elite” Ellis join Our Black Gay Diaspora host Erick to discuss the organization’s mission to “have a dynamic, vibrant, and socially just community in the Coachella Valley where Black gay men and our allies can thrive.” Tim shares the Brothers of the Desert’s origin story, including the creation of its annual wellness summit, which features keynote presentations and engaging workshops exploring a range of topics. Former speakers have included New York Times bestselling author George M. Johnson, physician David Malebranche, Bishop O.C. Allen, and producer Nathan Hale Williams.

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Aurora Krotoa Moses, South African transgender activist, CEO of Aurora Kaleidoscope Movement, and global ambassador for Theirworld, joins Our Black Gay Diaspora host Erick to share her story of authenticity and advocacy. Growing up outside Stellenbosch, a town in South Africa’s Western Cape, Aurora recounts surviving abuse and discrimination to fight for equality for all. She discusses the realities of being herself in South Africa, the journey of reclaiming her Indigenous Khoikhoi heritage by changing her racial classification, her 2023 documentary Aurora: Beyond the Boundaries, and her vision for the economic empowerment of LGBTQ+ people across Africa. This is a conversation about self-love, ancestral connection, and the courage to live authentically.

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Nzube Ufodike, British-Nigerian entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of Amoo Angels, joins Our Black Gay Diaspora host Erick to discuss his journey as a Black gay professional navigating the worlds of tech, finance, and venture capital in the UK. Nzube shares his origin story, from growing up between Birmingham and Nigeria to becoming an investment manager at one of the UK’s largest corporate venture capital firms. He discusses his roles as a trustee at The Africa Centre in London, a chair at the BCS Foundation, a member of the IoD Emerging NEDs Special Interest Group, and a board member at Queen Mary University of London. Nzube reflects on coming out as a teen. A rich conversation about entrepreneurship, identity, and building community across cultures.

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Niki Lopez is an Afro-Latina interdisciplinary visual artist, curator, and social practitioner. She is the founder of What’s Your Elephant™, a “…charitable arts and educational organisation dedicated to catalysing awareness and fostering vital dialogue around under-addressed topics.” Niki is a renaissance person, doing her part to make the world more inclusive, honest, and colourful.

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Brad Walrond is an American poet, author, activist, and conceptual artist. Every Where Alien is his first collection of poems published by Moore Black Press, affiliated with Amistad/HarperCollins Publishers. Brad’s poems have been published in The Atlantic, Academy of American Poets, African Voices magazine, About Place Journal, and other publications. He’s collaborated with artists like Erykah Badu and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Brad’s first recording is the single Underneath the Metal, on the 1997 spoken word compilation album ‘Eargasms: Crucial Poetics Vol. 1’.

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Lyndon K. Gill is an Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Thank you to Episode 83’s Ajamu X for connecting us. Lyndon’s interests include queer aesthetics in the African Diaspora, the erotic, LGBT art and activism in Caribbean cultures, African-based spiritual traditions in the Americas, subjectivity, and community building. In 2018, Lyndon published Erotic Islands: Art and Activism in the Queer Caribbean. With a focus on the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the book details how queer histories in the Caribbean have influenced Carnival and calypso.

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Alle Eriksson is a Swedish publisher at Nypon och Vilja förlag. Alle’s credentials include owning a bookstore and publishing company and being a librarian for the city of Stockholm. They were also part of starting an LGBT+ youth space in Stockholm. In early 2024, Alle was on the Nordic Council’s Youth Literature Prize committee. It’s an award for works of fiction written in the Nordic languages of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese. Intersectionality has been an important component throughout Alle’s professional career.

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Eric Yassine is the British-based Ivorian director of Yassine Consulting Limited. With over 10 years of experience analysing operational & financial business processes in different companies across various sectors in Europe, Africa & the Middle East, Eric’s expertise includes Internal Control Framework (COSO) & Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) implementation, documentation & testing of controls. Eric and I met in December 2022 at a Black Men’s professional networking event in London organised by Episode 23's Gamal ‘G’ Turawa.

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Dr. Topher Campbell — British filmmaker, artist, and writer whose work spans film, theater, and education — joins Our Black Gay Diaspora host Erick. Topher discusses his installation at London’s Tate Modern, the rukus! Federation retrospective at Somerset House, and his landmark 2022 documentary Moments That Shaped Black Queer Britain. He reflects on Black queer space-making, radical homelessness, and why the Black body is never neutral. Topher also opens up about the gentrification of queer culture, his forthcoming memoir, and co-founding the rukus! Federation with Ep. 83 guest Ajamu X — Europe’s longest-running Black queer arts collective and archive. Thought-provoking and authentic, this episode is for anyone passionate about Black British queer art, culture, and advocacy.

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