The Cheeky Natives

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"Black Joy is one of the entities that has gotten us through the many trials and tribulations of our existence around the world." -Kleaver Cruz Kleaver is the creator of The Black Joy Project, a digital and real-world movement to center Black joy as a form of resistance. He loves being Black, Queer, Dominican and the myriad of elements that comprise who he is with the understanding that they are all parts of a whole. He believes in the power of words because they allow him to write what did not exist when he needed it the most.In this episode of the podcast, Letlhogonolo sat down and spoke to Kleaver about his favorite books, Blackness, queerness and the Black Joy Project. This episode is one that focuses on what it means to archive Black lives outside of the confines of literature in the traditional sense. It is a conversation about creating means to experience joy in a world that tell us that we do not deserve joy.

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Hlomu, Zandile and Naledi. Three seemingly random names but whose stories our readers are so invested in, you'd swear they were real. Dudu Busani-Dube, author of the Hlomu series, new editor and poster girl for the power of self-publishing joins Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele to talk about all things Hlomu: the wife series. In this frank and heartwarming episode, we reveal the machinations behind the fascinating lives of the Zulu's and the womxn in their lives. Love in a time of social media, family ties and our complicated relationship with our personal history take prime spotlight. This episode in many ways is a celebration of the excellence that comes with the archiving of black literary stories. When a self-published story about taxi moguls which has their partner's as protagonists reaches the markets which the Hlomu series has, it speaks to the power of stories about us, told by us for us. Dudu Busani-Dube was ethereal, reminding us once again just how magical Black womxn and their stories are. (And finally revealing the release date for the fourth and final book)

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"To discover and name what shapes us is to engage in the work of history" -Darnell L. Moore.On this episode of the podcast, Letlhogonolo speaks to acclaimed writer and Black queer thinker Darnell L. Moore about his upcoming book 'No Ashes in the Fire' to be published in May 2018. This is the first public interview about this book. bell hooks describes this book as an intense and passionate offering that provide a deep understanding of a gay black male coming of age and open-heartedly claiming his identity. Cornel West describes it as an inspiring story filled with radical black love. This conversation is filled with laughter and musings about Blackness, queerness, masculinity, Black womxn and patriarchy.

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‘A dose of nectar’ with Upile Chisala. So begins a conversation that can only be described as a black girl communion of spirit and ideas. Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sat down with the ineffable Upile Chisala, author of two anthologies of poetry to discuss her role in the archiving of black womxn’s stories.After her second sold out performance in South Africa, the Cheeky Natives had the special honor of recording a podcast with this phenom.Upile rose to fame with her powerful poetry on social media, later self publishing her ode to melanin in all its tenderness ‘Soft magic.’Her second anthology is ‘Nectar’. A celebration of becoming and all the learning accompanying it. In this podcast, we listen to Upile delve into matters of the heart, mind and literature.

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Toni Morrison says "If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it." A recent story revealed the tragic news of a Columbia PhD student shot in the head and killed by his boyfriend. Domestic violence is often spoken about in the context of heterosexual relationships but research shows that domestic violence is also prevalent in the LBGTIA+ community. In this episode of the podcast, we review Chwayita Ngamlana's If I stay right here - which is a book about a lesbian relationship. This first of its kind. It is part fiction and part autobiographical. The book explores a number of themes such as heteronormativity, rape in relationships, toxic ideas of masculinity and many others themes. We recommend reading this important story.

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What's up Cheeky?In the latest episode of the podcast we check in with Dr Slay and black boy magic, Letlhogonolo to find out just what's been popping over the past few months. It's a poignant episode with musings on love, life and grief. There's some wonderful meditations on the power of friendship and even some revelations around romance. It's just been over 6 months since our first episode and there have been some interesting moments since then. Join us as we check in with the Cheeky Natives. Catching up on love, friendship and life after tragedy. As always, there are musings on books, poetry and all things black literature.

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"This book is both personal and political - it is about how I was made by the liberation struggle and how I was broken by its protagonists'." - Sisonke Msimang The Cheeky Natives sat down at a beautiful venue to chat to the incomparable #BlackGirlMagic Sisonke Msimang about her memoir 'Always Another Country'. Her book has only been out for more than a week and it's flying off the shelves. Her memoir about exile and home is a vulnerable and honest account of her years in exile in various countries, her college years, love , friends and her family. Our conversation is filled with laughs, joy and light.

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'Your uncle is a hatchet/i buried in my crotch on purpose' - Ashley MakueNtozake Shenge said ' being black, and woman and alive is a metaphysical dilemma I haven't conquered yet.' And this episode of the Cheeky Natives featuring Ashley Makue was just that. the unravelling of the metaphysical dilemma of black queer womxnhood in its full spectrum. From being CPS National Slam to performing at the Women of the World Poetry Slam, Ashley is a prodigious force. One worth the Cheeky Natives pilgrimage to the Republic of the Western Cape to record this episode with the published author of 'i know how to fix myself.'This podcast is a meditation on culture, womxnhood and poetry filled with equal parts with joy and introspection.

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"If we going to heal let it be glorious" - Warsan Shire The Cheeky Natives sat down with Lebo Mashile and Khanyisa Buti(Majola) to discuss their album ' Moya' - 12 tracks of music and poetry. It has a variety of sounds and an array of revolution. It tells a beautiful story of Africans - a reclaiming of our stories. Work like ' Moya' is true to the spirit of The Cheeky Natives in providing the platforms for the celebration of black artists. As literary archivists, we were so honoured to participate in the archiving of such important, powerful work.

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'Being black, woman and alive is a metaphysical dilemma, I haven't quite conquered yet' -Ntozake Shange is quoted as saying. And so as The Cheeky Natives, we sat with the prodigious Koleka Putuma as we discussed the metaphysical dilemmas of being black and woman and alive in the era of melanin magic. We were honoured by the presence of black girl slay from Vuyelwa Maluleke to Koleka Putuma and the brilliant audience.Join us for an hour long discussion with the author of 'Collective Amnesia' interspersed with poignant, moving performances from the book that is resonating with audiences countrywide. As a debut anthology, Collective Amnesia has not only been reprinted but is now recommended reading for students in University's across the country. What a special privilege to have sat with a writer for the ages. "Storytelling - how my people remember. How my people archive. How we inherit the world. " - Koleka Putuma (Collective Amnesia)

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