A new book chronicling the social history of British rap and grime is out next year
Aniefok Ekpoudom documents the artists and communities who created and were shaped by the music, as well as the listeners who found a sense of identity and home within it
Aniefok Ekpoudom's first book, Where We Come From: Rap, Home and Hope in Modern Britain, is set to be published in 2024.
The writer travels the country to explore the story of UK rap and grime: from its dawn to its boom and then to its blossoming.
Read this next: Not just a London thing: Grime goes national
Through visits to South London, the West Midlands, South Wales and more, Ekpoudom tells the story of how migration and a spirit of resistance has shaped the music that the UK has produced.
Where We Come From chronicles resilience, courage, identity, place and the social and human condition in Britain.
Candice Carty-Williams celebrates it as "a stunning exploration of a genre, a movement and a world," while Yomi Adegoke declares it "a landmark work that will undoubtedly shape conversations about not just UK rap and grime, but British music for years to come."
Read this next: Grime: the complete history in 10 perfect tracks
To celebrate the publication, Aniefiok 'Neef' Ekpoudom will be discussing the new book at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre. He will be joined by Candice Carty-Williams and chair Yomi Ṣode.
Candice Carty-Williams is a showrunner and author known for bestselling novels Queenie, People Person and Empress & Aniya, whereas Yomi Ṣode, the recipient of the 2019 Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship, is a Nigerian-British writer and poet with writing credits on COAT, Remnants and the play and breathe....
Ekpoudom was a recepient of the Barbara Blake-Hannah Award at the 2021 British Journalism Awards and the Culture Writer of the Year Award at the 2021 Freelance Writers Awards. The year after he was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Media & Marketing. His Netflix-commisioned video essay on the pressures of masculinity in Top Boy has racked up almost half a million views on YouTube. Ekpoudom also wrote Mixmag's 2020 cover feature on Coventry rapper Pa Salieu.
You can pre-order Where We Come From: Rap, Home and Hope in Modern Britain here.
Tibor Heskett is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter
Mixmag will use the information you provide to send you the Mixmag newsletter using Mailchimp as our marketing platform. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us. By clicking sign me up you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.
