When you get the opportunity to sit down for 90 minutes with the English rapper, poet and journalist Akala, you'd better fasten your seatbelt and bring your passport because your destination is unknown.
Akala is probably the most well-read and historically-versed person I have met in my entire life. Whether he's breaking down the evolution of the Wu Tang Clan, discussing the socioeconomic implications of the British public school system, or discussing the history of slavery in Jamaica, he has the facts at his fingertips and constructs compelling arguments with incredible agility.
I kept thinking to myself "Is this what the late Christopher Hitchens was like in person?"
As I composed the video trailer above I was reminded how his performance art has spanned many genres from ballads to hardcore to spoken word. I can only imagine what Akala will be doing in the next 10 years but I believe it will be in the pursuit of making us all better understand each other and love one another. Peace to you Akala.
