Born in Neasden, north-west London in 1991, George Mpanga, AKA George the Poet, started rapping at 15 and signed to Island Records at 22. He left the label to develop a more expansive style of spoken-word storytelling; his Peabody award-winning show Have You Heard George’s Podcast? uses fiction and music to tell stories about city life, society, history and creativity. It began its fourth season last month on BBC Sounds. He has curated the opening night of the Southbank Centre’s London literature festival, with his choices linked to his new poetry anthology, Part of a Story That Started Before Me: Poems About Black British History.
Since your last podcast series in 2021, you’ve got married and become a father. How has that changed your life and your work?
My son’s three months, so sleep is a thing of the past. But my family’s become my centre of gravity, my ultimate priority. That used to be my work, although my work’s still there, and I’m in love with it as ever.
