Kingslee James McLean Daley, better known as Akala, 38, is a rapper, author, activist and poet from Kentish Town, north London. In 2006 he won a Mobo for best hip-hop act; in 2009, founded the Hip-hop Shakespeare Company; and in 2015 won a Bafta for a BBC Two series about Romantic poetry. His publications include 2018’s bestselling Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire, graphic novel Visions, and YA novel The Dark Lady, about street life in Renaissance England, out now in paperback. His conversation about it with Mustafa the Poet can be seen on the Southbank Centre’s website until 6 March.
