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In celebration of Black History Month, National Prison Radio (NPR) welcomed George The Poet, a London-born spoken word artist of Ugandan heritage, podcaster, a cultural icon and Patron of the Prison Radio Association (PRA), back to HMP Brixton for an exclusive interview.
George, whose ground-breaking poetry and social commentary have earned him widespread acclaim, has been supporting the PRA since 2014, becoming a Patron in 2020.
Known for his innovative approach to storytelling in Have You Heard George’s Podcast?, he recently won Gold for Best Factual Podcast at the British Podcast Awards 2024, presented to him by our very own Zak and Jules from the PRA’s Life After Prison podcast.
One powerful example of George’s work with the PRA is his popular spoken word piece, ‘Rap’s Not Music,’ which was partly inspired by a previous visit to our studio at HMP Brixton.
His work continues to inspire countless listeners, both within prison walls and beyond.
During his recent National Prison Radio (NPR) visit, George joined presenter ‘T’ in the studio to discuss the Black History Month theme of Reclaiming Narratives. Reflecting on the importance of understanding Black history and reclaiming cultural narratives, George shared his perspective on building from past generations’ efforts:
“One thing I try to remind people here is we’re not starting from scratch. We’re not the first generation to try and think, how do we reclaim the narrative? So you’ve got to tap into the generations before that have been doing that… from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s… we created an opportunity, it’s not perfect, there’s a lot of problems, I got a lot of issues with it, but yeah, we are Black history is what I’m trying to say, and it’s way bigger than slavery.“
George also opened up about his journey as a poet, describing how writing has been his ‘comfort zone’ since he penned his first poem at 14. For George, poetry is more than an art form; it’s a means of expressing emotions, preserving history, and advocating for change:
“When I write, even if no one’s ever gonna hear the poem, just the fact that I got it out my system makes me feel better.”
Beyond his creative work, George is pursuing a PhD and is a passionate advocate for accessible education. Speaking to ‘T’ about the future of learning, he discussed how education reform could empower individuals and communities to create positive change. He encourages everyone to play their part:
“We can’t get nothing right here until we get our mind right. And the way I’m saying man get their mind right, is learn the history… Everyone’s got their skills, everyone’s got their experience. Me, I took my poetry and I took my education and I just made whatever I could that would be helpful to people… take your skills and you’ve got to take your experience and you’ve got to make something out of it. You will know what to make when you study the history.”
George The Poet’s interview will be broadcast on NPR Talk the 30th October 2024. NPR Talk is a show dedicated to inspiring listeners by tackling issues within prison, sharing news, interviews, and engaging discussions every Wednesday at 12:00 and 18:00.
We hope that by promoting the stories, the words and the poetry of people like George we can offer role models to people in prison that can inspire them to build new pathways on release.
At the Prison Radio Association, we believe that sharing stories from figures like George The Poet helps create powerful role models who can inspire people in custody to create new paths for themselves after getting out of prison.
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About National Prison Radio
National Prison Radio is the world’s first national radio station for people in prison. It’s available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to people in prison.
Founded by the Prison Radio Association (a registered charity), National Prison Radio aims to help people cope with life inside and to thrive after release.
Shows like NPR Talk provide vital support, guidance, and inspiration.
You can contribute to our cause by donating at prison.radio/donate.