Elijah
03/06/24 • 59 min
DJ, writer and artist manager Elijah is someone who prioritises original thinking, doesn't like to waste time making things perfect and wants other writers to just write the thing. It's probably why his Yellow Squares project has been such a huge success. He's managed to take the art of writing and translate it across to a social media platform that was primarily made for images and build a community where people love to have thought-provoking conversations in the comments. This has led him to university lecture theatres across the world and has even seen his work on billboards and football stadiums. In this episode, we speak about his unconventional writing style, why we need to make the most of our lives, the impact lockdown had on his worldview, building our own lanes, and taking the risks that scare us.
Listen to Elijah's album Make The Ting.
Watch Elijah's Yellow Square project lecture.
Follow Elijah on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
DJ, writer and artist manager Elijah is someone who prioritises original thinking, doesn't like to waste time making things perfect and wants other writers to just write the thing. It's probably why his Yellow Squares project has been such a huge success. He's managed to take the art of writing and translate it across to a social media platform that was primarily made for images and build a community where people love to have thought-provoking conversations in the comments. This has led him to university lecture theatres across the world and has even seen his work on billboards and football stadiums. In this episode, we speak about his unconventional writing style, why we need to make the most of our lives, the impact lockdown had on his worldview, building our own lanes, and taking the risks that scare us.
Listen to Elijah's album Make The Ting.
Watch Elijah's Yellow Square project lecture.
Follow Elijah on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
Aniefiok Ekpoudom
Aniefiok Ekpoudom and I really nerded out over our love for the craft of writing. I can’t remember when I first came across the writer and journalist from south London who documents the people, voices and communities of modern Britain. But I do know how his words made me feel. It’s always rich yet delicate. Concise yet fluid. Illuminating yet intimate. In this episode, we speak about how he went about writing his debut book Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain, a writing exercise I was really fascinated by called tracing, pitching your ideas to editors, discovering your niche as a writer, the British dream and why his Guardian interview with The Adenuga’s still means so much to him.
Buy Aniefiok’s new book Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain.
Follow Aniefiok on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode
George the Poet
When George the Poet — also known as George Mpanga — decided to be a poet and not a rapper, he wanted to undermine the expectations that come with it. So after leaving Island Records to develop his BBC Sounds Peabody award-winning podcast Have You Heard George's Podcast? he found a way to use fiction, non-fiction and music to tell expansive stories about society, history and culture. In his latest book, Track Record: Me, Music, and the War on Blackness, he continues to tell our side of the story through his anti-colonial messaging and elegant use of words. In this episode, we speak about his complex relationship with rap music, how becoming a dad changed the way he measures success, why language can be political, and the responsibility Black writers have to our community.
Listen to George's podcast Have You Heard George's Podcast?
Order George's new book Track Record: Me, Music, and the War on Blackness.
Buy tickets to The Poets' Revival at Royal Albert Hall.
Follow George on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Yolanthe on Twitter and Instagram.
Follow Black Prose on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Subscribe to the Black Prose Podcast newsletter on Substack.
Produced by New Strange.
Artwork by Matt Munday.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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