An award winning podcast on being Black in Britain, featuring the original music of a Hikaru Utada collaborator

Have You Heard Georges Podcast? is of significance. Not just because it the brilliant work of a Black man, but also because it is centred on what it's like to be Black in a country and a world where racism is in the fabric of your existence - which of course, makes it more relevant now than ever. It's recent Peabody award win is very timely, giving the podcast a spotlight at the most poignant of times.

Now, the twist for Hikaru Utada fans. The podcast is co-produced by Paul Carter, better known as Benbrick, who was the co-writer and co-arranger of Hikaru's 2012 song "Sakura Nagashi", which also featured on her sixth Japanese studio album Fantome.

Have You Heard George's Podcast? is not your average couple of people sat around a table with mics affair. The episodes are narrated stories. George is a poet, so everything that he says is in prose. And each episode features an original score from Benbrick. He definitely has a style, as there are pieces that ring with the familiarity of "Sakura Nagashi".

Have You Heard George's Podcast? is amazing and I highly recommend listening to it. It's also incredibly timely given the current climate of the world.

A rhetoric that's being used in the UK by the media, racists and even the government is 'Why are people protesting about something that happened in another country?'

The death of yet another Black man at the hands of a police officer is the catalyst for what is happening now, but the Black Lives Matter movements extends far beyond just the treatment of Black men by the police. It's about smoking racism out of all of the systems in which it benefits. Great Britain has a not so great history of racism. One that the country tries to downplay and hide, whilst still keeping it alive in the present. And let us be clear. Corruption within the police against Black people is very much a thing in the UK.

Have You Heard George's Podcast? delves into the varied ways in which racism impacts the life of a Black man living in the UK. The stories are beautifully structured and shed light on the varied forms that racism can take. Because racism isn't just somebody calling you a slur. It manifests and permeates in a multitude of ways, and George masterfully conveys how through stories and accounts drawn from his own experiences, set to a great score of original music and existing songs from recording artists. One episode even features a song from Céline Dion. Yep. Shocked me too.

Be sure to give this podcast a listen. It's great and eye-opening, period. But will be educational for those in the US, providing an insight into the racial and social bias which exists in UK.

🎙️ Listen to it: BBC | Spotify | Apple Podcasts