George the Poet

George the Poet
George the Poet in 2019
Background information
Birth nameGeorge Mpanga
Born (1991-01-14) 14 January 1991 (age 33)[1]
Neasden, London, England
Genres
OccupationsPoet
Years active2006–present
Websiteiamgeorgethepoet.co.uk
Awards: 2019 Peabody Award

George Mpanga (born 14 January 1991), better known by his stage name George the Poet, is an African spoken-word artist, poet, rapper, and podcast host with an interest in social and political issues.[2][3][4] Mpanga came to prominence as a poet, before progressing to spoken word and hip hop. This led to him being signed by Island Records, culminating in the release of his debut EP The Chicken and the Egg to critical acclaim. However, Mpanga felt constrained by the art form,[5] quit rapping,[6] and left his record label prior to the release of his debut album.[7] He moved on to performing poetry and created a podcast entitled Have You Heard George's Podcast?[8]

In 2018, Mpanga was elected to be a Member of the National Council of Arts for Arts Council England.[9] Have You Heard George's Podcast? won five awards at the 2019 British Podcast Awards, including "Podcast of the Year".[10]

In 2019, Have You Heard George's Podcast? won a Peabody Award, becoming the first podcast outside of the US[11] to win the award.[12][13][14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Voice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Rare Rising Stars 2012". Rarerecruitment.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  3. ^ Youngs, Ian (1 December 2014). "BBC Sound Of 2015: George the Poet interview". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  4. ^ Arts, Lanre Bakare; correspondent, culture (30 November 2019). "George the Poet: 'If I accepted an MBE, what would my descendants think?'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 December 2019. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "Series 3, Episode 11: George the Poet". Channel 4 News. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  6. ^ Khalaf, Roula (27 August 2019). "From rap to representation with George the Poet". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  7. ^ "The big themes shaping culture in London and New York". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  8. ^ Thapar, Ciaran (21 October 2018). "George the Poet: 'My manifesto was in poetry when I ran for student union chair'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Sturges, Fiona (26 May 2019). "Why George the Poet swept the board at the British Podcast Awards". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  11. ^ "George the Poet on why ending racism shouldn't be on 'special' Black people | CBC Radio". CBC. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Podcast award winners revealed". BBC. 19 May 2019.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Peabody Awards was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Williams, Tommy. "Meet George The Poet: Spoken Word Artist Partnering With Leading Investment Firm Sweet Capital". Forbes. Retrieved 8 February 2021.