Building on his highly acclaimed podcast ‘Have You Heard George’s Podcast?’, British-Ugandan poet, George Mpanga (George the Poet) has now created an online discussion space which he hopes will “allow the listener to dive into the world behind the words alongside original artworks by global artists”.
The online platform known as ‘Common Ground’ came along with Chapter 3 of his podcast, and will bring together George’s global community of listeners to share their responses to Chapter 3 in a bid to find common ground.
In 2019, ‘Have You Heard George’s Podcast?’ swept gold in five categories of the British Podcast Awards.
Now, the London-based poet and rapper of Ugandan heritage has decided to build on this success by engaging his audience at a very close level.
The platform (Common Ground) enables the listener to get in conversation with George the Poet and presents a few questions about each episode in the podcast while facilitating written, audio, image and video-based discussions between George and his listeners.
On the platform, the community of listeners (The Commons) will also interact with original artworks by black artists around the world and have an opportunity to reflect more deeply on each episodes.
For George, this is a medium to source feedback about the various topics (from romantic relationships, race, politics, slavery, current affairs, issues back home in Uganda etc) that he tackles.
So far, more than a thousand people across nearly 50 countries around the world have signed up on Common Ground.
In the latest Chapter of his podcast, George looks at the unifying power of this music, and how it has transformed the world. These episodes walk the listener through historic injustices that sparked Black music movements, which created fresh opportunities – over and over again.
The chapter weaves the yarn of Black music through history, culture, market economics and social impact.
In episode 23 ‘Back To UG’, George shares his views on Ugandan politics and tells the story of how a romance blossomed with his long-time Ugandan friend and now Operations Manager and wife, Mrs. Sandra Mpanga. George married Sandra in August this year.
This episode also dives into the politics of Uganda, reflecting on the internet blackout experienced during Uganda’s 2021 election and the rise of Bobi Wine as he grew from music into politics. Chapter 3 also tells the story Uganda’s independence movement in Episode 24 ‘The Sixties’ alongside the American civil rights movement of the same era.
Other episodes in this chapter share the chronicles of Jay-Z’s youth, an epic beef between Movado and Vybz Kartel, and how R&B has changed over the years, among other ‘edutaining’ stories that demonstrate the influence and market potential of Black music.
Throughout his career as an artist, George has registered several milestones including performing at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with his poem ‘The Beauty of Union’ in 2018.
In 2019, his podcast won a prestigious Peabody Award and 5 Gold British Podcast Awards, including the highly-coveted Podcast of the Year. The podcast was described by BBC R4 as “a story that could change the world”.
