An independent publication
Culture & Commerce
A publication on African and diaspora culture, the artists making it and the business around it. Essays, artist profiles and reporting.
The writing behind it has appeared in
ELLE · The Washington Post · Global Citizen · Sky News · The Voice · Marie Claire · Refinery29 · Grazia
The cover storyOctober 2026 · 6 min read
Iyke Elvis: Meet the Music Producer Behind Fido’s “Awolowo” and Alex Iwobi’s “Joanna”
The computer science graduate blends technical precision with musical instinct, with credits spanning Fido’s breakout hit and a collaboration with footballer Alex Iwobi.
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Culture & Commerce
The letter. Culture, audience and commercial strategy.
Culture & Commerce15 September 2026 · 7 min read
Do You Really Need to Sing in English to Go International?
African artists keep being told the reason they haven't gone international is that they sing in their own language. But the real barrier is infrastructure.
Culture & CommerceSeptember 2026 · ~8 min read
Every Year, The Same Panel
Reflections from Aberdeen Music Week 2026, on conversation without consequence, Scotland's touring access problem, and what a sold-out show in a market nobody trusted actually proves.
Culture & Commerce2026 · 15 min read
Jay-Z Is Selling Us Music We Already Own
Thirty years after Reasonable Doubt, an old catalogue is generating stadium shows, physical products, exhibitions and new commercial partnerships.
EssayAugust 2026 · 14 min read
We're all Africans, until an African headlines Reggae Land
On reggae, ownership, and why Black unity gets complicated the moment power enters the room.
EssayApril 2026 · 4 min read
I AM RANKED #1 — BUT HERE’S WHAT ACTUALLY GOT ME THERE
It wasn’t my strategy. It wasn’t even the work. But a realisation that took me years to see; and it happened through my own brand.
EssayApril 2026 · 12 min read
Kanye Said Heil Hitler. Everyone Said Fine — Until They Didn’t.
This essay was written as the story unfolded. It ends where the story ended — with a government ban, a cancelled festival, and every institution that approved the booking pretending it never did.
Druski posted a video of himself playing a conservative white woman ordering an incomprehensibly complicated coffee drink, performing MAGA femininity with surgical precision, and the internet went feral.
Essay
EssayMarch 2026 · 6 min read
We're Paying to Be Groupies Now
The Gunna run club isn’t really about running. Structurally, it is a controlled environment built around proximity.
EssayOctober 2025 · 5 min read
The Business of Independence: Nigeria’s Unfinished Freedom
Independence is a word that carries hope. It promises liberation, self-determination, dignity. For Nigeria, October 1st, 1960, is remembered as that moment, the day political independence was achieved. But history shows
EssaySeptember 2025 · 5 min read
Why I Believe Christian Nationalism is the Greatest Threat to Democracy
This is not a neutral essay. I am writing as someone who has watched the far right march through London, seen Christian nationalism exported from America, and studied how faith has been weaponised for centuries. What fol
EssayMay 2025 · 7 min read
The Crackdown on Thought
What happens when the most prestigious university in the world becomes a testing ground for ideological compliance?When immigration law is used to silence protest?When dissent is rebranded as extremism?
EssayMay 2025 · 21 min read
Dressed, But Not Free: A 5-Part Cultural Deep Dive into the 2025 Met Gala
The 2025 Met Gala turned Black resistance into a dress code.But the rebellion? Still curated. Still commodified. Still behind glass.
EssayMarch 2025 · 16 min read
Who Profits When You Find Your People?
Imagine a neighbourhood not shaped by chance encounters or shared passions, but meticulously curated by digital platforms and corporate interests.
EssayMarch 2025 · 17 min read
The Burden of Black Wealth: Visibility, Power, and the Price of Success
Black success in luxury spaces both challenges and upholds existing hierarchies. While it disrupts racialised barriers, it does not inherently dismantle them.
EssayMarch 2025 · 21 min read
The PLT Rebrand: Aesthetic Upgrade or Strategic Facelift?
PLT’s rebrand is a bold attempt to modernise, but without operational improvements, it risks being more performative than transformative. The shift to ‘quiet luxury’ aligns with rising demand for timeless fashion, yet wi
EssayMarch 2025 · 15 min read
The Rise of Rebellious Branding: From Counterculture to Corporate Strategy
Today, every brand claims to be disruptive - Nike, Diesel, Supreme, Ray-Ban.
EssayFebruary 2025 · 5 min read
Melissa’s Wardrobe & M&S: A Masterclass in Organic Influence
If you've been paying attention to the retail landscape, you might have noticed something unusual happening at Marks & Spencer. The once quintessentially British legacy brand, known for Percy Pigs, high-quality food hall
EssayFebruary 2025 · 4 min read
Beyond the Black Squares: How Beauty Brands are Failing Black Consumers and What Needs to Change
Remember the Black Squares?
EssayFebruary 2025 · 5 min read
The Business of Influence: Stormzy, Kendrick & The Double Standards of Corporate Activism
There is a moment every artist faces, the tension between activism and capitalism, influence and endorsement, power and profit.
Culture & Commerce
One letter. Culture, audience and commercial strategy.
Notes on how culture becomes audience, and how audience becomes revenue. Written for artists, teams and brands building beyond their home market.