18. Concurrent Affairs

Following difficult conversations with Uganda and Britain, George drops a bombshell. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: You Can Fly by Price Love, Think Twice by Celine Dion Featured guests: Anne Isger as Britain. Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps

17. The Bag

The Insecurity Guards hunt down ideas before they can make it onto George’s podcast. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Playa Hater by The Notorious B.I.G., St. Thomas by Sonny Rollins, Middle of the Night by The Clovers, Easy Snapping by Theophilus Beckford, Freedom Sound by The Skatalites, Simmer Down by The Wailers, My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small, Joe Liges by Delroy Wilson, I Spy (feat. Headie One & K-Trap) by Krept & Konan Featured guests: Jawad Ifraz, Andrew Bell, Chris Bernard, Patrin, Tasneim Zyada, Aaron Daniels, Lams, Tyra Mai, Petra Clips taken from the BBC Archive: Reggae – The Story of Jamaican Music (Forward March). Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps

16. Loose Ends

George’s relationships continue to fall apart as his mind descends into a battlefield. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Empire Army by Vybz Kartel, Must Be by J Hus, No Manners by Teyana Taylor, Wishing On A Star by Rose Royce Featured guests: Julie Adenuga as Dija, Lola, Jawad Ifraz, Andrew Bell, Chris Bernard, Stephen Boateng, Sir Martyn Lewis, Kenny Imafidon, Patrin, Tasneim Zyada, Aaron Daniels, Lams, Tyra Mai, and Vidhu Sharma Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps

15. Who Am I?

George finds himself torn between different audiences at a crossroads in his writing. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Who Am I by Beenie Man, Step Out by Busy Signal, I Really Mean It (feat. Cam’ron & Jimmy Jones) by The Diplomats, When I’m ‘Ere by Roll Deep Featured guests: Diggy, and Conroy. We read an extract from The Guardian / The Observer article Yardie Terror Grips London published on Sunday 18th July 1999, and accessible online. We took elements from DJ Target talking about Grime from the “Welcome to the World of George The Poet” live event. Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps

14. A Hard Taskmaster

The two competing parts of George’s brain - contentment and ambition - battle it out. George looks at how black creativity shapes trends through music to fashion and beyond. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Didn’t Cha Know by Erykah Badu, 1,2,1,2 by George The Poet, Scribble Paper by Little Dragon, Real N****** (feat. Cam’ron, Jimmy Jones & Juelz Santana) by The Diplomats, Ambition (feat. Meek Mill & Rick Ross) by Wale Featured guests: Ty Logan as Benji, Arnold Jorge as Damario, Young Talented Individuals, Hussain Manawer (presenting the Best Arts & Culture award at The British Podcast Awards 2019), Patrin, Andrew Bell, Tyra Mai, Tasneim Zyada, and Kenny Mpanga. Thank you to CJ Obi and everybody who attended my meeting to discuss the future of St Raph’s, Matthew Walker and Penguin for allowing us to use elements from the book Why We Sleep, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson for writing the book Why ...

13. A North West Story

George contemplates his relationship with the audience before giving a personal account of conflict in his area. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Barbar G by Mark Kavuma, 10 Man (feat. Gappy Ranks & Big Zeeks) by Patrin, Running by Abi Ocia Featured guests: Diggy, Henry Stone Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps

12. A Night To REMember

George dives deeper into his dreams via a circus of characters - some old, some new. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Memories by A Pass, You Can Fly by Price Love, A Night To Remember by Shalamar Featured guests: Barney Artist as Inua the Intern, Mandi as Anna the analyst, Anne as Britain, Sandra & Petra as George’s friends in the car Thank you to Robert Serumaga. Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps

11. Writer’s Block

Having lost his way, George encounters a mysterious figure who offers to help him, but on one condition. Chaos ensues as the poet ends up travelling 10 years into the future. Written by George The Poet Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet Original music by Benbrick Featured songs: High For This by The Weeknd, Both by Headie One, Gigantalous by SL Featured guests: Jamala as Samira the Oracle, Julie Adenuga as Dija, Sir Martyn Lewis as the Newsreader, J Man as Genna, GK as Spinner, George’s Mum, Diggy, Natalie, Zizi, Vidhu, Cristale, Young Talented Individuals, Lola, Damini Thank you to Matthew Walker and Penguin for allowing us to use elements from the book Why We Sleep Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps

10. A Bedtime Story

An intimate portrait of George’s love life highlights his struggles to keep a work/life balance. He constructs an elaborate analogy that spirals out of control, leaving him lost. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Up Late by Ari Lennox, Running by IAMDDB, What Do You Mean? (feat. J Hus) by Skepta. Featured guests: Julie Adenuga as Dija, TrueMendous as Trudy This episode features clips taken from Knight Rider, Aladdin, Rick and Morty, and Space Jam. Knight Rider (2008) directed by Steve Shill. Production Company: Dutch Oven, Universal Media Studios (UMS). Distributor: National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Clip appears at 00:10:53 Aladdin (1992) directed by Ron Clements & John Musker. Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, Walt Disney Feature Animation. Distributor: Buenva vista Pictures. Clip appears at 00:14:51 Rick and Morty (Season 1, Episode 3 Anatomy Park), directed by John...

9. Sabrina’s Boy

George reflects on the role of trauma in black art. A slice of American history provides insight into the ghettoisation of African voices, leading to a strangely familiar story. Written by George The Poet. Produced by Benbrick & George The Poet. Original music by Benbrick. Featured songs: Across 110th Street by Bobby Womack, The Message by Grandmaster Flash, Ghetto Quran by 50 Cent, Many Men (Wish Death) by 50 Cent Featured guests: Julie Adenuga as Dija This episode features clips taken from Foxy Brown, Trouble Man, The Spook Who Sat By The Door, and The Mack. It also features comments from Vonetta McGee, Oscar Williams, and Jim Brown taken from the documentary Black Hollywood: Blaxploitation And Advancing An Independent Black Cinema (1984). The clip of Cicely Tyson is taken from an interview with ABC News (1972) and appears at 00:07:26. These comments on Blaxploitation are chosen to show that black people working within different areas of the movie industry had similar reservations and concerns in how black people were being used as accessories, and that even back in the 1970’s-1980’s that feeling was understood and could be voiced clearly and concisely. The quotes by Ari Melber on 50 Cent growing up in Queens and surviving a 9-shot gun attack are taken from the October 2nd episode of The Beat With Ari Melber produced by MSNBC Network. Clip appears at 00:23:23. Foxy Brown (1974) directed by Jack Hill. Production Company: American International Pictures (AIP), Hollywood West Entertainment. Distributor: American International Pictures (AIP). Clip appears at 00:06:46 Trouble Man (1972) directed by Ivan Dixon. Production Company: JDF/B Productions. Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox. 00:06:49 The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) directed by Ivan Dixon. Production Company: Bokari. Distributor: United Artists. 00:06:54 The Mack (1973) directed by Michael Campus. Production Company: Harbor Productions, Harvey Bernhard Enterprises. Distributor: Cinerama Releasing. Clip appears at 00:06:57 Black Hollywood: Blaxploitation And Advancing An Independent Black Cinema (1984) directed by Howard Johnson. Distributed by Screen Edge / MVD. Featuring clips of Actress and Producer Vonetta McGee, Writer and Director Oscar Williams, and Actor and Producer Jim Brown. Clips appear at 00:07:34, 00:07:39, 00:07:44, and 00:08:13. Additional clips from the BBC Archive: Panorama Crack Crisis – Is Britain Next? The U.S. Presidential Inauguration of Ronald Reagan Friday Night With Jonathan Ross (courtesy of Open Mike Productions) Top Of The Pops Saturday The Graham Norton Show (courtesy of So Television) We also used clips from the Pan African Alliance documentary The Nation of Gods and Earths: Who are the Five Percenters? Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor for BBC: Jason Phipps