We're closing season 8 of Growing Up with gal-dem in conversation with North London’s very own Nigerian songstress: Bellah. 

Nie & Natty sit down with the singer-songwriter talking all about her musical journey and creative storytelling process. Bellah expands on her ability to connect with her audiences by writing songs that paint a vivid image into telling the truth about her experiences in life.

Through an extract from the first-ever song she wrote after a breakup, Bellah reflects on her growth since writing this at 18 years old, and how she has maintained a deep connection to herself and her emotions through her healing.

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This week on Growing up with gal-dem we're joined by Clarkisha Kent, a Nigerian-American writer, culture critic, former columnist and author of Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto.

Clarkisha talks to Natty and Nie about nurturing a safe space for herself within complex family dynamics and whilst writing her book Fat Off, Fat On: A Big Bitch Manifesto. Her book taps into her memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, and traumatic experiences around fatphobia.

In her extract, Clarkisha describes two pictures of herself which reflect on pivotal times in her life that have affected her identity development. Clarkisha reflects on these two identities and how she found herself through the displacement of cultural dissonance.

You can also check out our other podcast series "Reclaimed and Rewritten" hosted by Clarkisha - all episodes live now.

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On this week’s episode of our podcast, Natty and Nie speak to Lava La Rue about growing up as a Black alt kid, co-founding NiNE8 collective with school friends Biig Pig and Mac Wetha, and the importance of collectivism in the creative industries.

Lava reads a poem that expresses her understanding of her identity as a mixed-race person and the politics around it; of being raised by a Black family in a Black community, and navigating the complexities around having a mixed heritage in the UK. 

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