George Mpanga, better known by his stage nameGeorge the Poet, is a British spoken-word artist, poet, rapper, and podcast host with an interest in social and political issues. Mpanga came to prominence as a poet, from which he progressed to spoken word and hip hop. This led to him being signed by Island Records and culminating in the release of his debut EP The Chicken and the Egg to critical acclaim. However, Mpanga felt constrained by the art form, quit rapping, and left his record label before the release of his debut album. He moved on to performing poetry and created a podcast entitled Have You Heard George's Podcast? In 2018, Mpanga was elected to be a Member of the National Council of Arts for Arts Council England. Have You Heard George's Podcast? won five awards at the 2019 British Podcast Awards, including "Podcast of the Year", and a Peabody Award, becoming the first European podcast to win the award.
Life and career
Mpanga was born to Ugandan parents on the St Raphael's Estate in Neasden, north-west London. His paternal grandmother is Ugandan politician and former cabinet minister Joyce Mpanga. He began performing rap and grime when he was 15 years old. He attended Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, an elite selective grammar school, during 2002–2009. He subsequently studied Politics, Psychology and Sociology at King's College, Cambridge, where he decided to adapt his rap output into poetry to communicate more effectively with his audience. Mpanga said, "I think rappers are primarily expected to make money for the industry and provide party soundtracks, but obviously there are exceptions and grey areas. The poet's 'role' is usually to provide thoughtful social commentary." During his studies, Mpanga won a social enterprise competition organised by Barclays and Channel 4 called The Stake, which asked entrants how they would spend £100,000. He used his £16,000 prize to fund The Jubilee Line, a series of secondary school poetry workshops for underprivileged children in London. In May 2012, he premiered the piece "My City", about his hometown London. Subsequently, BBC Radio 1 selected him as the face of their Hackney Weekend, and Sky Sports F1 commissioned him to write poems for their coverage of the 2012 Formula One season and the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix. In July 2014, the consumer watchdog group Which? released the track "It's Yours", a collaboration between Mpanga and producer Jakwob, as part of a campaign lobbying the UK Government to improve their response to complaints about public services. "My City" was adapted as a music collaboration with dance producers Bodhi, and released as a single in August 2014. In October 2014, Mpanga released the EP The Chicken and the Egg and the single "1,2,1,2", describing the former release as "about premature parenthood. Through the story of a rocky relationship, it outlines the cycle of fatherlessness in seven tracks." Vice magazine wrote that the EP "showcases perhaps the tightest lyricism of the year to date". In November 2014, it was announced that Mpanga had been shortlisted for the Critics' Choice category at the 2015 BRIT Awards. He came fifth in the BBC Sound of 2015 poll. As of late 2014, Mpanga was writing a debut album and working on theatre and film projects. He released the single "Cat D" in February 2015. His first collection of poetry in book form, 'Search Party', was published by Virgin Books in 2015. In March 2018 it was announced that Mpanga had been elected as a Member of the National Council of Arts Council England. Shortly after, in June 2018, it came to media attention that Mpanga was stopped and searched by police in an incident which was video recorded. Mpanga opened the BBC coverage of the royal wedding, between Prince Harry and Megan Markle, by reading a love poem. He has also appeared twice on Question Time. In 2019, Mpanga turned down an offer to become an MBE, citing the British Empire's treatment of his ancestral homeland, Uganda.
