I spent the first eighteen years of my life in a country where it was illegal to be myself. I found out I was bisexual in seventh grade and from there it was just a matter of hiding it until I got out; that was just the reality. In Pakistan, homosexuality is treated a lot […]
Youth worker, social media maverick, and founder of Exist Loudly, Tanya Compas has teamed up with Instagram as part of their Black Perspectives initiative, inspired by Instagram’s ongoing commitment to champion and support young Black creators to grow and make a living on and off the platform. Tanya has launched Erasure; a two-day bootcamp where […]
On a Balmy Thursday night, I make the long(ish) journey to Stratford East theatre, to see Yummy. Lured by the promise of babirye bukilwa’s writing, malakai sergeant’s direction and a sparse but intriguing show summary – I hurry. The 30-minute play is a part of Stratford East’s Burn It Down series, where theatre makers respond […]
It is a Wednesday evening and the second week of Glasgow’s COP26 Summit. At this point, I am becoming increasingly numb to certain phrases like climate action, green energy, and sustainability. The climate change ‘debate’ feels a bit removed from me, I do my bit, I do not drive, recycle, turn off the lights and […]
‘Let that stage be your stepping stone, not your tombstone.’ Katori Hall’s masterpiece, P-Valley, moved me by it’s challenge to the omnipresent white gaze. P-Valley is set in the sweltering Mississippi Delta; the dancers of the strip club ‘The Pynk’ work the poles and return to Chucalissa – a crumbling city, facing relentless gentrification efforts […]
At this point, it’s almost impossible not to associate summer with Love Island. This year was no different. We all waited with anticipation for the chance to live vicariously through the chosen tributes – sorry islanders. Now 6 weeks in and nearing the finale it’s safe to say that (some) of the current cohort have […]
Atmospheric tones, lyrics lacquered in metaphor and pausing percussion expose Oladokun’s sonic experience of love and its differentials. From her platonic appreciation of her friends in “If You Got a Problem” where she narrates the soul-binding exercise of subsuming our friend’s difficulties to lighten their load; to the latter lovelorn ballad “Blink Twice” where her […]
ASOS have recently teamed up with LGBTQ+ youth charity, Exist Loudly to launch a limited-edition collection through their exclusive COLLUSION brand. This is the first global brand partnership for Exist Loudly, which was founded by Tanya Compas. As a youth worker, content creator and champion of queer, Black communities, Tanya wanted to create an organisation […]
Ironically, this article starts with a celebrity news hook. In February, rapper and poet Noname explained her refusal to feature on the soundtrack of the film ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’, about activist and Black Panther Party leader, Fred Hampton. Pointing out that the film missed out on Hampton’s anti-imperialist politics, as well as the […]
