TEDxSalford

Speaker Announcement – Akala

The line-up for our event this Sunday continues to grow, with more fascinating names being added to the list even with days left to go. Today it’s time to reveal the appearance of a musician, poet, rapper, writer and unconventional thinker – we’re happy to announce that Akala will be joining us on stage to speak at TEDxSalford 2.0.

Born in Camden in 1983, with Scottish and Jamaican roots, Akala made his name as a hip-hop artist in 2004 after releasing a well-received mixtape onto the London scene, and going on to release his debut album in 2006. The release, It’s Not A Rumour, helped him win the 2006 MOBO award for Best Hip-Hop Act. After this, he released two more albums in 2007 and 2010, and has toured the UK and the world extensively.

Akala’s music and poetry touches on race, class, sexism, history, war, social inequality, and hip-hop culture. He is a teacher too, having recently set up the Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, running successful Bardic workshops in schools, giving young people a different view of the arts and of themselves.

“Increasingly, educators are realising that a love for language and expression, whatever form that may take, is a healthy thing and should be nurtured.” – Akala

Akala is a skilled writer as well, authoring blogs on his own website and articles for outlets like the Guardian, who published his article It’s A Hip-Hop Planet in 2011.

You can find out more about Akala at his website and follow him on , as well as read his 2011 article for the Huffington Post, You Are What You Read.

Akala will be speaking on stage at TEDxSalford 2.0, which will be hosted at the Lowry Complex, Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, on 21st October 2012. Tickets are available now.