Visions of Visionaries

Twenty-three years in Bali. Still planting seeds. Kamau Abayomi on culture, hip-hop and why he never left.

One rule. Never repeat a joke. That rule turned Bovi Ugboma into a monster—and Nigeria's most complete entertainer. Writer, actor, stand-up maestro. A man who locked in as a child, moved to Lagos with his own curriculum, and built a career with an unwillingness to accept a ceiling. 01:00 Intro00:42 Making his comedy relevant01:34 Between skit makers and stand-up comedians02:48 The beginning: H...

"Black kids, Amsterdam, no accounts, opening up a store. It’s crazy." For the first Visions of Visionaries installment of 2026, Globetrotter Lab sits down with a true pillar of global street culture: Edson Sabajo, co-founder of Patta. Founded in 2004 by Edson and Guillaume "Gee" Schmidt, Patta has grown from a local Amsterdam boutique into a world-renowned independent ecosystem...

Lagos-based industrial designer and artist Nifemi Marcus-Bello has brought his solo exhibition, “Material Affirmations – ORÍKÌ Acts I–III,” home, following a successful tour across the world. The show also proves to be a hometown favorite and has recently been extended for one week until January 17th, due to popular demand.   Revolving around material and identity, “Oríkì” is a look at the past, p...

Chicago-based DJ, music historian, and cultural curator Duane Powell has become a vital fixture on the global soul scene. Since 1999, his Soundrotation brand has championed rising Chicago talents, notably through the bi-weekly Sunday Service dance party at Stony Island Arts Bank.  Powell actively shares Chicago's rich, multi-genre history through his Rear View Mirror Sessions lecture series, prese...

Meet Masaya Fantasista , the visionary founder and "captain" of the Japanese brand Jazzy Sport . What began over two decades ago as a record label and store has organically evolved into a vibrant community encompassing a dance studio, climbing gym, apparel shop, café, and even a garden. This belief in unity and collaboration extends to his vision for a more connected Asia. At its core, J...

At 70, Grammy-nominated Sir Kahil El’Zabar continues to push the boundaries of jazz. As the visionary leader of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, he has captivated audiences worldwide for decades. This year marked the 50th anniversary of Kahil’s group the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. With no signs of slowing down, Sir Kahil has released his 18th album and also embarked on a historic world tour that just...

Rewind to our chat with Corey Gilkey at Chicago's iconic Leaders 1354. More than just a streetwear staple, Leaders 1354 is a movement on a mission to mentor and inspire the next generation of leaders. At its heart is its charismatic founder, Corey Gilkey, a true entrepreneur and community leader. In our latest In Convo episode, Corey joins Globetrotter's Kennedy Ashinze to discuss his vision for i...

REWIND to our chat with Daniel Mitchell, co-founder of Space Available in Bali, an eco-conscious and regenerative design company. Daniel's mission? To create a tangible impact by transforming plastic waste into beautiful, sustainable products. In this "In Convo" episode, Globetrotter’s Kennedy Ashinze sat down with Daniel to discuss Bali, building a better relationship with plastic, creating a sus...

Jakarta's acclaimed Pantja Bar is raising a glass to its 5th anniversary. Fresh off its #27 ranking on Asia's 50 Best Bars list, the bar pays homage to the unsung heroes of mixology. In the latest episode of our "In Convo" original series, Pantja's co-founder Kabir Suharan sits down with Globetrotter Lab 's founder Kennedy Ashinze and talks celebrating the bar’s present b...

Other than being notable figures in the UK nightlife scene, DJs Shy One and Ruby Savage have little in common musically. “We’re both on the ends of the spectrum,” Savage describes. But you know what they say: opposites attract, much like magnets. Or, in this case, “Like tennis,” as Shy One says. “We complement each other as well. It's like a little sparring like that.” The duo has teamed up fo...

Meet Eric Williams, the visionary behind the Silver Room, a cornerstone of Chicago's creative scene since 1997. The iconic space blends fashion, music, and art, serving as a boutique, gallery, and community hub. From his legendary Silver Room Sound System Block Parties to groundbreaking initiatives, Williams has curated events that ignited the city's cultural spark for close to three decad...

Meet Iretidayo "IZ" Zaccheaus, the force behind Africa’s biggest street fashion movement, Street Souk. From Lagos to the world, she's fueling a generation of creatives who are rewriting the rules. "The kids are hungry," she says about the continent's booming streetwear scene. As the next Sole DXB heats up, we revisit IZ’s chat with Globetrotters’s Kennedy Ashinze in Dub...

A Conversation with Rostarr Brooklyn meets Bali in the world of artist Romon Yang aka Rostarr! His art, like his travels, defies definition, drawing inspiration from every corner of the globe. A multidisciplinary artist in painting, abstract calligraphy, large-scale murals, and experimental filmmaking, amongst other things. In our latest In Convo series episode (S3E2), Globetrotter Lab’s Kennedy A...

Earlier this year, Chicago artist, designer, and educator Norman Teague brought his powerful exhibition, "A Love Supreme," to the Elmhurst Art Museum . Inspired by John Coltrane's iconic album, the show explored the intersection of jazz improvisation and "unapologetic black aesthetics." In our exclusive interview in his studio on our last visit to Chicago, Teague chats with...

In celebrating her currently ongoing “Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Globetrotter revisits our interview with author and journalist Vikki Tobak. Vikki wasn't just an observer of early hip-hop; she was part of the movement, from working nights at Nell’s nightclub where the Notorious B.I.G. filmed his "Big Poppa&q...

Fresh off his set at Klymax Discotheque in Potato Head Bali, Ron sits down with Globetrotter's Kennedy Ashinze for a wide-ranging conversation. They discuss: His passion for sound design and creating sonic experiences His groundbreaking Africa HiFi party in Chicago (produced with Sonia Hassan, featuring a young Virgil Abloh as his intern) His recent projects The fading art of club curation And...

Globetrotter caught up with Copenhagen-based photographer Jamil GS during his trip to New Delhi, India. At the time, his "American Royalty" exhibit just made its Asian debut at the inaugural HGStreet festival. The exhibition featured a selection of iconic photos of hip-hop legends—Jay-Z, Outkast, Mary J. Blige, Chuck D, Diddy and many more— that Jamil has taken throughout his decades-spanning care...

Globetrotter looks back at our conversation with the designer duo behind NorBlack NorWhite, an Indian fashion brand that recently celebrated its 10th year anniversary. On meeting the duo in their private studio in New Delhi, India a few years ago, Mriga Kapadiya and Amrit Kumar talked to Kennedy Ashinze about their transition back to India from Toronto, being inspired by traditional Indian textile...

One of our last face to face interviews pre-travel restrictions, was with critically acclaimed Nigerian international singer, songwriter, guitar virtuoso, and Globetrotter feature alum Keziah Jones. ⠀ For this episode of In Transit, we talked to the ‘Blu Funk’ originator and reminisced on his early busking days on the streets of Camden in London, his alter ego Captain Rugged, the FELA connection,...

Blackup Jakarta by Globetrotter lab.  ⁣On Saturday, June 27th, Globetrotter Lab hosted a virtual conversation on the global state of black affairs and assembled some brilliant minds to share their perspectives on current happenings regarding the black lives matter protests, its history, cultural context, and why it's important for Asians, especially Indonesians, to engage.⁣⁣⁣⠀⠀ ⁣⁣⁣⠀⠀ Despite...

In Globetrotter Originals’ “People & Spaces”, we go behind the doors of Z Kitchen in Lagos, Nigeria. To know Z Kitchen is to know the human behind the restaurant: Executive chef and owner Ziad Beydoun . “This space is basically our personality fitted into a space,” he told Globetrotter. By “our,” Ziad was referring to himself and his wife, with whom he founded the restaurant together. Original...

Nigerian fashion brand GËTO is barely one-year old, but we can already predict a very bright future ahead for the label and its founder, Samantha Adebayo . Since the day  GËTO was launched, the word “quirky” has always been mentioned in the same breath as the brand’s name. Samantha’s designs are casual, colorful and expressive, so it’s no wonder if fashion enthusiasts in Nigeria, who are used...

In "Switch," a Globetrotter Original, we catch up with Soliat Bada, the dancer-turned-chef who's not afraid to take on new challenges.    Soliat started out as one-third of CEO Dancers, a group of all-female dancers who rose to stardom after reaching the semi-finals at Britain's Got Talent 2013.    Following the group's disintegration, Soliat switched her focus to cooking and t...

In 2013, Globetrotter witnessed the birth of a galaxy; Ageless Galaxy, that is. As a lifestyle brand, Ageless Galaxy encompasses a clothing label, design work, brand development and  event management.  Based in Jakarta, Indonesia, it's founded by Tamish Aswani and Giorgi Krisno . When the two friends paid us a visit, our own Kennedy Ashinze sat down with them to chat about their brand's...