Worldwide Underground with Gabriel Teodros

My guest today is a Worldwide Underground legend who just released one of the best projects of the year, and her name is Maimouna Youssef a.k.a. Mumu Fresh !  In this episode we talk about Maimouna's journey in music, the years that went into her latest project The Healing , her family's influence, and some of the stories behind her collaborations with The Roots , DJ Jazzy Jeff , and so much more....

My guest on today’s episode is an incredible singer, songwriter, composer, visionary, organizer, and she happens to be my cousin, the one and only Meklit Hadero ! Meklit just released a brand new six-song EP entitled Ethio Blue , and in addition to the new music, she has also been hard at work on Movement , which is a podcast, radio series, live show and community building initiative exploring the...

Since the last episode of Worldwide Underground came out, I’ve been hard at work on a new remix album that I just sent off to mastering this week, and I’m back to the podcast now with someone who knows a lot about remixes. DJ Phatrick has become my favorite turntablist over the past six months, as he has been so consistent at channeling our collective grief and rage about the ongoing genocide in G...

Today on the Worldwide Underground we are joined by Faris Cuchi and Bahi Shewaye . They are two of the co-founders of House of Guramayle , which is a collaborative intersectional platform created by exiled Ethiopian activists who are now based in multiple different countries. House of Guramayle advocates for the rights and health of the Ethiopian LGBTIQ+ community back home and abroad, and the wor...

My guest today is Maaza Mengiste , an incredible writer whose first novel Beneath The Lion's Gaze was the first work of historical fiction about the Ethiopian revolution I had ever read, and a book that had me in tears since it was so very close to home. Her second novel,  The Shadow King,  was another work of historical fiction inspired by the many different roles women played in the second Ethio...

If you are having a hard time with the state of the world these days, me too. My guest on today’s episode is someone who gives me hope, and I hope they can do the same for you. K!MMORTAL is an incredible emcee / vocalist / producer / visual artist / actor from Unceded Coast Salish Territories who released a song I felt deep in my soul just a few months ago titled “Stop Business As Usual”. Days aft...

My guest on today’s episode is Malkia Devich-Cyril , an activist, writer and public speaker on issues of digital rights, narrative power, Black liberation and collective grief. In the wake of seeing over 100 journalists murdered in Gaza, and companies like Meta’s ongoing censorship of voices who are speaking up for Palestinian lives, more conversations about what media justice means in this time a...

On January 30, 2024 Ijeoma Oluo launches her third book BE A REVOLUTION: How Everyday People are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World - And How You Can, Too. I’ve had a front row seat these last few years in seeing Ijeoma research, conduct interviews, and write this vitally important text, and I’m so excited the rest of the world now gets to read it too! I really feel like penned a classic f...

My guest on the podcast today is “the people’s mayor” Nikkita Oliver , an incredible artist / organizer / attorney / educator / writer and Executive Director of Creative Justice , an organization that is coming into it’s 10th year of working with young people most impacted by the school to prison to deportation pipeline. On Monday, January 15th, Creative Justice celebrates the grand opening of a n...

My guest today is Merawi Gerima who released his debut film Residue to critical acclaim in 2020, and he has gone on to direct episodes for shows like Ava DuVernay ’s Cherish The Day and the Black girl superhero show Naomi. His parents are the legendary filmmakers Haile Gerima & Shirikiana Aina , and he grew up in Washington, DC before relocating to his current home in Chicago . These days Merawi h...

On today’s episode of Worldwide Underground my guest is Khingz ! A legend in South Seattle, one of the best emcees I’ve ever heard, and someone who I have been blessed to make music with for my entire adult life. Earlier this year, we released two albums on the same day, that tell a bigger story when you play them back to back. A Safe Place For Us / From the Ashes of Our Homes . The meaning of the...

I first met ⁠ Saul Williams ⁠ back in 1999, at the very start of my journey as a musician. In one of our earliest correspondences I remember he told me “now, take it to the next level” and taking it to the next level is something Saul has always done. He has been a consistent model of what it looks like to not get stuck by your past work or what people expect of you, always evolving, from actor to...

Today’s episode of the Worldwide Underground podcast features BeeLyn Naihiwet , who you may recognize from three different songs on my latest album, From the Ashes of Our Homes , a project that has taken on a whole new meaning this last month. BeeLyn is a Seattle-based poet and therapist, originally from Tigray, who published her first book in 2021 titled “ Plenty. ” In this episode we talk about...

It’s hard to put into words how devastating these last few weeks have been. My attention and energy and that of everyone in my house has been primarily focused on Palestine, as it should be. But I also had a therapy session last week where my therapist said “don’t lose yourself to the fight” , and she talked about the importance of unplugging with intention at times, to recharge our spirits, so we...

Episode 1: Solidarity. With special guests Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets, Tef Poe, Ijeoma Oluo, Jackie Venson, Kimmortal, Alsarah, Meklit, Nikkita Oliver, Calina Lawrence, Quetzal, Maya Jupiter, Favianna Rodriguez, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Khingz. Get full access to Gabriel Teodros: Worldwide Underground at gabrielteodros.substack.com/subscribe