I’m an interdisciplinary artist, working between art forms predominantly through music and theatre. My practice aims to investigate; identity politics - communicating the exploration of my heritage and evolution of my identity/self-preservation through performance. I want to facilitate dialogues between generations in order to understand the effects of diaspora navigating western influences.
Following the 2018 debut single ‘Brown’, I created the immersive audio and visual theatre experience 'KRL-LDN' at Bloc, Hackney Wick. For this performance in May 2019, I enlisted the help of various UK-based South Asian creatives, of which one was producer, Yemzo Katana. In February 2020, Yemzo and I released the single 'East Side Airlines' telling the story of our upbringing in East London. The single, which was created for ‘KRL-LDN’, was followed by a music video, shot in my childhood home, premiering on the website for ‘Juice’ Magazine.
I’m the Editor-in-chief and co-founder of ‘Juice’. A South Asian collective, magazine and social justice platform, for sharing the lived experiences of the South Asian diaspora, aiming to reflect the multifaceted experiences of South Asians and create networks and conversations between individuals.
Projects
- GilgameshGILGAMESH is a project conceived by Simone Giustinelli and realized with the students of the BA and MA Theatre Arts courses at Middlesex University. The company is made by people coming from all over the world: Brazil, England, India, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Scotland, Slovakia, Poland, Zimbabwe. GILGAMESH debuted in Rome in June 2018 for the youth festival “Dominio Pubblico”, at the National Theatre of Rome, Teatro India. This was then followed by a 1 week run at Ravensfield Theatre, London in
- East Side Airlines (w/ Yemzo Katana)In February 2020, Bethnal Green’s brand new air travel service, East Side Airlines, was introduced to you by pilots ‘Yemzo K’ and ‘Yung Sultan’. Bringing together a high-intensity grime beat and an authentic approach to storytelling, the two artists take us on a journey around the streets of East London. The back and forth lyricism between Razak and Katana feed into their strong chemistry on this track whilst being backed by Katana’s signature, intrusive bass lines and roaring synths. With theme
- BROWNBROWN is my debut single released in August 2018. It takes the listener on a journey of British South Asian representation, backed by melodic sitars and a slow yet hard-hitting trap beat. This song starts the story of 'Yung Sultan' finding his identity through the disruption and subversion of stereotypes whilst playfully exploring everything that is South Asian in the western mainstream and dissecting being 'BROWN'. Released on all major streaming platforms. Accompanying the single was a Music
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Projects credited in
- "Piece Of Cake", Teatro Colosseo 2021Piece of Cake is an immersive interactive experience that invites a group of people to join a wedding party. The spectators are the true and only protagonists of this role-playing game in which they can be chefs, waiters, photographers, guests, even taking on the role of the couple who will say the fateful yes. The public will come together to complete a series of activities to ensure that the wedding goes according to plan, with different responsibilities based on the type of ticket purchased a
- "What's On Your Mind", Parma Capitale Italiana della Cultura 2021To create an interactive sonic installation by collaborating with the public. Elements of the experience will be performative to enable outreach and so it will need to be supported by performers. WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND is a brave new initiative, a 4 day social experience were we will run public workshops, interactive installations and sonic art to create or redefine a sense of community in groups of people that may not know each other or have lost contact. After preliminary research, we will selec
- Juice MagazineJuice is a South Asian collective and magazine. We are a platform for sharing the art, writing, and lived experiences of the South Asian diaspora. The nuances of the South Asian experience are not often reflected in the mainstream media and creative spaces. Juice aims to disrupt the theme of misrepresentation in the South Asian community, to give a platform to a variety of voices; celebrate expression and champion the diaspora without homogenisation. With this, Juice is for South Asians to con
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Work history
Co-FounderJuice Magazine
London, United KingdomFreelance
Co-founded Juice as a response to my disappointment of the lack of representation to South Asians in mainstream media. I want Juice to be a space for celebration and collaboration between individuals of South Asian ancestry creating the building blocks of a "Brown Renaissance".
Juice Magazine CIC is a South Asian collective and magazine facilitated by and for creatives, writers, and artists from the South Asian diaspora.
Through modules of art, culture and writing, we aim to reflect the multidimensional experiences of South Asians in both Britain and the greater Western world. The South Asian diaspora’s nuances are not often reflected in the mainstream media and creative spaces, but rather perceived through misinformation or stereotypes. This makes the assimilation of the South Asian identity synonymous with whiteness, where ‘western’ cultural identities are commonly seen as a marker of ‘progress’ for multicultural Britain. Juice aims to disrupt such themes of misrepresentation in the South Asian community by giving a platform to various voices; celebrate expression, and champion the diaspora that celebrates its heterogeneity.
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Associate DirectorState Of The Art
- ItalyFreelance
Piece of Cake is an immersive interactive experience that invites a group of people to attend a wedding party. The spectators are the true and only protagonists of this role-playing game in which they can be chefs, waiters, photographers, guests, even taking on the role of the couple who will say the fateful yes. The public will come together to complete a series of activities to ensure that the wedding goes according to plan, with different responsibilities based on the type of ticket purchased and the level of involvement chosen.
Participants will be given instructions on participation (role, tasks, dress-code, structure of the event) before being involved in activities such as: participation in the ceremony, setting up the buffet room, speech for the toast, the choice of music and games, all done with the help and support of the state of the [art] creative team. This will lead to the cutting of the cake and the final dance.
Piece of Cake was born as a project that allows the public to play, have fun and also to meet and relate to new, unexpected people, a social dynamic that has gradually faded with the onset of the pandemic. Immersive role play plays with the boundaries between reality and performance, between spectators and audience, between vision and participation.
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Skills
- Adobe Photoshop
- Microsoft Office
- Organised
- Passionate
- Communication
- Creative Ideas
- Quick Learner
- Hard Working
- Youth Engagement
- Team Leadership
- Audience Engagement
Education
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BA Theatre ArtsMiddlesex University
- London, United Kingdom
Awards
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JAH Scholarship AwardMiddlesex University
JAH Scholarship which is open to students in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries who have overcome challenges to complete their studies.