Obaro Ejimiwe, aka Ghostpoet, is one of the most distinctive, instinctive and distinguished artists out there. Blurring the lines between performance poetry and traditional musician ship, his acute and articulate story telling over mesmerizing beats is captivating, and shows how astute Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson was when he “took a risk on a random maverick” back in 2010 by signing him to Peterson’s Brownswood imprint. That year Ghostpoet’s debut album, Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam, marked him out as one of the most distinctive and boundary pushing artists in British music, and was rewarded with a surprise Mercury Prize nomination in 2011. Sudden and unexpected the story is one of talent winning out. news of a record deal came in the same week that he was made redundant from his office job in insurance. Now signed to [PIAS], Ghostpoet’s creativity continues to grow, and second album, Some Say I So I Say Light is even more multifaceted, blending the abstract and the substance with skill and panache. On Thursday 24th Oct after a few months of, although attendees of the recent Apartment 58 festival were treated to an intimate gig earlier this week) Ghostpoet returns to the stage at the grandiose Hackney Empire. If you like music, words, poetry and people, its not one to miss.
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