Nakhane – Do You Well

Busy Being Black

I've been drawn to expressions of art and life that speak to a wisdom shared with me by mentor: "Your ministry is in your DNA". The work we choose do in the world, the people we choose to be against the odds, is how each of us does the ministering necessary to ensure we and our communities can thrive. We live as an expression of our truth. And the ministry we're engaged in is one that requires defiance, which my guest today offers through a prodigious kaleidoscope of artist expression.

Nakhane is a multi-disciplinary artist and musician from South Africa whose music, writing and film-work strikes an unusual balance between vulnerability, rage and the erotic. Nakhane grew up in the throes of Christianity and felt compelled to renounce their sexuality in order to do what was asked of them. But the religious community Nakhane gave up so much for was not there when Nakhane needed them – their queer family was. And so our conversation today explores what their excommunication from the church taught them about their capacity for love – and to be loving, their refusal to abide by the dictate that Black people should always take the high road, the importance of understanding our chosen art forms as both multi-faceted and as a calling to be taken very seriously and their advice to those who are resisting against a world that wants them to be anything other than who they are.

Pre-order and save Nakhane's new EP, Leading Lines, here. Listen to Nakhane's new single, "My Ma Was Good", here.

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Busy Being Black is an exploration and expression of quare liveliness and my guests are those who have learned to live, love and thrive at the intersection of their identities. Your support of the show means the world. Please leave a rating and a review and share these conversations far and wide. As we continue to work towards futures worthy of us all, my hope is that as many of you as possible understand Busy Being Black as a soft, tender and intellectually rigorous place for you to land.

Thank you to our funding partner, myGwork – the business community for LGBT+ professionals, students, inclusive employers and anyone who believes in workplace equality. Thank you to my friend Lazarus Lynch for creating the ancestral and enlivening Busy Being Black theme music. Thank you to Lucian Koncz and Stevie Gatez for helping bring new Busy Being Black artwork into the world.

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