Black Gold drops before the Olympics

‘Black Gold’, a seven track hip-hop album by XYM (aka WriterMosaic‘s Jonny Wright), launched recently ahead of the Olympics in Japan, is inspired by the gold medal won by African American athlete Tommy Smith, and his subsequent Black power salute, at the Mexico 1968 Olympics. The timely album addresses themes of racial injustice and social inequality, still all too prevalent in the run up to a new Olympics, more than fifty years later. Wright says, ‘It also explores what it means to be an artist today in a world where Black art, but not the artists themselves, is embraced and commodified and what striving for that online success can do to your mental health in real life.’ He hopes that it is ‘a lyrical and sonic embodiment of pure Black Boy Joy’. The album is produced by the hip-hop duo Mutual Soundz.
WritersMosaic monthly
Get new writing in your inbox
One email monthly, unsubscribe anytime
The name of this wallpaper is ‘Childhood’
A luminescent bubble of memory
What’s in a feminist? Holding on to Gloria Steinem
Is Gloria Steinem's feminism still relevant today?
Coats
The unexpected cost of acquiring two Italian leather coats in Rome
A Trial
An examination of theatre’s complicity in post-truth politics
The Complex
The unraveling of a dynasty
Disappearing Images
A festival of ephemeral art and the impermanence of our current world
Free Will
Will Harris reads his poem, 'Free Will'. Directed by Matthew Thompson and commissioned by the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation.
Half Written Love Letter
Selina Nwulu reads her poem, 'Half Written Love Letter'. Directed by Matthew Thompson and commissioned by the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation.
Illuminating, in-depth conversations between writers.
Listen to all episodes
SpotifyApple Podcasts
Amazon Music
YouTube
Other apps
The series that tells the true-life stories of migration to the UK.
Listen to all episodes
SpotifyApple Podcasts
Amazon Music
YouTube
Other apps
WritersMosaic interrogates the notion of ‘staying in your lane’ by asking writers how they attempt to think beyond the parameters of their cultural identity.
Listen to all episodes
SpotifyApple Podcasts
YouTube
In the first series of poems commissioned by Hannah Lowe, six poets explore how ritual gives meaning to our lives.
Listen to all episodes
SpotifyApple Podcasts
YouTube









