Creativity, Culture & Christ pt.2

Let’s set the scene:

London, 1995.

With his eyes wide open and face beaming, eight year old Sempa grasped his older sister’s hand as they manoeuvred through a busy London Heathrow airport. It was a jaw-dropping moment for the little guy as he soaked in all the different races and faces. Staring at a tall lady who briskly walked by with her luggage, Sempa wondered how her long brunet hair just seemed to float in the air. He was curious how those freckles got on her face and more so if she was friends with Chuck Norris.

”Tugende” (let’s go) asserted his older sister as she pulled him away from any hopes of touching the lady’s hair. Stepping outside the airport he was greeted by the cold September morning breeze. A gust of wind sent a chill up his spine as he tried to remember the last time he felt…cold.

Like Alice in Wonderland he couldn’t help but marvel at all the signs, people, and tall buildings as they drove through London. With his face glued to the window, they finally pulled into an estate in North London. As they entered the house he would eventually call home, Sempa couldn’t help but notice how sweet and homely the place smelt. At lunchtime, a strange but appealing dish was brought to him featuring some chips and two flat circular pieces of meat. He took one bite and Woah! Sensory overload.

“What is this?” asked he asked with wonder.

“They’re called burgers” replied his mum.

It was life’s delicious way of letting him know, that things will never be the same again.

Sempa to Arthur

Fun fact, Sempa is short for Sempebwa (my surname) and back home it’s what everyone called me. What I thought was going to be a two-week visit soon turned into 26 years!

Let's start with primary school; I was short, skinny and my accent was still fresh off the boat. But I can still remember the warm fuzzy feeling I got when my tutor applauded my art skills. My classmates saw them too. I wasn’t just the foreign kid trying to fit in anymore...I had skills. And to be honest, I loved the attention. It made me feel like I belonged.

Back at home excellence was the standard. Discipline, diligence, and commitment to do any task at the highest standard were instilled in us daily. It was militant at times but my parents never pushed me or my siblings to become stereotypical professionals like doctors and lawyers as most African parents did at the time. Character was more important than getting good grades. They supported, encouraged, and nurtured creativity in the house. Thank God for that! We even had a wall of achievement in the corridor, where they would stick all our certificates, drawings, reports etc. Anything that showed our wins.

Faith and Creativity

Faith in God played a big part in my home life and eventually in what I created. My whole moral campus is shaped by the biblical teachings of Jesus. This presented an interesting struggle at times as the line between being creative and compromising my beliefs was very thin.

Sometimes blurry.

I remember the first time I went to a club with my friends. There was a girl doing her thang on the dancefloor and from nowhere some dude jumped behind her and committed what I thought was sexual assault. There was no consent! But to my surprise, it looked like she was okay with it and everyone just watched. Then Boom! They took it to the floor and she started backing thang up. In my heart, I was like – “Heavenly Foda…I think she’s pregnant." See, I just went to the club to dance but I was told that's what they were doing. Huh...say what now? They skanked and twerked to that Beenie Man track like he was paying them royalties. Personally, I've never had the guts to do what that guy did. I watched too many rom-coms and musicals growing up where the man always asked the lady to dance, so if I approached her, it would probably go like this;

"Excuse me, madam, would it be okay if I grabbed your waist from behind until our hips lock, so we can gyrate aggressively in front of all these random people? Oh and don't worry, should we end up rolling around this sticky floor with your leg on my shoulder and my moronic friends sprinkling alcohol on us, I promise to be a good father to any children we may conceive at the end of this song."

Who knows? It could've worked.

Unapologetically dope!

As I navigated the creative industry, deep down I was always asking myself; Can I still be me…all of me, including who’s in me? Can I create things even those who don’t share the same views can still appreciate? Can I live in both worlds? Well, the answers became clearer over the years as I decided to embrace my culture, explore my creativity, and still live for Christ. I was pleasantly surprised to learn people actually respect you more when you're open and unshamed about your Faith, values, and principles. What puts them off is a hypocrite.

My African roots drip like paint on the canvas of my Faith to create something unapologetically dope!

When I was a kid I liked the attention because it made me feel good about myself and felt I was like everyone else. But I’m not. No sir, no ma’am. I'm a Crested Crane in the middle of London. I’m different, peculiar, and a little KuKu. I’m okay with that. In fact, I love it!

That craving for attention as a kid was a side effect I’d spend my adult life learning to turn into something that added value to others. Being likeable can be a character skill but trying to convince people to like you is bondage. The same goes for the skills we have. They don’t define us. Sometimes creative people spend decades perfecting their craft, chasing the dream, sacrificing all, only to discover it wasn’t that deep.

There is creative genius hidden in our life stories and as creative people, we should embrace and explore every bit of it. My hope was that by sharing my journey, you’d perhaps see how amazing yours is and perhaps inspire/challenge you to go make something unapologetically dope.

Oh, and after 20 years of not setting foot in the country of my birth, I finally booked my ticket. Sempa's going home!

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Hey, if you enjoyed this post, I'd love to know what you think in the comments below and if you like the artwork then check out my 👉 store.

Arthur