Chris Talks Music podcast: Sheffield's first-ever Poet Laureate, Otis Mensah, returns with a hometown special on May 7, 2022 at Network Sheffield.

Working in collaboration with Sheffield's Elephant Arch Records at hosting some incredible musicians and artists at NETWORK in the city, Otis Mensah is bringing his poetry back home.
Christopher Hallam
By Christopher Hallam
Published 30th Apr 2022, 13:11 BST
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Sheffield’s very own Otis Mensah takes to the stage for an exclusive headline performance at NETWORK on Matilda Street in Sheffield city centre, as the performing artist & musician celebrates the release of their new EP “things I should have said a year ago”.

We spent some time discussing his upcoming EP and also his thought process behind his poetry and music, as well as discussing wider societal issues like racial identity, toxic masculinity and how he’s adamant that we should be breaking free of the shackles of expected conformity within society. In short, it’s a broad discussion on loads of interesting topics, with the added caveat that we play some of his poetry too. It’s rather deep… but in a good way.

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Sheffield's first-ever Poet Laureate, Otis Mensah, returns with a hometown special on May 7, 2022 at Network Sheffield.Sheffield's first-ever Poet Laureate, Otis Mensah, returns with a hometown special on May 7, 2022 at Network Sheffield.
Sheffield's first-ever Poet Laureate, Otis Mensah, returns with a hometown special on May 7, 2022 at Network Sheffield.

Following Otis Mensah’s tenure as the city’s first ever Poet Laureate and last year's performances alongside the likes of Mahalia, Lava La Rue and Little Simz, they bring an immersive blend of jazz, art-rap and poetry for a night of sonic experiments alongside a specially hand-curated lineup of envelope pushing, genre defying artists; mui zyu, simon a. and Ashley Holmes.

The night will also feature a series of guest performers including multi-instrumentalist Afro-fusion pioneer and Sheffield legend KOG. As well as exclusive performances from mui zyu – a Hong Kong British artist based in London whose music weaves sugary melodies through haunting sound scapes creating a palette between off-kilter pop and lo-fi film scores. Also featuring on the night is simon. a, who was born in Walthamstow, East London, simon a. is an artist that tiptoes on the lines of genre so carefully that his songs seem both so familiar yet so different. And finally, Ashley Holmes an artist and DJ based in Sheffield whose interdisciplinary practice combines sound, moving image, performance, installation and ongoing collaborative projects.

A night of poetical and musical collaboration with Elephant Arch Records, Otis Mensah promises an unmissable night of live art after returning from tour dates in London, Bristol and Leeds for this Hometown Sheffield Special.

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Otis Mensah & Friends – Hometown Special shall be taking place at Network, Sheffield on 7 May, 2022. You can buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/otis-mensah-friends-hometown-special-tickets-309379210547

You can follow Otis Mensah’s upcoming work and updates here:

https://www.instagram.com/otismensah/

https://linktr.ee/otismensah