Kemi Alemoru
about me
Writer, host, consultant
Culture editor of gal-dem, former staff writer at Dazed. Available for freelance opportunities
about me
London-based, Manchester born
Freelance. (Previously culture editor of gal-dem, staff writer at Dazed).
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and more...
After I completed MA Magazine Journalism at City I worked as a Staff Writer for Dazed and was part of the core team that oversaw gal-dem's impactful 8-year run.
I write about culture (pop culture, subcultures, the arts) and music for The Guardian, Vice, Time and more. I love to identify and analyse trends and make links between culture and social issues. Occasionally I also write social commentary, as a treat.
A lot of my most prolific work comes from chasing celebrities: interviewing the likes of NAO who revealed she used to try and pick up guys at the YMCA as a teen, or Naomi Campbell who took me to an orphanage to watch as a child was given her name, or how PinkPantheress missed a studio session with Kendrick Lamar because she was on a date with her phone on silent.
Others interviewed include Alicia Keys, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Kali Uchis, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Daniel Kaluuya, Zayn Malik, 50 Cent, Issa Rae (twice), Teyana Taylor ( also twice), Spike Lee, Mary J. Blige, Kehlani, Emma Stone, Justin Theroux, Wu-Tang Clan, Billy Porter, Burna Boy, MNEK, Doja Cat, Popcaan, and Little Simz.
I've penned covers for British Vogue, Crack, CR Fashion Book, i-D, gal-dem, and Rolling Stone.
And, I've written essays for two recently published books; 'Caribbean bodies, Northern Soul' in Mother Country edited by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff and '"I Hate You!": How I Finally Learned To Understand My Mum' in gal-dem's anthology I Will Not Be Erased.
My commercial bylines include partnerships with Nike, Adidas, and Carhartt. Behind the scenes, I've penned music biographies and provided media training for artists at Sony, Universal, and Toast Press.
Besides writing I fulfill my passion for hearing the sound of my own sultry northern tones via my work on radio, television, and panels. Appearing on Sky News, Balamii, BBC Woman's Hour, Talk Radio, Foundation FM, and Somerset House Studios. I also presented in short films for BBC 3 and Channel 4.
Additionally, I was invited to host a day of talks at Adidas HQ in Herzogenaurach, Germany, curated talks for Manchester International Festival and the V&A, and have spoken on panels for clients like Ace & Tate, Burberry, and Converse.
You can currently catch me introducing exciting acts at Soho House for 180 House's Future First's series and hosting my own Homegrown series of talks at Greek Street.
Unlike George Foreman, sometimes my work doesn't have my name on it. I edited gal-dem's Culture section, a place for discovery, for sh*t hot analysis, and new voices and perspectives in film and tv, theatre, books, subcultures, internet culture, pop culture, art and photography. I aimed to curate an affirming space that reflects the lives and loves of women of colour, facilitating writing and pitching workshops with new freelancers and in colleges and universities, creating feature formats, producing and styling photoshoots, and launching campaigns like 'Me, Myself and I' a series in honour of self-portraiture to illustrate that there are still creative possibilities even when alone. I developed video formats like 'gal-dem Meets' a series of celebrity interviews including Jamie Foxx and Keke Palmer, Melina Matsoukas, I launched our film channel 'Shorties' that spotlights the work of up-and-coming filmmakers, and led and facilitated partnerships with Disney+, Art Pass, Hennessey and Mubi to create engaging commercial content and opportunities for our readers to engage in culture in their real lives.
When Factory International opened Aviva Studios, the UK's biggest investment in an art space since the Tate Modern in the noughties, I was asked to be their first editor-in-residence and launch their editorial website. I curated articles, art and music for their digital platforms around the theme of space asking: How does space afford us room to organise, afford us safety, build communities of similar interests and identity? What are the impacts of the abundance or scarcity of space?
If you're a brand and you need advice from someone with their finger on the pulse then you can follow in the footsteps of Dr Martens, Mixcloud, and MTM and get in touch.
