Gabriel Akamọ

I cornered Gabriel Akamọ at a party. This sounds far more predatory than it was, but I will admit I was impatient to get this interview with him. After several rainchecks and a growing desire to have Gabriel in our first months featured creatives I was very aware that I needed to grab him the next available moment (metaphorically, of course, Spoiler in no way condones the physical grabbing of creatives - unless they wish to be grabbed, however that is a very different conversation...) anyway, this moment presented itself at a party. So whilst the homemade hummus was being devoured by a gaggle of dieting actors and the waves of german electro-pop radiating from speakers nearby were making me realise how painfully uncool I am, I stole Gabriel off to a quiet corner to find out a little more about what he is up to.

‘In terms of how I would describe myself; on my email signature I am a Poet, Actor, Creative Producer and Educator which includes like facilitation and also tutoring.’ And Gabriel has earned these professional titles, having been making waves in the creative industries for several years he now has a strong portfolio of projects behind him in all four areas. He is currently in the middle of his reign as one of the Barbican Young Poets, and on a whim managed to win the infamous Slambassadors UK with one of his first ever poems 'Ok so when you put it that way! I don't know, It gets to a certain point when the early things don't really seem that big or you don't realise how deep something is because you’re the one in it. It's only when other people are impressed or they reflect that back to you that your like Oh? Was it a big deal?' Gabriel laughs, and it's in this vain that the interview continues, though he is an undeniably talented writer and powerful actor, his near constant creation of projects over the last few years are testament to his passion which- hand in hand with his humility, patience, and thirst for exploration of the bigger questions and topics make him an antidote to the fleeting viral content that large numbers of creatives are pursuing in a bid for success.

As to what he’s currently working on, in addition to training with The Actors Class and Barbican Young Poets Programme- ‘I’m also working on my debut pamphlet, it's going to be 20-ish poems; that hasn’t got a name yet... So basically a pamphlet is to poetry what an EP is to music. I’m also in the midst on planning and recording episodes for the Sugar and Dread podcast which is a poetry podcast which I co-host and co-produce with Sugar J Poet, also known as Jeremiah Brown, fellow Croydonian or Croydonite...We’re planning to drop season 2 beginning of next year (now this year) we're on twitter, itunes, and soundcloud. We've got a solid first season, so now we're going deep with the second season.’

But in the face of all his successes and creativity Gabriel is very clear about something that he feels has held him back, and a mistake that he’s keen for other creatives not to repeat ‘I had a lot of writers give advice and say things like 'oh well you need to know why you want to do this thing, or you need to know what your doing' I'm not a fan of that. So I would say the first bit of advice is take everyone’s advice with not like a grain of salt, but like a good spoonful of like - not a bucket of salt, because that’s like setting up for a stroke, you know what I mean, that’s suicide by salt. I was going to say, take it with a pinch of salt, maybe add some seasoning, put some herbs and oregano, maybe put some table sauces, I'd pair up. Because at the end of the day it is a matter of, you don't need to know what your doing at the moment, but trust that in time you will. And for me anyway, figuring out who you are as a creative; what your doing; what your intentions are. Will come with time. So I would say, don't feel like you need to have all the answers at the moment. Because thats something that's on reflection, that's held me back alot. You say I've been doing alot but I feel like there is more I could be doing or should be doing. But I'm not, because deeply ingrained in me is the complex of 'Well I need to know what I'm doing, or why I'm doing it' that’s not necessary and it's not healthy. And doing that you end up missing things'

Gabriel’s article has been both a joy to write and a quest, the original interview we did was close to an hour long, and we continued to talk long after that, and I wish I could have fit it every gem, words both sweet and powerful, into this piece. Unfortunately, there is no way I can summarize Gabriel succinctly enough to do him and his work justice. Instead I will hold onto Gabriel’s assurance of perspective in hindsight and trust in the unknown, and hope that he is up for collaborating with Spoiler again in the future.