Quick Questions with Itty Okim
– Oibiee
We are creating a comic book about the superhero’s of the African music industry, what’s your superhero power and name?
My super hero name is Deitty, I read minds, how about you?
Top three brands you wear?
I don’t like brand names, truth is I have a stylist who makes my clothes but top three would be Raven wears , Urban centre, Urban twist . The summary, I’m really into street wear.
From Pharmacist to Managing Editor at Digimillennials, what was the journey like?
I was always keen on the media space because my father is a journalist, I grew up in an environment that supported journalism, especially entertainment.
Being a writer is really just me responding to what the environment has given me.
– Itty
How is it working at DigiMillennials and what’s the vision you are curating about the African Music Space?
Digimillenials is awesome, the most interesting thing about working here is that majority of the team are people under 24, young fresh really talented minds, telling stories about African entertainment but in the light of Canadians, in Canada afro beats is not as big as it is in USA and England, so Digimillenials is trying to shed light on the Africans in Canada doing Afrocentric entertainment and showcase whats happening in Africa to the africans in Diaspora, especially in Canada. We really want to be part of the growth of Afrobeats, African Music Culture in Canada and the world.
What is the role of writers and editors in shaping the Narrative of the African Music Scene?
African music is getting a lot of global recognition and people are scared that we might lose the narrative of the art from Africa, and thats where writers come in, we control what the world sees and hears about African music, we control the narrative and stories, even though we are not gate keeping the sound we are letting people know what is true about African music, editors and writers are at the fore of this.
Writers and editors control what the world sees and hears about African music, we control the narrative and stories.
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Can you tell us the type of content we need to see more off to grow the African Music Space?
We have the art on lock but we need the creators owning their stories and sharing their journeys even more. It seems like African artists are basking in present glories and not being futuristic in their thinking about how to secure the future of the sound.
What collaborations do you think we need to see in the African Music Space?
More of the music and fashion collaboration that is focused on home grown talent.
Can you tell us about any writing camps, programs, communities or initiatives that aspiring African entertainment writers can pug into?
Not sure they exist, but watch my space because something is coming.
Tell us about Bae’s Gist! How did it start, what strategy did you use to grow it? And where is it going?
Bae Gist started as my friends and I talking about how people were always coming to us for relationship advice especially Gen Z`s. Our strategy has been leveraging the power of videos for marketing and now we are #1 relationship podcast in the country. For the future, expect live shows, merch, and more
Podcasts help us own our stories, our talk and our journeys, Podcast is as important as all other forms of media
Itty Okim
What are some of your favourite innovations and programs by Africans for the music industry?
The Sarz academy, DIY Collective a new one but a very important one
Your name is going in the hall of fame for people who impacted the music industry, what would your quote be?
Do you mehn!
Because people like to act like there’s a template for being relevant but there really is none, it’s really about finding how much value you can give and giving it to the people who deserve it & showing up, because consistency is the major thing in the music business.