Busayo Twins x Kings Place

I take a trip to Busayo’s beloved Camden Town to talk all things Brexit, Capitalism, and Drill.

Camden

There’s an affinity we develop with the areas that raise us. The postcodes in which we learn our earliest life lessons. The bus stops that chart our growth. The pavements which tell our stories. There’s a reason why when we’re asked about where we’re from, we tend to answer with a sense of nostalgia; as if our hearts are saying: “I could tell you the name but you wouldn’t know the stories.” The way Baldwin loved Harlem is the same way Busayo loves Camden.

“Camden provided me with the courage and humility to understand that I can always learn a lot from people who may be the total opposite of me.”

Busayo was born in South London, lived briefly in Finsbury Park but was raised in Camden. She observes that while growing up she lived among a diverse set of peoples, cultures and beliefs. One place, in particular, was her own home, as her father was a Muslim and her mother was a Christian. She was quickly presented with an example of how ideas could coexist. Her father and mother taught her a lot about geopolitics and provided her with unique perspectives and contexts that she would soon find were seldom included in mainstream discussion.

“Discussions in our house ranged from the Iraq War to the North-South divide in Nigeria. I grew up in a house where I was allowed to reconcile opposing thoughts and analysis was encouraged”.

Busayo’s early schooling was significantly multicultural. She was provided with an environment that allowed her to mix with a variety of young children free of any prejudice that the world would soon encourage them to embrace. Camden provided her with the ability to straddle different worlds, identify the nuances that different cultures brought and ultimately relate to a myriad of people.

However, the dynamics of Busayo’s secondary school saw that by the time she had reached her sixth form studies; the majority of the black girls in her school — had either been forced out of school or had left. A recent study by Ofsted reported that one in four teachers in England say they have witnessed pupils being illegitimately removed from schools, often to artificially boost a school’s performance. When you factor in the racial disparities that are present in the exclusion rates in secondary education in the U.K.; the problem becomes a lot more complicated; having a larger impact on ethnic minorities. While Busayo says she genuinely didn’t know if off-rolling was one of the reasons why the students left. She says as she reflects on the practices of institutional racism, off-rolling becomes more possible than was perceived at the time.

Busayo went on to study Economic History at the London School of Economics & Political Science. She speaks honestly of her first few experiences at university; a time she describes as a rollercoaster journey in which she battled with bouts of depression. She describes it as a time of battling imposters syndrome and dealing with feelings of inadequacy accompanied by financial constraints. The tension being further heightened as she didn’t feel comfortable speaking with her parents about the situations she faced as she didn’t want to further burden them.

Culture

At the time of our interview, I was interested in exploring how family dynamics impacted educational performance. I was keen to hear Busayo’s thoughts on how fatherlessness could impact lives. “Young black boys learn masculinity outside their households and outside the classroom; they spend a lot of their time just overhearing it. They are rarely provided with a healthy context of manhood.” It’s from this standpoint that young black boys can sometimes begin to associate their mothers with pain and suffering as they are left to pick up the pieces that are left when their fathers step out of position. This can, if left unchecked, be projected onto all black women; subconsciously informing their idea of who and who shouldn’t be deemed attractive — which we both agreed was a story for another day.

The Drill debate has garnered a lot of attention in recent media cycles. Characterised by its choppy wordplay, intense yet unbothered tempo and colourful lyrics — the underground sound has been targeted as one of the key factors for the youth violence that has engulfed London. We both agreed that it is incredibly lazy and irresponsible to label a genre of music as the sole reason for a problem that cuts across a number of intersections. Drill has received much attention from mainstream outlets denoting it as the main and most pertinent issue in the youth violence conversation. However, refusing to give equal time to other prominent factors (poverty, exclusion crisis, off-rolling in education, government cutting of youth services, etc) that contribute to the issue provides an unbalanced view to members of the population that may not be in close proximity to the issue. Something that becomes particularly dangerous when the people with a unique position to policy, who could ultimately help to resolve the situation at hand, aren’t provided with the proper context in which to make decisions.

Loosely sticking with music we decided to pivot into the impact of social media and cancel culture. In our fast-consuming media culture, we need to be reminded of the humanity of our ‘faves’. Growth requires time and space to make mistakes. In an influencer-culture that provides us with the opportunity to have immediate, all-access, around the clock access to people; we often forget that we are watching people live their lives in real-time. I can certainly vouch that I do not hold some of the views I held 3 months ago — let alone 3 years ago. When we use our favourite artists, entertainers, and cultural icons as spokespeople of social and economic issues — when they have not done the study or work necessary to speak on these issues, we are venturing down a path that is far from sustainable.

“I’m not a fan of cancelling people. Fame is a sickness. We put these guys on pedestals, inevitably they are going to fall off. It seems that it’s only when we disagree that’s when we cancel people.”

Capitalism

It’s been interesting but also somewhat disheartening to witness the events surrounding Brexit. “Our decision to leave the European Union was based on a xenophobic mandate which is extremely dangerous. If the mandate had been economic than that would have been somewhat okay”: Busayo says. Racism won’t stop after Brexit. The conversations and rhetoric that have come as a result of immigration and involvement in a customs union have released a tension of scepticism. The scepticism largely being targeted towards people who often come from underrepresented backgrounds and don’t have the mature mechanisms to navigate political frameworks.

“Post-Brexit Britain we need economic policies, we need numbers, we need a plan. How are you going to manage the budget? NHS funding? Use of police force? knife crime?”

I guess I’m at the point in my life where I’m beginning to recognise that remedies are required if we are to truly progress and actualise our best selves. We throw around ideas as to how we best create a better society. “I think at the root of moving forward is to challenge our fundamental and core understandings of capitalism. We need to remove ourselves from the emergencies of capitalism” She issues a sharp rebuke for some influencers who she says are selling and propagating consumerism to a vulnerable and poor demographic.

“Doing the work is not sexy. Start with your attitudes towards money. We need to assess our attitude towards money. Why do you want money? What exactly do you need money for? Biggie was in his philosophical bag when he said more money, more problems.”

We also need to understand that there is a difference between expertise and elitism. Expertise, much of the time, requires some sort of investment, effort and knowledge. “Our demographic doesn’t like anybody telling us what to do” a thought process she argues has been assembled as an outworking of neo-liberal capitalism; a system that encourages and praises individualism as an aspirational ideal. We miss a key community organising opportunity here when this is at play. As a result of this rugged individualism it becomes all about the markets. You exclude yourself from your own social context and become encouraged to run the solo race that is encouraged in this ‘secure the bag’ culture. Capitalism, in the manner that is currently being purported, forces you to perform with social media exacerbating the issue. You are constantly asked to perform when you are asked: “What are you doing?” — feeling forced in order to validate yourself you need to post everything in order to seem productive.

“Capitalism makes you feel like your own slave and master at the same time”

In recent times the conversation surrounding the sustainability of capitalism has now seeped out of the confines of socialist dinner tables and has begun to appear in more mainstream spaces, even appearing on the news streams of financial markets outlets. The widening wealth gap has even led billionaires to question the very system which has allowed them to amass their vast amounts of worth. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio recently penned his ideas about the modern state of capitalism and writes that capitalism in its current form does not provide a viable framework that benefits everyone. Dalio’s LinkedIn article states that “the income/wealth/opportunity gap is leading to dangerous social and political divisions that threaten our cohesive fabric and capitalism itself.”

Climate change also appears to be another challenge that capitalism is not fit to face. One of the most pertinent questions that eludes from the conversation surrounding our changing environment is: how are we going to effectively organise and facilitate those that become refugees as a result of the destructive impact of global warming? “Are we going to charge for air, land and water?” Sadly, if we look at the context and evolution of capitalism charging for things which are fundamental to human existence isn’t such a far-fetched notion.

What Would You Tell a Young G?

These days Busayo can be found providing strategy for the English Higher Education regulator; a body that tries to make or keep the sector high-quality and acts in the interests of students. Her role sees her specifically concerned with the development of strategy — overseeing key performance measures and exploring what innovation practice is. From AI to research, she is building the organisation’s understanding of innovation.

“My biggest inspiration is definitely God. His grace teaches me to be forgiving. His love teaches me how to be empathetic. I’m encouraged to be strong and resilient; to understand and be patient with people. To walk and move with purpose.”

It was refreshing to have the opportunity to explore Camden with Busayo. The anomalous part of London which she credits as both her inspiration and muse in trying to create a more equitable society. I asked if she could share some parting thoughts before I headed back to the Kings Place — she kindly agreed:

“Sis, you’re good.

The world has so many distractions. Close your eyes and listen to God. Be open to ideas but remember if something doesn’t give you peace — don’t allow it to distract you. If you keep following the superficial things you will never be satisfied. You might have to be that person that is uncomfortable for the next generation to be comfortable.

When all is said and done make sure you lived a life that will make you proud.”