Raised in London, Akala is a BAFTA / MOBO award-winning hip hop artist, writer and social entrepreneur. In 2009, he co-founded The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company, a music theatre production company that explores the social, cultural and linguistic parallels between William Shakespeare's works and that of modern day rappers. He has led many hip-hop Shakespeare youth arts, education and music projects across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Appearing on TV networks globally, he has gained a reputation as one of the most dynamic and articulate talents in the UK, notably with his bestselling memoir Natives, released in 2019.