The Witch’s Flight
This podcast, hosted by Dr. Zama Dube, is adapted from Kara Keeling's scholarly study of cinematic representations of the Black femme. It asks what freedom sounds like through a series of sonic experiments built around amapiano music. Drawing on Afro-diasporic soundscapes, film, and visual art, the show brings together the museum, the classroom, and the club dance floor. It is framed as a Black feminist portal to creative possibilities across the African diaspora.
Episodes
Painting the UnRemembered
For this episode, I will be interviewing two artists: Martese Mixon and Chinedu Victor.In the first hour, we will be in conversation with Chinedu Victor, who is a Lagos-born, Los Angeles-based artist known for his contemporary portraiture that delves into themes of memory, intimacy, identity, and the Black cultural experience. His work employs saturated color, layered texture, and emotionally char
Elsewhere & Otherwise, After Dark in DTLA ART NIGHT
On this episode we enter the vibrant after-hours world of Downtown Los Angeles for a conversation about DTLA Art Night and the possibilities that emerge when art, nightlife, and community converge. We hear from Art Night Director Sidney Brocious about her vision for creating spaces of cultural exchange, followed by a live conversation with multidisciplinary artist Ziv Sade, whose practice explores
CheekyChizzy Abuja to Los Angeles Journey of Confucius Music
In this episode of The Witch’s Flight, Dr. Zama Dube sits down with Abuja-born, Los Angeles-based artist, producer, and sound engineer Cheekychizzy for a conversation that moves beyond the global success of Afrobeats to explore the philosophies that shape his creative practice. Together, they trace his journey from Nigeria to Los Angeles, reflecting on the evolution of his career, the cultural res
Shae Universe: On Music, Migration & Becoming
On this week’s episode of The Witch’s Flight, Zama Dube sits down with British-Nigerian artist Shae Universe for an intimate conversation on migration, creativity, vulnerability, and becoming. Shae Universe is a singer, songwriter, and sonic storyteller whose music moves fluidly between alternative R&B, soul, jazz, and atmospheric electronic textures. Fresh off her move from London to Los Ange
WARREN DUNCAN & THE LEGACIES OF JAZZ IN AMAPIANO
South African-born musician, producer & multi-instrumentalist Warren Duncan is rapidly paving his way towards greatness. Warrens musical background includes schools of Jazz, Classical and African Gospel. Duncan’s heart is set on taking his brand of Soulful Amapiano to the world. This mix features exclusive music from his forthcoming amapiano EP; “All Class: Vol. 2”. Blending live jazz instrume
ASARI AIBANGBEE ON ART, COMMUNITY & RADICAL SOFTNESS
This month’s broadcast features Asari Aibangbee.Asari Aibangbee is an interdisciplinary artist, specializing in filmmaking, fiber/textile art, and art curation. Originally from Los Angeles, their artistic journey began in San Francisco, where they founded the collective To Be Black and Queer and established themselves as an independent filmmaker. As a queer Nigerian femme, their work centers on th
HOTEP LUXURY: A SONIC JOURNEY WITH MORUF
This month’s episode features a special guest and friend of the show, MoRuf.MoRuf Adewunmi is a Nigerian-American rapper, writer, and cultural curator based in Los Angeles. Known for his introspective lyricism and jazz-infused sound, MoRuf blends hip-hop, soul, and personal storytelling to create music that resonates deeply with listeners. He is the founder of Some Jazz Playing, a creative platfor
The Rebellion Continues: Towards a Black Caring Gaze
Zeinabu Irene Davis is a celebrated director, screenwriter, and professor of Critical Gender Studies and African American Studies at UC San Diego. She is perhaps best known for her films Compensation (1999), A Period Piece (1991), and Cycles(1989), works that center the lives, voices, and imaginations of Black women with a rare tenderness and vision. As part of the legendary L.A. Rebellion—a movem
IMAGINATION, MIGRATION & MAGICAL REALISM ELSEWHERES: AN ARTIST CONVERSATION WITH SIMPHIWE NDZUBE
On this month’s edition of The Witch’s Flight, Zama Dube is joined by Simphiwe Ndzube. The conversation spans personal biography, grief, sobriety and sourcing from ancestral memory to create a radical visual grammar.Simphiwe Ndzube is a South African visual artist whose work moves between painting, sculpture, and performance with an unmistakable sense of imagination and political depth. Originally
TINY MIC/HEAVY SOUND: AN ARTIST CONVERSATION WITH MORUF
On this month’s episode, Zama is joined by special guest MoRuf Adewunmi.MoRuf Adewunmi is a Nigerian-American rapper, writer, and cultural curator based in Los Angeles. Known for his introspective lyricism and jazz-infused sound, MoRuf blends hip-hop, soul, and personal storytelling to create music that resonates deeply with listeners. He is the founder of Some Jazz Playing, a creative platform an
Pathways into the Elsewhere: Healing through Astrology
On this month’s episode, host Zama Dube is joined by special guest Monique Ruffin for an in-studio interview.MONIQUE RUFFIN is a renowned astrologer, spiritual advisor, and writer with a deep commitment to guiding others on their personal and spiritual journeys. With years of experience in astrology, Monique has cultivated a unique approach that blends intuitive wisdom with practical insight, help
WOMANIST PERSPECTIVES: A CONVERSATION WITH FIYIN KOKO
The Witch’s Flight is guided by the question; “What does freedom SOUND like?” Taking heed to this, amapiano becomes a portal and a sonic guide to diverse freedom dreams. The Witch’s Flight is the quest for a Black feminist sensibility structured in a series of sonic experimentations that center South Africa and the larger African diaspora.On this month’s episode, Zama is joined by special guest Fi
MAKING SPACE , BEAUTY & REST: A CONVERSATION WITH URÉCHI OGUGUO
The Witch’s Flight is guided by the question; “What does freedom SOUND like?” Taking heed to this, amapiano becomes a portal and a sonic guide to diverse freedom dreams. The Witch’s Flight is the quest for a Black feminist sensibility structured in a series of sonic experimentations that center South Africa and the larger African diaspora.On this month’s episode, Zama is joined by multidisciplinar
QUEERING AMAPIANO: A TRIP INTO THE ELSEWHERE W/ MS PARTY
The Witch’s Flight is guided by the question; “What does freedom SOUND like?” Taking heed to this, amapiano becomes a portal and a sonic guide to diverse freedom dreams. The Witch’s Flight is the quest for a Black feminist sensibility structured in a series of sonic experimentations that center South Africa and the larger African diaspora.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Olwethu “Olwee” Mlotshwa, bet
KWAITO PERSPECTIVES ON AMAPIANO: A CONVERSATION WITH DJ CLEO
The Witch’s Flight is guided by the question; “What does freedom SOUND like?” Taking heed to this, amapiano becomes a portal and a sonic guide to diverse freedom dreams. The Witch’s Flight is the quest for a Black feminist sensibility structured in a series of sonic experimentations that center South Africa and the larger African diaspora.On this month’s episode, Zama will be joined in conversatio
Alkebulan Dreams: Mpho Sebina on Music, Memory & Diaspora
In this episode, we are in conversation with Mpho Sebina who is a Botswana-born and bred melodist, songwriter. She is also a Recording Academy Voting Member who has spread her wings across the music scene over the past couple of years. Her sound is Neo Soul and AfroIndie, performing for small acoustic audiences to large festival stages including Forbes Under 30 Pan African Welcome Celebration host
Living & Loving Blackness: Black History Month Reflections
This month in celebration of Black History Month, Zama has a special episode lined up honoring personal narratives spanning from Nigeria, South-Africa, Black Los Angeles and beyond.Our astrologer, Monique Ruffin will be joining us for part two of our astrological forecast for 2025. Since we are also celebrating Valentine’s Day month, our astrologer will speak to us about the function of “Venus” wh
In Search of the Black Fantastic: An Intimate Conversation with Cinematic Griot––Akin Omotoso
In this intimate conversation with director/writer/producer, Akin Omotoso, I demonstrate a Black feminist consideration of the ways in which African filmmakers such as Omotoso contend with gendered and racialized visual histories in order to produce subversive images of Blackness. Omotoso was born to a Barbadian mother and a Nigerian father and had lived in both places before being uprooted go to
