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Jeffrey Boakye

Jeffrey Boakye
Boakye in 2023
Born (1982-03-22) 22 March 1982 (age 43)
Brixton, London, England
Alma materUniversity of Leicester
Occupation(s)Writer, teacher, journalist and broadcaster
Notable creditAdd to Playlist
Websitejeffreyboakye.com

Jeffrey Boakye (born 22 March 1982)[1] is a British author, educator, broadcaster and occasional journalist. Since 2021, he has presented, alongside Cerys Matthews to March 2024 and Anna Phoebe from May 2024, the BBC Radio 4 programme Add To Playlist, which explores connections in music.[2][3]

Biography

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Early years and education

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Jeffrey Boakye grew up in Brixton in south London, United Kingdom.[4] He is of Ghanaian heritage, his parents having migrated to the UK in the 1970s.[1][5] He attended Corpus Christi Primary School in Brixton before attending Salesian College, Battersea, then Wimbledon College.[citation needed] He studied English Literature at the University of Leicester, graduating in 2003.[6][7]

Teaching

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A teacher of English to 11- to 18-year-olds since 2007, he was appointed a Senior Teaching Fellow in Manchester Institute of Education (MIE), University of Manchester, in 2022.[8]

Writing

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Boakye has written articles and comment pieces for publications including The Guardian, The Financial Times and the Royal Society of Arts Journal, and is the author of several books for adults as well as young readers.[4][9] His most recent adult book is I Heard What You Said (2022), about which Joseph Harker of The Guardian said: "This book is essential reading for teachers, those who run educational institutions, parents – but perhaps most of all for those Black children who may be currently going through school not realising why they are made to feel small, out of step and unworthy. For them in particular, it could be a ray of hope."[10]

Broadcasting

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In 2021, Boakye made a pilot for a new BBC Radio 4 music programme called Add to Playlist, with Cerys Matthews. This emerged as a weekly Friday-night show, which Boakye continues to co-present and direct.[11] Add to Playlist went on to win both the Prix Italia and Prix Europa in the music radio category in 2022.[12]

Personal life

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Boakye is married to Sophie and the couple have two sons.[5] After moving from London in 2018, the family now lives in East Yorkshire, in the north of England.[4][13]

Selected writings

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Books

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  • Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials and the Meaning of Grime (Influx Press, 2017)
  • Black, Listed: Black British Culture Explored (Dialogue Books, 2018)
  • What is Masculinity? Why Does it Matter? And Other Big Questions (2019; longlisted for the Information Book Awards)
  • Musical Truth: A Musical History of Black Britain in 28 Songs (Faber Children's, 2021; longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022 and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize Children's & YA 2022)
  • I Heard What You Said (Picador (imprint), 2022)
  • Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer (Faber Children's, 2023; Shortlisted for The Week Junior Book Awards 2024, Children's Book of the Year: Older Fiction and nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024)
  • Musical World: Modern World History as You’ve Never Heard it Before (Faber Children's, 2023)
  • Kofi and the Secret Radio Station (Faber Children's, 2024)

Honours and awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b Boakye, Jeffrey (13 April 2019). "Smooth, angry, cool, powerful: how we talk about blackness". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Cerys and Jeffrey Boakye launch new BBC Radio 4's music show: ADD TO PLAYLIST". cerysmatthews.co.uk. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  3. ^ Boakye, Jeffrey (6 October 2021). "Black History Month: How a playlist by Radio 4's Jeffrey Boakye sheds light on the black British experience". The i Paper. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Jeffrey Boakye biography". Writers Mosaic. Royal Literary Fund (RLF). Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b Gohil, Ashwin (14 December 2022). "'There's just so much you're not taught in school' – Author and teacher Jeffrey Boakye on the British education system". Varsity. Cambridge. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  6. ^ "Jeffrey Boakye | 'I feel like the debate is opening, but it's not always a safe debate'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  7. ^ a b "News | University of Leicester bestows honour on English student-turned-inspiring-author". University of Leicester. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  8. ^ Stafford, Joe (31 August 2022). "Author and broadcaster Jeffrey Boakye joins The University of Manchester". The University of Manchester. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Books". jeffreyboakye.com. Jeffrey Boakye. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  10. ^ Harker, Joseph (17 June 2022). "Review: I Heard What You Said by Jeffrey Boakye review – reflections of a Black school teacher". The Guardian.
  11. ^ "BBC Sounds – Add to Playlist – Available Episodes". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Add To Playlist". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  13. ^ Boakye, Jeffrey (2 March 2021). "BLM Beyond The M25: Jeffrey Boakye On Black Identity Outside London". The Quietus. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Add to Playlist". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  15. ^ "2022 Winners | Radio Music". rai.it. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Congratulations to all PRIX EUROPA 2022 winners! | PRIX EUROPA Best European Radio Music Programme of the Year 2022". Prix Europa. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
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