By Chelsea Abili
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Grace, also known as Gigi - a singer-songwriter from Brixton, South London, who has now ventured into the world of podcasting. Her debut series, Journeys with Grace, is a deeply personal and highly-produced narrative podcast that takes listeners on a transformative journey through her life, her struggles, and her triumphs. Here’s a glimpse into our conversation where Grace opened up about her roots, her creative process, and the story behind her podcast.
Grace’s story begins in Brixton, South London, an area known for its cultural vibrancy but also for its notoriety in the '90s. “Brixton was the place you didn’t want to go to at the time—it wasn’t as bougie as it is now,” she reflects. “It was a neighborhood that you were scared to go to. But you came for culture, you came for vibes—good energy, good music.”
Growing up on a large estate near Brixton Road and Oval Tube Station, Grace recalls the sense of community that shaped her childhood. “There were people from all different nations - it was so free. You could go outside, and people from the neighborhood could watch out for you. There was greenery, so we actually played outside and touched some grass. Growing up was fun and dangerous, but it was also where I learned everything I know.”
When asked what inspired her to create her podcast series, Gigi tells me, “Life inspired me, because you're here, in the present and you're living. I’ve amassed so many experiences in my life that I felt the need to share my stories with the world around me. I feel like as a creative, you naturally have that burning desire to release all the thoughts in your head. The way my mind works is just different, I’m always looking at something from a different perspective. Even though writing isn't my ‘bag’, as per say, my imagination and my creativity and the way I think is my bag. So, the writing just comes naturally to me”
When she began working on Journeys with Grace, she initially intended to interview others, not expecting to focus on her own story. But the COVID-19 pandemic gave her the time to reflect, and she soon realised, “There’s so much I want to talk about, so why can’t I just tell my story?” So, she did, through rich, layered soundscapes and high production that makes the listeners feel more involved in the story. “I wanted my podcast to be a story brought to life through descriptive concepts and high production sounds to create a reality,” she says. “I wanted to go deep and add some depth to podcasting as a whole.”
Asking her if she felt vulnerable while filming and sharing her life story, she says that, “It was very hard to do. I wanted to be honest and as truthful as I could be. I was offered the opportunity to change some minor details such as the year of some occasions, but I said no. It was tough, but I wanted to stay as close to the truth as possible. In the end, I had to try to be careful to not incriminate myself or those around me. People can easily make judgement of what they hear without understanding the full picture. I didn’t want to shit on anybody - I just wanted to tell my story, so I had to be quite mindful when navigating what I decided to share.”
The podcast features carefully curated sound effects and music, many of which she created herself. “My favourite part of the process was making the music in the background because I’m a singer-songwriter at heart.” Grace is deeply involved in every aspect of the podcast—from writing and narrating to executive producing. Her hands-on approach, combined with the high-quality audio, has allowed her to build something truly special. She transported us to a completely different universe with her in depth breakdown of her life experiences, weaving together personal struggles, cultural identity, and vivid storytelling through immersive sound. But it was also deeply fulfilling to see the impact her podcast had on listeners. “People cried,” she reveals, reflecting on the emotional response her work evoked. “It was very fulfilling to know that my hard work had paid off.”
Grace credits much of her resilience to her Nigerian heritage. “My parents were hardworking, with the mentality to always be number one. Their walk of life would’ve been different from mine, but just moving here from Nigeria automatically gives you a reason to want to succeed,” she says. “ The desire to be successful is in our DNA. From birth, we’ve always been like this. If that’s your foundation, it’s easier for you to work hard. It’s a building block. But that’s not where all my resilience came from. Where I’ve grown up and the hard experiences I’ve gone through has helped to create the person I am today. A wide contributor to why I didn’t lose my life to the streets or end up in prison, like many people I grew up with, was the discipline of being Nigerian. It kept me on the straight path because we knew what was expected from us, which was to achieve greatness.”
When Grace won the Spotify Initiative in 2021, she felt incredible. She had always believed in her story, confident that it was unlike anything many had encountered— more of a movie than a typical podcast. Sharing the pilot with friends and family at the end of 2021, she received overwhelming praise, with everyone saying, “This sounds like a television series.” Grace saw it as the audio equivalent of the hype around Top Boy, despite initially thinking Spotify wouldn’t go for such a narrative-driven concept.
An important theme in Grace’s podcast is her battle with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the digestive tract. Diagnosed in 2005 after years of misdiagnoses and failed treatments, Grace’s experience with Crohn’s has been nothing short of a battle. “Crohn’s is attacking your gut,” she explains, recalling the years of pain and the challenges of balancing her health with her budding career. At one point, pharmaceutical drugs prescribed to manage her symptoms were later found to increase the risk of cancer.
Through her podcast, she emphasises the importance of health awareness, especially within Black communities. “Health is wealth,” she says. “In this generation, we care so much about our physical appearance, but how is our actual internal health and emotional life?”. Her podcast is a call to action for her listeners to prioritise their well-being, particularly by making small, actionable changes like diet adjustments and reducing stress.
After winning the commission, Grace questioned how she could craft the full series to perfection. She struggled with a touch of imposter syndrome, especially given the long gap between winning and starting the rest of the project. Though she initially struggled with liking the tone of her own voice, she described herself as a, “sponge - always eager to learn”, so she persevered. The day she hit publish was nothing short of amazing—everything had worked out for the best.
To bring her story to life, Grace had to dive deep into her medical history, a challenging but necessary part of her process. She vividly recalls the moment when she spread all her paperwork across her living room floor, seeing the full extent of what she had been through over the years. "Look how much I’ve been through," she reflected, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of documents that chronicled her journey with Crohn’s disease. It was both an emotional and eye-opening experience.
“It takes a level of hunger and drive to succeed,” She proceeded to tell me. “When I first went to New York, I went on my own with an agenda. I started knocking on doors and going to bars in order for people to notice me. The first time I went, I was there for a month, extending my stay when a producer that managed Lady Gaga wanted to meet me. It was a great experience that helped to elevate my career.”
“I have no regrets in life,” Grace reflected. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done because I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. Life is a learning curve, and when things haven’t worked out as I’d hoped, I’ve come to understand that I just needed a bit more wisdom and resilience.” For Grace, setbacks were never an endpoint. “You can’t stay in the zone of being down forever —you have to keep moving and get out.”
Grace emphasised the importance of looking beyond outward appearances, urging people to prioritise their internal health just as much as their physical looks. “Our hair is good, makeup is good, but are we good?” she questioned. In a generation obsessed with aesthetics, she raised an important point that if most people could see a snapshot of their health, she believes they would take it more seriously. In the UK, cancer diagnoses are expected to reach 500,000 annually by 2035, a sharp increase from current figures, largely driven by lifestyle and demographic changes. ”Little habits, like eating more vegetables, increasing protein intake, and even something as simple as adding cinnamon to your diet or going for a 20-minute walk, can make a huge difference”, she says. “The doctor isn't going to do the work for you - you are responsible for your health.”
Grace has big dreams for her podcast. “I would love for my podcast to be adapted into both a visual project and a book,” she shared, particularly when it comes to Chapter 8, which she believes could help people navigate difficult situations. Her hope is that it reaches the right audience—someone who sees its potential and believes in it enough to bring it to life in other formats. “Your work speaks for you,” she says, hoping that time and the right opportunity will provide the push she needs. With momentum building, she’s already planning series two and three, following the cliffhanger in Chapter 8. Grace also envisions expanding this format to share other people’s stories, just as she did with Journeys With Grace.
Gigi hopes that listeners will draw inspiration from her experiences and apply those lessons to enhance their own lives. Her goal is to motivate others to grow and navigate their journeys with greater insight and resilience.
So, with all that being said, mark your calendars for October 10th, when Gigi will host an exclusive listening event at BBC Radio 1 to celebrate the release of Chapter 8, the final chapter of her podcast series. This highly anticipated chapter promises to be a standout, wrapping up the series with a compelling and impactful conclusion. To fully appreciate the depth and context of Chapter 8, be sure to listen to the first seven chapters beforehand. Gigi's narrative has captivated audiences so far, and Chapter 8 is set to deliver an unforgettable finale. Don’t miss out—tune in and experience the culmination of this remarkable journey.
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