AMAKA has just launched the first season of a new podcast that spotlights career insights from a range of notable emerging, mid-career, and veteran figures, Then & Now.

Hosted by Editor In Chief & Editorial Director, Ivie Ani, Then & Now is a long-form hosted podcast series that brings insider insight, our host and thought-provoking guests together for a deep dive into moments on their journey. How does the definition of success change with time? What does purpose mean and what does it look like to feel fulfilled? How does one build their legacy? On a biweekly basis, Then & Now will unpack these questions with a new guest each episode.

Here’s a recap of the first episode featuring Kenyan R&B singer-songwriter, Karun:

In a short but loaded interview, Karun and Ivie explore the musician’s trajectory in her local music industry and dynamics that Kenyan artists navigate when breaking out on a global stage. Although born and raised in Nairobi, Karun grew up going to British schools before going to Berklee College of Music in Boston and eventually landing in Los Angeles for a few years. This movement allowed her to reinvent her sound away from the expectations and pressures of her early career with hip-hop group Camp Mulla. Now she’s back in Kenya and thinking through what she wants long-term for herself and her son. Karun is committed to expressing herself through different mediums and ultimately, creating space for other upcoming artists in the city to perform, grow, and discover themselves too.

Memorable quotes:

“Music wasn't actually my first choice. I applied to Pratt to do industrial design. I'm pretty good at art and I'm passionate about the environment so I wanted to figure out how to design products in ways that were environmentally conscious. Industrial design looked really interesting to me at that time and it still kind of does but other things have been web design...I like things to do with design and tech.” — Karun

“I'm just thinking of different African artists who've crossed over and they all have their own category of what they call their music but when they make it to the Western industry or the states or even on the cusp of mainstream, there's always a different label placed on them. And I think Burna Boy is a great example because he calls his music Afro-Fusion but then when he gets here, he's thrown into the world music category and he won the Grammy this year but the category isn't really a great example of what his music is or what anyone's music is. It's not a category that's defined by one sound. It's just for non-American acts that they put into one category.” — Ivie Ani

“Professionally, I want to have a musicians hub and artist hub where people can record, shoot music videos, photoshoots. I feel like there aren't enough creative spaces here. So in order to get to that, I want to be very financially stable to the point where money is not even an issue, because I want that space to be, if not free, just very accessible to the artists, especially young artists. It would still mean being financially stable enough to not worry about my son's school and we can live maybe like pretty far out from the city. I just want to have the right, like a good life for my son where I feel like I get to raise him with the values that I hold now.” — Karun

You can listen to Karun’s interview here. Tune into more episodes of Then & Now wherever you get your podcasts.