Escaping Babylon

Shapeshifting, collaborative, endlessly inventive and robustly empowering: Black music has transformed British culture and society, and gifted generations of Black Britons a powerful means to reject misrepresentation and find freedom and joy in sound.
From the height of jungle and hip-hop in the 90s to the London uprisings in 2011, the birth of UK trap and the rise of grime superstars like Stormzy, filmmaker and DJ Jesse Bernard examines how Black culture in Britain is moulded by creativity drawn from Lagos and Los Angeles, Sao Paolo and South London. Escaping Babylon takes a deep dive into the history of Black British music to celebrate its richness, heritage and towering legacy.

Jesse Bernard is a writer, DJ, music researcher and filmmaker. He has written for publications including GQ, the Guardian, NME, Esquire and Vinyl Factory. He is tour DJ for the British MC Lord Apex and hosts a monthly radio show, Home Comforts, on Voices Radio. His most recent documentary, COMO VOCÊ, explores the links between the grime scene in Brazil and London.