This week, we welcome Akosia, an independent Ghanaian Australian singer-songwriter, actor and multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne. In 2026 alone her music has featured in seven major international productions, including Love Island and Germany's Next Top Model. Her bedroom-recorded EP Eat the Night has earned coverage from GRM Daily, triple j and NME, and on screen she played Bast in Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder.Akosia shares about her childhood, growing up in church, going five days a week, the identity crisis that hit when she got to Uni, and losing both of her parents. She explains music carried her in her darkest and refining her craft keeps pushing her every day. She is honest about how hard it is to be a Black woman in the Australian music industry, and about why she had to "go outside" (London, Berlin, France) to get recognised at home.The episode also covers GOAT artist lists, dancehall confessions, the mystery of the Instagram share arrow, and how you can spot the haters 👀. It closes with some of the most practical, no-nonsense career advice we've had on the couch.In this episode* 00:00 – Welcome and guest intro, plus spotting Akosia's face on a Priceline campaign on Chapel Street* 03:40 – Why Akosia "deletes" her achievements the moment she reaches them* 04:29 – From Nigeria to Melbourne: a professor dad and church five times a week* 06:00 – Growing up in a strictly Christian bubble, then having her world collapse at uni* 07:13 – A double degree in electrical engineering and science ("Ghanaian parents…")* 07:51 – Where the music started: sitting on her dad's chest while he played guitar* 09:03 – Her sound, which she calls "the love child of Doechii and Charli XCX," and writing Eat the Night as mantras after leaving an abusive relationship* 11:15 – Life is short, so wear the miniskirt* 12:55 – Falling into acting by accident, and why voiceover pays the bills* 15:28 – How being an independent artist works when projects are funded deal by deal* 17:16 – Being a Black woman artist in Australia, and the "gaslighting" of it all* 19:23 – The crossover theory: how Black music became a monolith* 21:47 – African Australian artists you should know, including Sampa the Great, Elsy Wameyo, Thando and Jerome Farah* 24:21 – Where her confidence comes from: her mum's daily Bible mantras* 25:37 – Do artists have to be influencers now?* 28:33 – GOAT lists: Sade, Kendrick, Amy Winehouse, Doja Cat and Doechii from Akosia, then Black Thought, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and Stevie Wonder* 33:40 – The ladies picks: Aretha, Bob Marley, dancehall queens, gospel in the car, and Brandy forever* 40:01 – Family expectations versus what your soul wants* 43:40 – Would she move overseas to chase the dream?* 44:48 – Advice for aspiring artists: your first song isn't as good as you think it is* 47:11 – The dream is to buy a house with music money* 48:48 – Breaking into acting: "your career isn't a door, it's bricks"* 52:39 – Does our community actually show up and support?* 53:41 – Hundreds of shares, hardly any likes: the Love Island post* 55:08 – Treating music like a business, and firing what doesn't work* 58:20 – The J word: how do you know someone's jealous of you?* 01:00:36 – What "Akosia" meansStandout moments* "No matter what I do, someone's gonna be annoyed. So why don't I just impress myself?"* "In a thousand years' time, no one's gonna remember us… Please yourself now."* "Your career is not a door, it's bricks. Everything you do is a brick."* "Time under tension builds muscle. You need to write and write and write."* "It's foolishness to do the same thing expecting a different result."* "I am not for everybody, and that's okay."Mentioned in this episode* Akosia's EP Eat the Night and her single "Speechless," produced by Jerome FarahFollow Akosia and stream Eat the Night wherever you get your music.
