Hussain Manawer’s latest poem Mamma’s Kitchen
Poet and activist, Hussain Manawer releases the video for his recent work ‘Mamma’s Kitchen’ today, the third piece in his ‘Homemade’ poetry cycle.
‘Mamma’s Kitchen’ is one of Hussain’s most impressive combinations of music and poetry yet. The track itself sees Hussain finding the everyday paraphernalia of his home recalling memories of his mother as he deals with the grief of her loss. This powerful message is set alongside a funk inspired breakbeat and a stunning guest vocal.
The video however explores a different topic. Skewing stereotypes of women in the British-Pakistani community, it sees a group of empowered young girls forming an impromptu band in the kitchen, rallying against a patriarchal perception of how they should behave.
“Mamma’s Kitchen is about smashing cultural stigmas around women. It still seems to be prevalent that many women don’t have a voice and are confined within the homes,” explains Hussain Manawer.
“I wrote Mamma’s Kitchen against the walls on the floor in my mum’s kitchen, when she passed away last year. The instruments found in the kitchen by the women act as their weapons to fight against oppression from society and toxic masculinity. The kitchen in the video represents the haven some women found solace in to survive within these environments.”
Comprised of four poems in total the‘Homemade’ cycle finds the poet and mental health activist working his way through his personal grief following the death of his mother last year.
Hussain is a unique character in the UK’s musical landscape. He’s an accomplished poet who has opened the stage for the likes of Ellie Goulding and Cher, as well as headlined sold-out shows in London’s Omeara and The Jazz Café.
He’s also a passionate campaigner for mental health awareness, having set the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Mental Health Lesson, and is also a proud ambassador of Samaritans, committed to their vision of fewer people dying by suicide.
He also recently became the youngest recipient of an honorary fellowship (from Kings College London) ever in the UK.
He’s performed at Brixton Academy with the Global Citizen initiative (sharing the stage with Former UN Secretary General Kofi Anan) and made appearances on Radio 4, Sky News, 5Live, BBC Asian Network discussing mental health and redefining masculinity in the modern world.