On 7 June 2024, we hosted the Lasgidi Vibes Afrobeat Showcase in Hull. Vector, one of Nigeria’s most respected rappers, performed alongside TMXO and SESSTHEPRBLM. It was the first event under The Gidi Vibes banner and, at the time, I had no idea what the next two years would look like.
Today marks two years since that night.
Looking back, what strikes me most is not what happened on that stage. It is everything that happened because we decided to put on a show in the first place.
When I launched The Gidi Vibes, the idea was simple. Create a platform that could celebrate African creativity in Hull and give people a reason to gather around music, culture and community. Simple ideas, however, are rarely simple to execute.
At the time, there was no evidence that an audience existed for what we wanted to do. There were assumptions, plenty of them. Some people believed Hull was too small. Others believed African cultural events could only thrive in London, Birmingham or Manchester. A few simply thought it would be difficult to sustain. The truth was that nobody really knew. Including me.
What I had was a conviction that the audience for African cultural events in Hull existed, even if it had not yet been given a place to gather.
The first event did not sell out. But people came. Enough people came. Enough people believed. Enough people returned. Enough people brought others. That first room taught me something that has guided everything we have done since.
The audience was never the problem. The opportunity was.
What We Built
Over the last two years, we have had the privilege of creating those opportunities in different forms.
We curated the Echoes of Our Heritage Exhibition with the Black Heritage of Hull Collective. We supported the Sound of Our Skin Festival and the Seen and Unseen Exhibition at Ferens Art Gallery. We brought Felabration UK to Hull, celebrating the life and legacy of Fela Anikuapo Kuti through music, conversation and cultural exchange. We hosted Senator The Comedian, creating what was, at the time, one of the city’s first Nigerian comedy events. We brought Basketmouth, one of Africa’s biggest comedians, to Hull not once but twice.
We launched Sauti Sessions to create space for live African music and emerging talent. We hosted a Yoruba Owambe experience with Segun Johnson. We created Detty Rave as an annual end-of-year celebration for our community. And this year, we premiered Paths and Frequencies on Venn Radio Hull, a monthly Afrohouse journey that has slowly found its own audience.
The audience was never the problem. The opportunity was.
Each project looked different on the surface, but they were all trying to answer the same question: what happens when people are given a place to gather around a culture they recognise as their own?
What It Cost
Looking at that list, it can be tempting to focus on the outcomes. The sold-out rooms. The partnerships. The media coverage. The recognition. But if I am honest, that is not what I think about most.
I think about the uncertainty. The nights spent wondering whether enough tickets would sell. The conversations with venues. The funding applications. The partnerships that worked. The partnerships that did not. The budgets that rarely behaved themselves. The difficult decisions. The mistakes. The lessons. And the people who continued to believe in the vision even when the results were not immediately visible.
Building something from scratch has a way of testing your patience. Sometimes it tests your finances. Sometimes it tests your confidence. Sometimes it tests your relationships. There were moments when it would have been easier to stop. Moments when the sensible thing might have been to scale back. Moments when the numbers did not justify the effort.
But every time we opened a room, people reminded us why we started. They showed up. Not always in the numbers we wanted. But consistently enough to prove we were building something real.
We have not made it. Not even close. Most of our events have been driven by belief long before they were supported by budgets. We are still learning. Still experimenting. Still refining. Still building. But unlike two years ago, we are no longer building on an idea. We are building on evidence.
When We Knew It Was Working
One of the most significant moments came through Felabration UK. What started as a celebration of Fela’s legacy grew into something larger. The project was later referenced in Hull’s UNESCO Creative City of Music submission, and conversations around it reached far beyond the city through coverage of the 2025 edition from the BBC, Vanguard and Daily Times.
We have not made it. Not even close. Most of our events have been driven by belief long before they were supported by budgets. But unlike two years ago, we are no longer building on an idea. We are building on evidence.
For me, that moment mattered because it reinforced something I had been feeling for a while. African creativity was no longer sitting outside the city’s cultural conversation. It was becoming part of it.
That feeling has continued through my involvement with the Hull Music Board and through the relationships we have built with organisations, venues, artists and audiences across the city. The work is still far from finished. If anything, these two years have taught me how much more there is to do.
Something Has Been Moving Quietly
For the last two years, while building The Gidi Vibes, something else has been taking shape quietly in the background. Listeners of Paths and Frequencies on Venn Radio Hull will already know the name. ARONI.
What started as a monthly Afrohouse radio journey through rhythm and storytelling has gradually become something more. July 3 will be the first time ARONI steps into the room. Not as a new idea. Not as a sudden announcement. But as the continuation of something that has been developing quietly over time.
Polar Bear
On 3 July 2026, we will gather at Polar Bear in Hull to celebrate two years of The Gidi Vibes. More than anything, the night is a thank you. To every artist who trusted us. Every partner who took a chance on us. Every venue that opened its doors. Every volunteer who gave their time. Every audience member who bought a ticket, shared a post, invited a friend or simply showed up.
We celebrate Hull Museums, Ferens Art Gallery, Wilberforce House Museum, TransferGo, Ohentpay UK Limited, Tap Tap Send, the Black Heritage of Hull Collective, Polar Bear Music Club, Parker Grant, Tope Mabifa, Albemarle Music Centre, PQ Event Centre and Jubilee Central. We celebrate Ololade Ojo, Harriet Owie, Segun Lafup Ogundipe, Adewale Salami and Abolore Sobayo. We celebrate every collaborator who helped build something larger than any one event.
July 3 will be the first time ARONI steps into the room. Not as a new idea. Not as a sudden announcement. But as the continuation of something that has been developing quietly over time.
You helped build this. July 3 is our way of saying thank you and stepping into whatever comes next, together.
Two years ago, we built a room and hoped people would come. They did.
Everything that followed began there.
See you on July 3.