Kalaf Epalanga lives at the intersection of many identities: musical genius, immigrant, writer, among many others. For the 90s/2000s kids of Lisbon, Kalaf was one of the few black musicians on stage representing Portugal, who spoke crioulo, danced kizomba and kuduro, and ate cachupa with gusto. To the rest of world, he was the Sapeur in the MTV Europe Music Award-winning band, Buraka Som Sistema, hyping excited crowds and bringing the unique sounds of Lisbon to the world.

In spite of these successes, he will tell you with a smile, that he is neither a singer nor a musician. And there is some truth to this because he is a writer at heart. He is deeply interested in the immigrant experience as well as how culture and history manifest in Lusophone Africa and its relationship with Portugal.

by Yovanka Paquete Perdigão

Read the full interview here.