Potent Whisper

Georgie, better known as Potent Whisper, is a London based rapper, Spoken Word artist and community organiser.

Born in South West London (6.7.89) and raised in a single parent, working class family, he went on to stufy theatre and performance at The BRIT School. After training as an actor he became increasingly interested lyricism and started rapping.

In 2006 he enrolled at Richmond College where he met producer/ DJ Wu-Lu and MC Simple who invited him to join the Dubstep collective We Are Dubist. The crew went on to be offered a record deal with Congo Natty Records but the release was never made due to artistic differences. The group later disbanded and Potent Whisper continued his journey as a solo Hip Hop artist.

In August 2012 PW received his first major radio play with his single Between the Lines, featuring singer Nanci Correia. The track was aired by Jen and Ally on BBC Introducing and PW went on to receive further BBC support the following month with The Boom Bap Bounce, featuring Jungle legend Congo Natty aka Rebel MC.

In 2013 he performed at the Tate Modern's 'Hyperlink' Festival and worked with Raw Material and The British Council to deliver festival performances in Senegal, France and Sudan. The shows were accompanied by his first newspaper coverage with a full page feature in the Guardian.

In 2014 PW began working with revolutionary video production company Global Faction. Their first collaboration came in form of the anti-war single Just Wondering featuring singer Lara Lee (The Voice UK). The music video starred Joe Glenton, the first British soldier to refuse to serve in Afghanistan on moral and legal grounds. The track was played on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 6 by Tom Robinson, who called Potent Whisper's music "life affirming".

The same year, PW wrote one of his best known pieces Trident on Trial. The video was produced by Global Faction and released in collaboration with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Trident on Trial was the first Spoken Word piece in which PW demonstrated an ability to explore and explain key political issues, through rhyme. This "Rhyming Guide" style would later go on to become his trademark.

In early 2014, PW wrote his first Play Invisible. The Immersive Theatre piece was taken on tour to four UK cities by Brixton-based charity Raw Material. Later in November '14, PW released his first short film What's Going On?. The four minute screen-play was written in rhyme and served as the first episode in his short-film series 'Real Talk'.

In 2015, PW started campaigning and organising within the Brixton community. On 31 March he founded the multi-arts community group Our Brixton which supports local housing campaigns by fusing art with direct action. The group launched with the release of the self-titled Spoken Word piece 'Our Brixton' which addressed the redevelopment of the Brixton Arches. At around the same time, PW delivered his first TV performance on RT (Russia Today) with his piece Trident on Trial and received invitations to perform the piece at various national CND demonstrations.

On 3 May 2015, PW released his single Brixton First featuring Lara Lee. The music video was filmed at the Reclaim Brixton demonstration and famously featured street theatre portraying Lambeth Council as the character of a pimp. Images from his video/ street theatre became iconic in the anti-gentrification movement. Brixton First received support from The Independent, BBC Radio and also featured in a documentary on BBC 1's Inside Out. The track became known to many as an anti-gentrification anthem.

On 25 January 2016, PW released his single Now in collaboration with award-winning Electric Harpist Maria-Christina & The 7 Pedals. The music video was filmed at the 'Occupy the Tory Conference' demonstration in Manchester and the track received support from Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 6.

In March 2016 Potent Whisper was invited to co-lead the Save Brixton Arches campaign. He organised and led numerous direct actions throughout the year, perhaps most notably at a Planning Application Meeting on 2 August. PW led a rally outside the Planning meeting, before officially addressing the Committee on behalf of traders. When Lambeth Council voted to approve Network Rail's Planning application, he famously stood on a table and threw red glitter onto the floor, representing "the blood of Brixton". This action made national printed press and was later followed by a police investigation after Lambeth councillors made false allegations against PW. No arrests were made and no further action was taken.

At around the same time, PW worked with the South London branch of the Revolutionary Communist Group to organise a Youth March for Housing in Brixton. The march was the product of a series of free arts workshops that he delivered on Cressingham Gardens Estate. Global Faction attended the march to film the music video for Make a Change - a song about housing - written with young people at the workshops. The release of the video prompted his in-depth interview with Inside Housing magazine, in which he discussed the Save Cressingham Gardens campaign and estate regeneration. PW later went on to translate the interview into rhyme in January '17, with his piece 'Estate of War'.

In November 2016 he released his first official "Rhyming Guide". The Rhyming Guide to NHS Privatisation is a six minute Spoken Word piece that drew inspiration from Dr. Youssef El-Gingihy's book 'How To Dismantle the NHS in 10 Easy Steps'. The video starred prominent doctor Bob Gill and was released by Jeremy Corbyn's group Momentm. In the same month, the British Council booked PW to headline the Shakespeare Lives Festival at Khartoum's National Museum in Sudan.

In November 2016 he released his first official "Rhyming Guide". The Rhyming Guide to NHS Privatisation is a six minute Spoken Word piece that stars prominent doctor Bob Gill. It was initially released by Jeremy Corbyn's group Momentm and video has received 170,000+ views to date. In the same month, the British Council booked Whisper to headline the Shakespeare Lives Festival at Khartoum's National Museum in Sudan.

On 21 March 2017 Potent Whisper released his political Grime EP New Radical. The EP features MOBO award-winning vocalist Fola, and has been described as "A masterclass in political Grime" by The Canary.

http://www.potentwhisper.com/