Ime Ekpo

Ime Ekpo is a cultural journalist whose work centers hip-hop culture, African diaspora history, and Black enterprise. In 2014, she launched Old School Hip-Hop Lust, a niche Tumblr blog that quickly became one of the platform’s highest-ranked classic hip-hop archives. This early success led to a contributing role at the now-defunct Street Khemistry, where she profiled foundational artists and documented the genre’s evolution.

From 2017 to 2022, Ekpo served as a contributor at The Source Magazine, breaking news on legacy hip-hop figures, interviewing icons such as Method Man, Ashanti, and Big Daddy Kane, and producing deeply researched cultural features, including work on the Black Panther Party. She has also written for NBCU Academy, BellaNaija, and OkayAfrica, expanding her reporting across the global African and diasporic cultural landscape.

Ekpo is now a Forbes Hollywood & Entertainment contributor, where she has interviewed major cultural figures including Mary J. Blige, Kelly Rowland, Angélique Kidjo, Seun Kuti, Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, Joy-Ann Reid, and many more, highlighting global Black creativity and cultural innovation.

She is also the founder of Rich Black Earth, an online publication dedicated to celebrating victories and narratives across the African diaspora.