Riz Ahmed

Riz Ahmed is a music artist, storyteller, actor and activist.

As a musician, he came up in the London music scene as a rap battle champion, going on to write and perform both as a solo artist and with Swet Shop Boys. His provocative solo release, Post 9/11 Blues, was banned before a viral groundswell forced it into radio. The Swet Shop Boys’ album, Cashmere, toured to sold-out crowds from Coachella to NYC’s Webster Hall. In a nod to their cultural impact, protestors against Trump’s “muslim ban” at Los Angeles International Airport protest were heard chanting their lyrics. In 2018, his release of “Mogambo,” a swaggering survival anthem for our fraught times, was followed by a series of incendiary, sold-out live shows in the US and UK.

The Long Goodbye is the new album and accompanying short film. Its 9 tracks were recorded in London, and are a bracingly emotional exploration of identity and belonging through the distinctive, culturally hybrid sound that he and Redinho forged on their critically acclaimed collaboration as part of Swet Shop Boys. The album places a personal lens on the divided times we live in, examining the rise of homeland alienation that so many of us feel, through the metaphor of a romantic breakup."