Episode Summary

On this episode of the Create Your Life Series podcast, host Kevin Y Brown welcomes a truly inspiring guest to the studio, Ras Mutabaruka. A storyteller, entrepreneur, and community builder, Ras’ life is a testament to resilience, vision, and an enduring love for the African continent. Delving into the challenges he faced and the transformative impact of facing a traumatic past, including his experiences during the genocide in Rwanda. He opens up about the deep scars left by those events and the long journey toward healing. Ras also reflects on the importance of speaking out about personal struggles and advocating for mental health support, breaking the silence that often surrounds such experiences.

The conversation takes a turn as Ras shares lighter moments from his life, including his time in Canada, where he discovered his purpose and passion for storytelling. As he navigated cultural differences and stereotypes, he found strength in embracing his identity and heritage.

Ras Mutabaruka’s journey exemplifies resilience, the power of storytelling, and the unwavering commitment to make a positive impact on the continent he calls home. Tune in to this episode of the Create Your Life series for an inspiring and heartfelt conversation.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Ras Mutabaruka

Ras Mutabaruka founded The African Perspective (TAP Media Ltd) after being frustrated with seeing how Africa and Africans were often portrayed in global media. TAP is a Pan-African media platform that tells African stories from an African perspective with a mission to rebrand Africa, one story at a time.

Born in Rwanda during tumultuous times, he and his family sought refuge in neighboring countries. The journey eventually led him to Kenya, where he settled and found a sense of belonging amid a diverse community. His journey then took him to Canada for higher education.

Before working on TAP full-time, and to give back to his once adopted country of Canada, he spent five years working as a public servant in the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) where he received three back to back Ministerial Awards of Merit for service to Canadians.

Insights From the Episode

Reflecting on the Rwandan Genocide, Ras Mutabaruka underscores the healing power of facing the past
Emphasis on the need to challenge stereotypes about Africa
Mutabaruka shares experiences in Canada
Dissatisfaction with Western media narratives inspires TAP Media, evolving from a blog to a magazine, focusing on science in Africa
Importance of remaining true to oneself and consistent for personal growth and success
Strategies for Building a Platform: discussion surrounding transitioning from a blog to a magazine format broadens TAP Media's platform, leading to partnerships with prestigious institutions
Strategies for overcoming Imposter Syndrome
How to use collaboration as a tool for growth

Quotes From the Show

“... the narrative about Africa was still the same, probably even worse because the academia surrounding African people of African descent is really terrible… There's not that much that the academia says we've done and I found that to be a challenge… And then one time he hit me like, OK, you didn't go to journalism school, you not a, you know, you're not a journalist but you can write. So if you, if you don't like what other people are talking about, you or your country or your continent do something about it.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205
“the BBC says this, the CNN says the BBC is a British Broadcasting Corporation. They have their agenda, they are speaking for the British audience. So I'm like, so who, who's speaking for Africa or for Africans? And so it started out as a, as actually started very humble beginning, starts out as Facebook note. I would like write like notes about facts and things about Africa.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205
“It's a pleasure to know you as a leader and someone who, you know what I mean has I, I would say rose to the occasion or accepted the challenge of being a leader, being a dynamic person.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #205
“Create a group, create an insider group of people who can see the things you are doing and if they, and, and, and you can trust their feedback, of course, you're still the executive of your own story.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205
“I wished I knew that as much as money is not everything, money is probably like 50% of everything… So, you know and understand that you need money, know and understand where or how you're gonna get money, and then when the rubber meets the road don't go in by yourself, get someone else to come along… I think you're gonna go faster, you're gonna go farther and the knock and the pressure is gonna be less if you have two, if you have another person or two along with you.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205