Kemi Alemoru Interview (gal-dem)
Kemi Alemoru is the culture editor at gal-dem. Before her work there, she spent three years at Dazed, moving from intern to staff writer. Along the way, she’s freelanced for Vogue, The Guardian, and many more.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
I kind of always knew I wanted to be a writer from a super young age—I didn’t envision a plan B. I wrote fiction for my classmates in primary school, spending lunch times reading them the new chapters, in high school I realised journalism was a key interest of mine. By university I was working on student papers and after getting the scholarships I needed to relocate from up North to Angel, North London, I embarked on a MA Magazine Journalism course afterwards. Before that even ended I was hired at Dazed, moving from intern to Digital Assistant to Staff Writer over my three years there. I wrote news about nonsense, every time Azealia Banks took a shit I took note. But when it came to features I liked to look for under the radar or offbeat stories and new voices. I used the brand name to get into nights, and events in London and scammed my way to festivals abroad. I was always punching above my actual weight, disregarding my job title and getting to know every bit of the company. For example, I went to Nigeria to help make a doc about Fela Kuti.
Eventually, I hopped over to gal-dem to work on features and specialised in culture. Over the course of my career I’ve interviewed many interesting people—Kelis being a recent highlight. On the side, I freelance write and host for places like Vogue, The Guardian, Universal Records, Soho House, and more.