We are posting interviews with the 2024 Dissertation Prize winners. This interview is with Temi Ajayi (University of Edinburgh).

First of all, how did you come up with your dissertation topic?

I started listening to drill music in 2022 to get me through a particularly rough part-time job and quickly became obsessed with the genre. Listening to the lyrics, I noticed all the references to spaces, cities, and real-life experiences in drill music. Then later that year, I wrote an analysis of a drill inspired song (‘darjeeling’ by FKA twigs) where I unpacked the Black geographical themes in the music. While doing this research, I was so confused by how little research there was about drill music in the field of geography more broadly, especially because, to me, drill was a rich tapestry of Black experiences, stories, and places in the UK. It seemed natural to dive into this topic further and use my dissertation to create some original research about drill. I felt like an imposter at times since I had only been listening to this genre of music for about one year when I submitted my proposal, so I decided to reach out to other Black drill fans to see how the music shaped their sense of place too. The rest is history…

What were some of the challenges you faced as a researcher? What were some of the highlights of conducting your dissertation? Do you have any tips for undergraduate students planning or doing their dissertations?

My main challenge was figuring out how to balance managing my dissertation project with university studies: sometimes the dissertation felt like a huge overwhelming topic that I wanted to avoid and other times I would be so submerged in the research that I would lose sight of other responsibilities. All alongside navigating final year university stresses!

The main thing that helped me was thinking about the dissertation as a collaborative project and relying on participants, lecturers, and friends for academic feedback and emotional support. My tip to other undergraduate students is to remember that you don’t have to do this all alone. It sounds sappy but writing a dissertation can feel so isolating. I definitely couldn’t have done it without all the dissertation study sessions that my friends and I set up to support each other.

Which scholars and activists had an influence on you?

Definitely Katherine McKittrick and Sylvia Wynter. They really expanded the way I think about knowledge and how academia isn’t the only place to find it! Don’t get me wrong, their writings are very philosophical (especially Wynter’s works) so it took me a while to fully grasp them but it was well worth it when I did!

Also, I have to shout out Unknown T, not only does he make great music but I really enjoyed unpacking the layers of meaning in his work. I have even more respect for his lyricism than I did before.

Can you give us some insights into your student experience?

My student experience had a bit of a rocky start. I was studying an architecture degree which I didn’t enjoy and had my first year abruptly cut short when the COVID-19 pandemic started. During this time, I made a somewhat drastic decision to start studying a Geography degree that I became so passionate about. I enjoyed just how broad geography can be and how it challenged me to expand my learning into politics, anthropology, music, etc. I found Geography to be very open to critique and to expanding to new and intriguing ideas; I felt like I could bring whatever I was interested in to the table and explore it from a geographical perspective.

Studying this degree also encouraged me to be more conscious of the world around me. Something that myself and my wonderful Geography course-mates are proud of is our formation of the “Geographers against Genocide” collective which would not have been possible without the politically-conscious, empathetic, and anti-colonial outlook that we developed throughout our studies.

What are your plans for the future?

Honestly, I always find this question quite difficult to answer. I’m still figuring out concrete future plans but right now, I’m enjoying supporting a local QTPOC community collective called Saffron Cherry, where I organise gatherings and events for queer people of colour to connect with each other. I hope to do more community work in the future and I’m excited to see what shape that will take 🙂