Kwesi Kankam

North Star

Challenge and disrupt systemic institutions in a funny, carefree way.

About

Hi, I'm Kwesi Kankam.

Currently, I'm building Life is Kwesi an audio drama that interrogates the institutions shaping modern life. One voice actor, me, playing every character.

Previously, I built a self-branded artist project that reached half a million monthly listeners and landed sync placements with Netflix, Hulu, Fox, and Breyers.

I played Division I football, then dropped out to pursue a life in the fine arts. Now I live in Los Angeles and spend most of my time thinking about how to inject empathy into our modern systems, and how to spark systemic change for the Black diaspora globally.

Passions

The African Diaspora

The diaspora is fractured on purpose. I'm interested in the cultural, political, and creative infrastructure that could bring it back together and keep it that way.

Systemic Change Through Storytelling

Satire has always been the sharpest tool for exposing broken institutions, Monty Python has always been a huge inspiration. I use audio theater to make people laugh at the things they should be furious about.

Architecture & Design

Tadao Ando and Louis Kahn are my heroes when it comes to design build. Both understood that the most powerful spaces say everything without saying anything. I want that discipline to live in everything I make.

Music as Infrastructure

We're moving into a different world of rapid music creation and (hopefully) the end of streaming as we know it. People want something more from their artists. They want a relationship, not just a playlist. Music has always been infrastructure for culture. I'm interested in what that looks like next.

Criminal Justice Reform

The carceral system is one of the most effective tools of systemic oppression ever designed. Dismantling it requires creativity as much as policy and a lot more honesty than most people are comfortable with.

Dreams

Make Life is Kwesi into a globally recognized adult animated franchise
Build a media company rooted in Black diaspora perspectives
Help modernize infrastructure across the U.S. and Africa through common-sense solutions, tech, and cultural collaboration
Rethink how we view criminal justice reform, one uncomfortable truth at a time
Reclaim cities from cars
Give every human being the dignity they were born with

How I Learn

By making things. I've been producing audio since I was 15 and I've never stopped learning through doing.

Architecture taught me to think in systems. Music taught me to listen and find pockets. Football taught me to prepare but follow instinct.

I'm drawn to ideas that are uncomfortable to say out loud. If something is too easy to believe, I probably don't trust it yet.

Writings

Life is Kwesi

Portfolio

Stab

Brand & Packaging Design · 2025

The first nicotine-free nootropic pouch brand. Designed the full visual identity — packaging, pitch deck, and brand world. Day and night SKUs, a shuriken logo, and a tone that's equal parts rebellion and wellness. Big Tobacco owns the ritual. Stab steals it back.

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Mar Vista Apartment

Interior Design & Material Sourcing · Los Angeles · 2023

Designed and sourced the full interior of my Mar Vista apartment on a tight budget. Anchored the room in teals and rose tones inspired by Hilma af Klint's The Kiss, combined with Southern California mid-century style. Used Midjourney to generate and refine AI renders before sourcing every piece — from vintage shops, thrift stores, and nurseries — to match the vision.

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Accra, Ghana

Photography · 2023

Meeting my family and relatives on the continent for the first time. These are the natural textures and colors of where my father grew up — the walls, the light, the land.

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