Black Futures in Sound & Cinema: Kwabbie & Jonathan Aubrey Lewis
On this episode, we explore Black creative practice across sound and screen—tracing how music, film, and storytelling operate as sites of memory, resistance, and imagination. From creative process to political commitment, this conversation reflects on what it means to make work in dialogue with Black histories while shaping bold, liberated futures.
Kwabbie (Kelvin “Kwabbie” Oppong) is a Los Angeles–based actor, musical artist, and screenwriter. A first-generation Ghanaian American raised in the Bronx, his creative perspective is shaped by diaspora, performance, and selfhood.
Social media became an outlet for Kwabbie to express his humor, personality, and point of view. What started as a space for self-expression quickly grew into a platform where his voice resonated widely, sparking cultural moments and creator-led trends rooted in authenticity rather than performance for the algorithm. His online presence has served not as the destination, but as a foundation for deeper creative work across mediums.
As a screenwriter, Kwabbie’s writing often speaks to spirituality, morality, generational trauma, and the questions that surface in our twenties and thirties as we navigate adulthood. He writes primarily in psychological horror and dramedy, using genre to explore fear, faith, intimacy, and the internal conflicts that shape our choices. His stories are character-driven, culturally grounded, and emotionally precise.
Musically, Kwabbie is a direct reflection of his upbringing between worlds. Raised on R&B and highlife, he creates music that lives in that duality where R&B leans introspective and emotionally raw, while Afrobeats brings warmth, rhythm, and a more upbeat, vibey energy. Together, these sounds form a full portrait of his artistry: reflective, joyful, and deeply human.
Jonathan Aubrie Lewis [https://jonathanaubrielewis.com/] is an award-winning filmmaker who has been a professional director and writer for the past ten years.
His most recent film, “Sojourn,” (Vimeo Staff Pick) is an intimate exploration of Black male identity. It has screened at the Atlanta Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Raindance, Holly Shorts and most notably, The National Museum of African American History & Culture, a part of the Smithsonian African American Film Festival. “Sojourn,” also participated in Amazon Prime’s “All Voices Film Festival and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
In 2020, Jonathan was selected to pitch new projects to a wide range of industry producers at Tribeca Film Festival’s “Tribeca N.O.W. Creators Market.” Jonathan has also had success in the commercial world as well, directing four short documentaries for Target and Black Love Inc., called HBCU Love.
His work has been featured in Rolling Stones, DIY Magazine, THE LINE of BEST FIT and several other online publications. He has crafted visuals for Grammy nominee, Serpentwithfeet, 5x Grammy Award winner Lalah Hathaway and several other recording artists.
In Jonathan’s spare time, he also does a great deal of volunteer work in Altadena, California where he was raised, where he serves as a youth counselor at his father’s church. Most recently he traveled to Eswatini in South Africa where he helped build playgrounds at a preschool, served hot meals and distributed medicine to those in need.
At Jonathan’s core, he is rooted in the stripped-down raw fundamentals of storytelling; always stimulating the mind of the viewer- challenging them to step beyond their boundaries into his visual escapade. Because of this personal mandate, he has developed a reputation of creating bold visuals, interlaced with thought provoking story. Jonathan is currently in pre-production on his next film: A sci-fi, dance, experimental film entitled, “We Are THE BEAT: An Odyssey Home.”
