Interdisciplinary artist, broadcaster, musician, singer, songwriter, documentary filmmaker, counsellor, educator, and academic.

 

Xsara (pronounced Ex-sar-ruh) is a London-born, half-Egyptian, mixed Swedish Brit who embodies a blend of cultural influences and experiences. During her younger years, she lived in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where she was influenced by the Blues and spent time running around barefoot, fishing and learning how to use a hunting rifle. She attended an all-African-Caribbean school, where her mornings were spent watching Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches.

 

This multicultural upbringing shaped her early worldview and passion for music.

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She moved back to England and discovered that people drive on the opposite side of the road and do not eat grits. She found her passion for music and developed an English accent. She learned to play the flute, discovered a talent for singing, and taught herself how to play the piano.

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Her experience as a care-experienced, neurodivergent, mixed-ethnicity individual profoundly shaped her understanding of self and societal belonging, highlighting the fluidity, changeability, and complexity of personal identity and how one can embody multiple identities at once.​

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She was awarded The Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Studentship (LAURA) for her proposed PhD project integrating transdisciplinary arts-based research methods of how neurodivergent musicians navigate their aural experiences through audio, film, compositions, live performances and mixed-media art which will be presented to the public in an immersive, sensory art installation. 

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She was awarded the BAFTA Reuben Scholarship to study for a Master's in Filmmaking (Screen Documentary) and was granted the status of Honorary MA Radio Student by Emeritus Professor Tim Crook, both at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

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You can view her academic CV here

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Xsara has worked in the music industry, including work with independent record labels, entertainment PR, and music-tech startups, as well as pursuing a career as an independent artist. Her music has been featured on BBC Introducing, praised by several publications, and she has been interviewed on SKY TV.

 

Her background in music led her to broadcasting, and she created her own award-winning show 'Shoreditch Unsigned,' now called 'Xsara's Xtra,' which celebrated the best of UK independent rappers, grime, and urban music.  The show won 'Best Unsigned and Independent Radio Show' from Shoreditch Radio and gained sponsorship from AIM (Association of Independent Music) representing over 90% of the independent UK label sector and from IK Multimedia.

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She served as a host at the AIM Sennheiser A&R Feedback Centre during BBC Introducing Live, alongside notable figures like Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, and Steve Lamacq.  Additionally, she has twice been on the judging panel for The Coffee Music Project London, helping select support acts for Ed Sheeran's final concert of his Divide World tour. Passionate about mentoring, Xsara supported young creatives aged 16-25 by offering career feedback at the Roundhouse's Music Industry Insight Day.

 

She was also selected as an anchor for CNN's Diversity Day Broadcast, where she played a key role in creating a newscast from CNN's 24-hour newsroom.