Mawunyo Gbogbo
Author of Hip Hop & Hymns and Pop Culture Journalist
Photo Credit: Karen Vaioleti
Hip Hop & Hymns
Read it before you see the movie!
Hip Hop & Hymns has been acquired for a film, TV or stage adaptation by Typecast Entertainment, led by company founders Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri (Woiwurrung) actor, writer, director and producer Tony Briggs, who created and wrote The Sapphires, and Melbourne-based producer/curator Damienne Pradier. Read it first!
ABOUT Mawunyo Gbogbo
AUTHOR
Mawunyo Gbogbo is the author of Hip Hop & Hymns: A memoir of loving hard, falling apart and fighting back, set to an unrivalled playlist. That unrivalled playlist is available on Spotify, and YouTube. And because you can never have too many playlists, international DJ Just Dizle has created an incredible party playlist.
Published by Penguin Random House and available in all good bookstores, online, and as an ebook and audiobook, Hip Hop & Hymns is described by Books+Publishing as "a beautiful and heart-wrenching memoir". In selecting it as their non-fiction pick of the week, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age said "This tough coming-through tale has real impact".
Mawunyo writes about growing up in the sleepy coal mining town of Muswellbrook, NSW, with her love of storytelling and budding journalism career taking her to The City That Never Sleeps: New York City, where she interns at the Bible of hip hop - the Source Magazine. Mawunyo is a brave new voice on the topic of race and identity as she shares the trials and triumphs she's endured from childhood and on each rung along the way up the media ladder.
Mawunyo is currently working on her second book and debut novel It Takes One to Know One about a psychiatrist who is crazier than his patients. It's his super power, until it isn't.
Both books are assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Her third book Bad Girls Move in Silence is in its planning stages.
JOURNALIST
Mawunyo Gbogbo is a journalist specialising in popular culture for ABC News. You can read some of her stories here.
There are other stories she's proud of that you won't find there including this very personal article she wrote to comfort and encourage those who suddenly found themselves unemployed during the pandemic.
You'll hear Mawunyo's voice on the wireless from time to time. Here she interviews former Breakfast TV host Karl Stefanovic, Boxer turned lawyer Lovemore Ndou, and politician Linda Burney about the music they love. You'll also see her pop up on TV doing live crosses and interviewing prominent people.
Mawunyo has worked as a music and pop culture reporter for Double J and ABC News; a journalist for ABC NewsRadio; a reporter for the flagship audio current affairs programs AM, PM, and The World Today; a features reporter and producer for ABC Radio Sydney; a segment producer for the Today show on Channel Nine; and an associate producer for Insight on SBS TV, where she won a United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace Award for Increasing Awareness and Understanding of Children's Rights and Issues for the Insight program Generation XXX.
She was awarded the 2025 Professional Excellence Award (Journalism) by Celebration of African Australians Inc and was a 2024 finalist in the Music Journalist Award category at the Australian Women in Music Awards.
Mawunyo is passionate about social justice, health and entertainment.
She lives in Sydney, Australia.
Why Celebrities choose Mawunyo Gbogbo
Celebrities choose Mawunyo
When famous people have something to say, they choose to speak to Mawunyo Gbogbo.
NRL superstar Latrell Mitchell is the perfect example of that.
Latrell took a much publicised and lengthy break from talking to the media. His self-imposed media ban lasted almost two years. That is until his team contacted Mawunyo to say he wanted to speak to her. Why? Because Latrell trusts Mawunyo. And so do a lot of other people.
Mawunyo took Latrell's story far and wide, filing for TV, radio current affairs, she wrote a digital article, did a live radio cross, and made sure there was social media coverage.
It's not just sports stars who are drawn to Mawunyo, she has spoken to some of the biggest names in music and showbiz, delivering this viral moment when Jamie Lee Curtis gave her a big hug on the purple carpet at the Sydney premiere of Freakier Friday, saying she was the first reporter in three weeks to ask her a real question. The moment was featured in a hilarious segment on Channel 10’s The Cheap Seats.
Her red carpet interview with Jacob Elordi at the Wuthering Heights premiere has also gone viral, amassing more than 1.2 million views on Instagram alone.
She’s quizzed many stars in studio interviews and on red carpets including Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Margot Robbie, Martha Stewart, Regé-Jean Page, Keith Urban, Kelis, Macy Gray, Sterling K. Brown, Tina Arena, Ronny Chieng, and Jessica Mauboy to name a few.
Celebrities choose Mawunyo Gbogbo because she’s curious, compassionate, well-researched, and asks good questions. Mawunyo is a journalist with heart.
In the words of colleagues:
“What makes Mawunyo’s work so special is the way she brings heart and cultural insight to every story. She has this ability to connect deeply with people and tell their stories with honesty and respect. It's journalism that really stays with you.”
APPEARANCES
