"Kutimba" is a word from Runyankole, one of the languages spoken in Uganda. It translates to dig up and it means to delve deeper into something.
On this show, I explore the symbiotic relationship between art and music. I invite guests to select an album cover for us to unpack.
Today marks one year since the passing of D’Angelo, a generational artist whose music continues to resonate.
In his memory, this week’s episode revisits the cover of his 1995 debut album, Brown Sugar. I’m joined by Toussaint Davy, former deputy editor of Touch Magazine, for a closer look at the image’s intimacy and the quiet cool it evokes. We discuss how the cover departed from the ways Black male musicians were visually marketed at the time, before placing it in conversation with the rest of D’Angelo’s album artwork.
Order Toussaint's book here (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G5K4TVZF?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_0T11BEAQV4CZB7KA4W44&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_0T11BEAQV4CZB7KA4W44&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_0T11BEAQV4CZB7KA4W44&bestFormat=true&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadtu9R6f7H59QhwhKR80fUwANuBmGzz8cphi68vDRv4wikPyX8EJNKDNqCByw_aem_IuIwSqwF99I2XGU1pMo2MQ&utm_content=link_in_bio&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ig)
Host: Siima Itabaaza (https://www.instagram.com/kutimbawithsiima/)
Guest: Toussaint Davy (https://www.instagram.com/t.thee.editor/)
Theme Song: Plastic - Ryan James Carr
Podcast Cover Artwork: Ian Mwesiga (https://www.instagram.com/ianmwesiga/)
Kutimba With Siima Newsletter: https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/ (https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/)
IG: @kutimbawithsiima (https://www.instagram.com/kutimbawithsiima/)
9 Sept 2026
Robert Pruitt: Sun Ra, The Nubians of Plutonia (Impulse! reissue) Album Cover
Visual artist Robert Pruitt joins me to unpack the 1974 Impulse! reissue cover of Sun Ra's The Nubians of Plutonia.
We explore the connections between Sun Ra's Afrofuturist cosmology and Robert's own visual world. Our conversation ranges from Black futurism and myth-making to representation and the enduring question of what freedom might actually look like.
Learn more about Robert's work here (https://www.robert-pruitt.com/)
Host: Siima Itabaaza (https://www.instagram.com/kutimbawithsiima/)
Guest: Robert Pruitt (https://www.robert-pruitt.com/)
Story editing and advising: Allison Behringer (https://www.allisonbehringer.com/)
Theme Song: Plastic - Ryan James Carr
Kutimba With Siima Newsletter: https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/ (https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/)
IG: @kutimbawithsiima (https://www.instagram.com/kutimbawithsiima/)
9 Jul 2026
Mazzi Odu: Diana, Diana Ross
This week, I sit down with writer, editor, and cultural consultant Mazzi Odu to unpack the cover for Diana Ross' 1980 album, Diana. It’s an image that captured a turning point in both Diana’s personal and professional life.
We break down the cover's visual language: the lowercase mononym typeface, the confident, unsmiling gaze, the wet-slicked hair standing in for her signature curls, and the borrowed jeans. Along the way, we get into the album's deep ties to disco and queer culture, and how this single image became a blueprint, echoed decades later by Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, and Taraji P. Henson.
Subscribe to Mazzi's Substack here (https://substack.com/@mazzimusings)
Read Mazzi's writing about jewellery here (https://magnusoculus.com/)
Host: Siima Itabaaza (https://www.instagram.com/kutimbawithsiima/)
Guest: Mazzi Odu (https://www.instagram.com/mazziodu/)
Story Editing and Advising: Christina M. Tapper (https://www.christinatapper.com/)
Theme Song: Plastic - Ryan James Carr
Kutimba With Siima Newsletter: https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/ (https://kutimbawithsiima.substack.com/)
IG: @kutimbawithsiima (https://www.instagram.com/kutimbawithsiima/)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
26
Social presence
91
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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