Made In Chafford: The Group Chat That Evolved Into Something More
MIC is the Chafford (Essex) curated podcast you need to be listening to right now! Three young, black men, serving us all the tea, all the insight, all the culture — Demi, Collins and Emmanuel are Made in Chafford.
Friends since year 7, these three young professionals decided to take their everyday conversations to the next level by creating this engaging podcast and adding their voices to a more global, cultural conversation.
Surviving the ups and downs of high school, uni and adult life, the trio managed to stay strong and the natural, engaging rapport they have on the mic makes this clear. The name of their podcast in fact came from the name of their Whatsapp group chat, ‘Made in Chafford’ — ‘we are a friendship group. A group chat that evolved into something more.’
Formerly operating under the alias ‘Culture ‘n’ Sound’ since 2013, MIC has been in the making for the past few years. Collins, Demi and Emmanuel have been building and refining their brand whilst actively engaged in their other interests. Even during lockdown the trio have remained proactive and have recorded their episodes via Zoom — the key is consistency.
I sat down with the boys, to find out more about the show, their inspirations and their interests:
So, let’s start off simple, tell me about you guys as individuals.
Emmanuel: I’m just a young guy trying new things, grafting today figuring out tomorrow. Several things going on at the moment — a lot of decisions to make. The decisions we make now will affect life, we gotta have a long term mindset. I would like to go self-employed or be a director of my own company, I would say that’s a short to mid-term goal.
Collins: I took the more academic route and I’m now a qualified accountant. I’m also working for a record label. With MIC, we’re trying to create something alongside our careers which can manifest into something different — a legacy.
Demi: I’m working in sales right now. With Collins and Emmanuel I’m trying to make something to be proud of. We don't have the biggest voice yet but we have a voice, and we’re involved in the conversation.
How do you feel you as individuals add to the show?
D: Emmanuel adds a different opinion and he has an eclectic personality. He finishes a thought before he’s explained it. Collins is calm, cool-headed, keeps the focus going and he’s naturally funny.
C: We’re all different sides of the same coin, we complement each other. That’s why the conversation is so organic and seamless. It wouldn’t work without the other.
Why do you think podcasts have become so popular?
D: It's an easy way to digest information. People wanna hear people talk. People wanna hear people with a similar opinion. Most podcasts are unique and you can always find one that entertains you.
C: There’s always relatable content, they’re ‘group chat heavy.’ People today have short attention spans but are committed to 1 hour of people talking. We definitely want to capitalise on that.
We are bombarded with so much information now. You guys talk about literally anything and everything. How do you decide what is relevant and worth talking about?
D: Just things that are relevant in life — it's wherever the conversation takes us. We don’t want to be restricted.
E: Three questions: Is it hilarious? Does it matter in our lives? How does it affect other people? You definitely don’t want to bore people.
C: We like to chuck in things that are relevant to just us. We draw from our own experiences coming from Chafford and that’s our unique selling point. We always try to make our content original.
You’ve had quite a few guests on the show. How does this alter the dynamic of the podcast?
D: Guests keep the same energy. They reflect the energy we bring. We’ve had Victoria, Colins’ sister from Black Gals Livin’ and recently Tolly T from The Receipts Podcast. Tolly is a great conversationalist and an all-around lovely person. We really appreciate her coming on the show as she’s from a bigger platform. We also appreciate that she was willing to go out and promote the episode — it’s our most listened to episode so far. We’ve also had the cast of Enterprice — good people who made for some great conversation.
C: The episodes with Nikki from The Nikki Diaries and Omoze — who have both been on a few episodes — were great fun as they just matched our energy.
E: I wouldn’t say a guest has stood out to me personally because all of them have been awesome when it comes to conversation on the pod. The highlight has been the cast of Enterprice. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Michael and Tobi from episode 19 because of the back and forth about shoes.
You went through a rebrand about 2 years ago — why did you guys decide to do this, and what has changed since?
D: Collins was the brains behind the rebrand. Everything is a lot more put together now. Same conversations but we’re doing it differently. We’ve also had more guests since the rebrand. I would even say we’ve had the best conversations.
C: We initially called ourselves ‘Culture n Sound’ and there were a few different things under the same umbrella. It was too confusing from a marketing perspective.
E: We've rebranded but we’re keeping the same energy and consistency. The authenticity needs to remain.
Top 3 guests? Dead or alive.
C: Nipsey Hussle; just his mind and the way he speaks.
E: The boxer ‘Butterbean’ (Eric Scott Esch). He’s inspirational; clinically obese but he demolished the world of boxing. Also 50 Cent. He still connects with young people at his age. He’s vigilant and has his hand in many pots.
D: Joe Budden. I’d love to pick his brain. He has a passion for the culture and he’s definitely an interesting character. He would fit seamlessly into our conversations.
Where do you see the podcast in the next couple of years?
D: We definitely want to be consistently creating content. Just a way to hang out with friends and get our voices heard on a larger scale. We want to be a voice in the culture that is respected and taken seriously.
What are you currently listening to/watching/reading?
D: Currently watching The Boys. It’s honestly one of the best shows I’ve seen since Game of Thrones. Also really loving Enterprice and Famalam and I’m listening to a lot 21 Savage and Headie One — especially Headie One, his new album is phenomenal.
C: I’m currently watching Snowfall and loving Burden of Proof by Benny The Butcher.
E: I’m listening to YG, a bit of afrobeats and Koffee. Podcast wise I’m listening to Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson, Joe Budden and a lot of Valuetainment because of the main focus on entrepreneurship but also having diverse concepts and conversations.
Top UK podcasts you guys are loving?
E: In the UK it would be The Halfcast Podcast for me.
C: 3 Shots of Tequila, The Halfcast Podcast, Black Gals Livin’, 90s Baby Show, The Receipts Podcast and Off the Cuff.
D: Really like what 3 Shots of Tequila are doing and they’re entering into live shows as well which really shows their influence.
What would you want readers to know about MIC?
D: We’re bigger than Lakeside (shopping mall in Chafford). Chafford has shaped all of us. It's an interesting area, an area to be proud of.
What advice would you give to anyone out there who wants to start a podcast?
D: Just do it!
C: Keep the same energy! Whatever you speak on, keep the energy. Keep it consistent.
E: Pick your team wisely, give it your all and don’t worry about people’s perspective. A lot of things don’t take off straight away!
Check out Made in Chaffords latest episode here:
Check out the MIC podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms, YouTube and via their brand new website madeinchafford.com.