MAP OF ORIGINS
2022
SPANISH TOWN, JAMAICA
Hover over artist icons to connect and listen to Origins, an Audible Original.
EXPLORE
Medellín, Colombia
ORIGINS
Step Inside
Audible’s dedication to music storytelling continues with Origins, an eight-part audio experience featuring boundary-breaking musicians in their most intimate form as they interpret the question, “Where do you come from?”
Your Favorite
With Origins,
WORLDS
Audible’s New
STORYTELLING
ARTIST'S
Music
AUDIBLE
SERIES
Origins lets listeners connect with artists by experiencing their journey through immersive sound design and the “Map of Origins.” Origins lets listeners connect with artists by experiencing their journey through immersive sound design and the “Map of Origins.”
TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF THIS ORIGINAL SERIES
Audible and Hypebeast have teamed up to bring the “Map of Origins” to life. This extension of the new immersive episodic series from Audible allows you to explore the places, spaces, and people that shaped groundbreaking musicians such as Doja Cat, Tobe Nwigwe, and Camilo, while you listen along to their stories and intimate reflections in their own words. While the Map of Origins brings you closer to the places where these musicians got their start, Audible’s Origins invites you one step further: to take a trip through the artists’ minds. Listen to the full series for free, now on Audible.
34.0522° N, 118.2437° W
0°, 0°
18.0167° N, 76.9748° W
6.2476° N, 75.5658° W
32.7357° N, 97.1081° W
29.7604° N, 95.3698° W
40.9807° N, 73.6837° W
40.7128° N, 74.0060° W
AUDIBLE ORIGINS
DOJA CAT
RYE, NEW YORK
FLYING LOTUS
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
KING PRINCESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
TOBE NWIGWE
HOUSTON, TEXAS
MICKEY GUYTON
ARLINGTON, TEXAS
CAMILO
KOFFEE
INFO
Tobe Nwigwe shares in his episode that not all of the growth he experienced was smooth sailing, rather, times of strong tension and discomfort came along with his evolution.
His culture was established very early on in his life but it was not a commonly shared cultural background within his community. The duality of living the black experience outside of his home while also having a full African-Nigerian experience within his household was often difficult for him to navigate. He was never the toughest kid, but he started playing football and pushed himself into that offensive mindset. After a foot injury, he had to let that dream go, ushering in a new truth: music would be his future. He maintains that the pursuit of achieving his accomplishments, his family, and his faith have truly shaped him into the person he is now, and hopes to be able to inspire others with his journey.
(HE/HIS)
HOUSTON. TEXAS
LISTEN NOW
“THE DUALITY OF HAVING A BLACK EXPERIENCE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE AND HAVING A FULL AFRICAN NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE IN MY HOUSE. I KNEW IT WAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE AT THE CRIB.”
(2/2)
(1/2)
TAP TO PLAY
0:32 SEC
“I KNEW FOR A FACT THAT I WASN’T LIKE A LOT OF MY PEERS ON FORUM PARK, ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, WHERE I GREW UP.”
"WE MIGHT, HAVE LOOKED ALIKE, BUT, I KNEW WHEN I GOT TO THE HOUSE."
(2/3)
(1/3)
(3/3)
HOUSTon, TEXAS
Doja Cat spent a lot of time traveling as an adolescent, spending the early parts of her life in both New York and California.
But no matter where she went, her aversion to control persisted. Doja always wanted to live by her own rules — she was a dreamer. Through her school days, the artist embraced a free-spirited style, sporting tutus and bright colors. She strived to invite as many creative outlets into her life as she could, in order to express herself as freely as possible. It is these creative influences and her love of outlandish fashion and makeup that manifested into the Doja Cat we know and love today.
(SHE/HER)
0:48 SEC
"I remember a lot of things from, from then. I just didn't know where I was going. So it was very strange for me."
"We were in Rye. It was so beautiful. There was so many trees and fireflies and I loved the house and I loved being there."
"I love New York. I really do. I love my family side from New York. That's the only side that I know. but I lived there for like the first five years of my life. But sometimes I question myself like, does that count?"
Burgeoning pop artist King Princess reflects on coming-of-age, sharing that her queerness has always been a guiding beacon. But she goes on to explain that the path to becoming self-assured was not always an easy one.
Growing up, she challenged school rules, social structures, and norms, choosing to defy traditional frameworks. Although King Princess struggled with being comfortable with her persona in her early years, this did not stop her from yearning for the spotlight. She participated in school theater and turned to music for therapeutic release, hoping that one day her own music would provide the same solace for others. Music and entertainment played a huge role in shaping the King Princess of today, but she strongly emphasizes the impact of the people who shaped her as well — her girlfriend, her friends, her family, and those who always accepted her authentic self.
(SHE/THEY/IT)
NEW YORK , NEW YORK
1:00 MIN
"And I'm thinking about this alive structure that allowed me to be myself, not just my mother, but the house. I dunno, it made me like really emotional. And I started writing about it."
(4/4)
"I thought about the first time that I like, you know, like I would, I would put on outfits and be characters and I would just do the plays to myself in the mirror."
(2/4)
"I went back to my childhood home for five months with my girlfriend who I really wanted to show this space to because this house is like alive. I was in like the bathroom that I grew up getting ready in and spending a lot of time in."
(1/4)
"We're making a family of our own in this house and she loves it and she's comfortable and I'm comfortable."
(3/4)
Mickey Guyton grew up as a strong and defiant child — her mother had always raised her to fight back.
Although growing up in private schools where she was the only black person in the room proved difficult for her, Guyton wanted to fit in and denied her identity many times to win the approval of others. She eventually left her small hometown to pursue country music in Nashville but was faced with the same adversity and struggles, even in a new environment. Guyton turned to faith to keep her grounded during moments of self-doubt, especially within a heavily male-dominated country industry. Leaning into her faith gave her permission to finally live authentically, while also knowing she was opening the door for others to follow.
0:52 SEC
"I felt extremely angry because I was in this city singing country music that I loved. And I was starting to hate at that point. Like I hated it."
"And that was the path I was on. But I had written all of these other songs. I felt alone. I felt unheard."
"I was writing songs from an extremely honest place. And I stopped. why? Because I was told I need to be super country and I need to write a, a cute, funny song like that little girls can relate to."
"I was living in Nashville, in an apartment with a roommate and my cat, my husband was across the country, battling alcoholism. Both of us really were to be honest."
Flying Lotus is a producer, DJ and rapper — but first, he is a son, a brother, a grandson, and a nephew.
He grew up in Los Angeles, raised by his mother, grandmother, and Aunt Alice. His dad passed away early in his life, leading him on a lifelong pursuit to comprehend the meaning of loss. He didn’t always fit in and his hobbies were eccentric. Nonetheless, being raised by powerful women figures and being taught to fight against the grain is what gave him the strength to pursue his dreams. His grandmother was his first greatest musical influence, but after losing her, his mother, and his aunt, he was left to question his own identity. He came to the realization, through dealing with loss, that he wanted to make truly impactful music that also connects others to their spirituality and roots.
0:38 SEC
“BUT THEY DID MUSIC AND THEY LIKED HAVING ME AROUND CUZ I WAS LIKE, I WAS THE YOUNG KID WHO MADE BEATS. I WAS LIKE 15 AND MADE TRACKS. THEY GAVE ME SOME VALIDATION BECAUSE THEY WERE REALLY INTO THE MUSIC THAT I WAS MAKING AT THE TIME."
“I STARTED HANGING OUT WITH, SOME FOLKS WHO WERE A BIT OLDER THAN ME AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE INVOLVED IN SOME PRETTY FUCKED UP STUFF,”
“I NEVER REALLY FELT LIKE I HAD A SENSE OF PLACE."
Being brought up in a tight-knit Colombian family, Camilo was always surrounded by support and consistently curious about the world around him, which eventually led him to pursue his dreams head-on.
He was intrigued by connectivity and the interrelated ways in which different people and processes are connected. He couldn’t always make sense of things in life, but it all made a little bit more sense when he had a guitar in his hand. He states that music was and always will be his first true love. This expression led him to find comfort in the unknown. His musical passion brought him to Factor XS when he was 13 years old, throwing him into an environment he had never known before. The fast-paced lifestyle was intimidating for such a young artist, so he eventually took some time to himself before returning to the music industry later down the road and reapproaching his craft.
“THERE'S NOT LIKE THE SEASON OF THE HONEY, THERE'S HONEY ALL THE TIME. SO IN MY HOUSE, IT WAS HONEY THE ENTIRE TIME. IT WAS IN A VERY BEAUTIFUL, NOT DISGUSTING AT ALL WAY. THE FLOOR IN MY HOUSE WAS ALWAYS STICKY. AND I LOVED IT."
"But the thing is in my house, there was a lot of beeS all the time because in Colombia, there's always a tree that is floreciendo, right, blossoming all the time. There's honey."
"THERE WAS A MOMENT IN MY LIFE THAT I WAS VERY AFRAID OF BEING BAREFOOT BECAUSE IN MY HOUSE, MY PARENTS ALL THE TIME WERE LIKE, YOU SHOULD BE BAREFOOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO TOCAR, YOU HAVE TO FEEL THE PLACE THAT YOU'RE WALKING IN."
"Everybody knows I'm barefoot all the time. My entire tour that I just ended, I was barefoot the entire time."
Koffee grew up in a small town in Jamaica before moving to Kingston for high school, exposing her to wider groups of people.
She did not grow up sheltered but rather protected and guided by her mother who she describes as her largest influence and role model. She and her mother acted as one unit, and her mother laid the foundation for who Koffee would later go on to become. She was raised in the church, which has had a profound impact on her outlook on life. When she started seeing her grades slip in school, she took that as an opportunity to place her focus where she knew she could excel, which was in music. She took the courage her mother taught her and went after a musical career, using faith to drive her along the way through trials and tribulations.
Spanish Town, Jamaica
0:34 SEC
"And it allowed me to mingle with a lot of people who were from different backgrounds and not just people who were only like me or people will come from the place that I come from."
"And when I was 11, I went to ardenne high school, which is in Kingston, Jamaica, which, um, in some way, kind of exposed me to a different environment, but also kind of lifestyle."
"So up until 11 years old, I hadn't had much experience outside of Spanish Town, Jamaica. My school was there. My church was there. My home was there."
