Growing Your Roots Where You Land Featuring Cedric Muhikira

This episode features our conversation with Cedric Muhikira, which was live-streamed on January 18, 2026.

Cedric Muhikira is a self-taught writer and storyteller with roots in migration, cultural fusion, and identity. Raised on stories that bridged continents and generations, Cedric has long been fascinated by the in-between spaces of belonging. He immigrated to the United States from Rwanda in 2019, and now lives in Detroit. His debut novel, Libaax: Grow Your Roots Where You Land, draws deeply from his personal experiences and the shared lives of immigrants navigating new beginnings. With themes of identity, resilience, and finding home in a foreign land, Libaax follows Ayaan's journey from displacement to self-discovery as he becomes a DJ, mixing Somali qaraami with Detroit techno. It's a story of cultural fusion, personal growth, and the universal experience of belonging.Cedric’s work explores how music, memory, and resilience help us grow roots wherever we land.

To learn more about Cedric, please visit cedricmuhikira.com.

Purchase your copy of Libaax: Grow Your Roots Where You Land here.

Find Cedric on Instagram: @iam_thecaptain_now

Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread

Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

Support Black Writers Read on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/blackwritersread

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

I offering them uh a gate into the lives of immigrants, the emotions, the jobs, the not speaking, the language, uh layers of our lives that nobody really uh talks about. And um on the other side, I'm giving the immigrant a story to hold on to, uh someone who's in their shoes at the lower stages and who arrives all the way to the top. So I'm giving the immigrant the hope as well.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Hello and welcome to Black Writers Read. My name is Nicole Young Martin, and I'm the founder, producer, and host of this podcast. Thank you for tuning in for episode 15 of season six of the series. Launched on Juneteenth, 2020, Black Writers Read was created as a platform to showcase, celebrate, and honor the words, work, and traditions of Black writers from across the country, across genres, across experiences, and across the African diaspora. Black Writers Read is a behind-the-scenes conversation into the craft and what it means to create as a black author in today's society. Since starting the series during the summer of 2020, we've hosted almost 100 authors representing 15 plus genres from six countries and 26 states. This episode features our conversation with Cedric Mirakira, which was live streamed on January 18, 2026. Cedric Mirakira is a self-taught writer and storyteller with roots in migration, cultural fusion, and identity. Raised on stories that bridge continents and generations. Cedric has long been fascinated by the in-between spaces of belonging. He immigrated to the United States from Rwanda in 2019 and now lives in Detroit. His debut novel, Lee Box, Grow Your Roots Where You Land, draws deeply from his personal experiences and the shared lives of immigrants navigating new beginnings. With themes of identity, resilience, and finding home in a foreign land, Leebox follows Ayan's journey from displacement to self-discovery as he becomes a DJ, mixing Somali karami with Detroit Techno. It's a story of cultural fusion, personal growth, and the universe experience of belonging. Cedric's work explores how music, memory, and resilience help us grow roots wherever we land. To learn more about Cedric, please visit his website at CedricMarikira.com. That is C-E-D-R-I-C M-U-H-I K-I-R-A.com. What up, Doe? I say this as a greeting to fellow Detroiters, and you'll hear this at the beginning of our conversation. As Cedric currently lives in my beloved hometown. You'll hear this in an interview, but I just want to reiterate the importance of his work and what all he brings attention to in this book. One, I love that he took on, because he's not a DJ, he's not a musician, but he took on experiences that Ayan, his main character, his protagonist, would have taken on. Like he did um some DJ training, and he also talks a little bit about some other things that he did to embody this particular character's life because he wanted to write something really authentic. That's one of the things that I love about folks from my hometown. I'm not saying that um all writers don't do this, but it's just something about the ways in which Detroiters capture the hustle and work really, really hard to bring it authentically in their work. And this is something that Cedric does in Lee Box. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. And I hope that you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. What up, though? What up, though? Yes, every time I have a Detroiter on, I have to welcome you with that. And like I I miss hearing it in real time because I live here in New England, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Right, yes, I am catching on to the Detroit in language, I'd say.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yes, you are such a Detroiter, and I I love that you moved and have embraced my hometown in your debut book. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Yeah, absolutely. I'm uh happy to be here and thank you for for having me.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

Yeah, so let's start off. If you could talk a little bit about the book, talk a little bit about Ayan and like why you wrote the book.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Yes, I have a little bit of notes here, and I get set tracked. Yeah. So Ayan is uh an avo to begin with, it's not uh a story based on uh a character in real life, so I have to make I make uh an oval so it doesn't fire back at me because I talk about sensitive subjects. So Ayan is uh the main character of the book, he is uh a Somali immigrant who is navigating life in Detroit, a city today which is on recoming back. So it really meant something to Ayan because he was into the city which today doesn't really have you know many attractions and economics and everything, but which is a resilient city which is coming back, which is making sounds all over the US again. So it really meant something to Ayan. So the word is Lebucks, uh this is in the cover. Libux means lion. Uh lion symbolizes an animal that is strong, uh, king of jungle. So ayan in a new life, in new land, so he had to create to create that character in his in him, you know, having the heart of a lion, chasing ours and uh making life out of nothing, I would say. So moving quickly into the three themes of the book. Um, there's more to it. So I went with identity and belonging because Ayan was not from the US, he was from outside, so he had to not let his identity go, but how his identity will merge with the US culture and make something of nuisance out of it, not just float along the wind, I would say, and then music was another element, powerful element along the book. Because music is music, it doesn't really require the same language as a conversation, normal conversation word. So music was something to bridge these two cultures instead of colliding, they bridged and it became something really beautiful. He was seen everybody new aye just because of the music, not because of what he was as a person, and then the last part of talk about the book here is the community and the chosen family. So he's of course landed into a place where nobody knows him, so he has to pick people who's gonna work along him on this new journey. So this was another major part of the book. I have three characters. He was one of the guys who came into the US before Ahmed, uh before Ayan. Uh so Ahmed was 13 years older to Ahmed to Ayan, and he was already in the US. So he knew things all around. And then I talk about Mariah, who was from South America, she comes in the US, and now she's navigating her life. She went to law school, so she has ambitions. And then Isabella, who is an American, born a US citizen, who changed Ayan's view of himself around the romantic situations because he was romantically interested in Isabelle. And um, all in all, to make this story short, um LiBax is not more just a story, a novel. Like I said, it's more like a collective of stories. My stories, my friends' stories, how we live, how we navigate this life. So this is where LiBax is actually rooted from uh in a small short version.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Thank you for that amazing introduction. And also to thank you for pointing out, because this was something else that I thought was so amazing with your book. I know for myself as a writer, people say I'm really good at writing male characters and not good at writing women characters, but you do such a great job of creating a well-rounded community of folks. So the first question that I have for you, which is a little different than the questions that I sent you, um, because you answered the first two questions so perfectly in your introduction. Why did you choose to write? Like, what inspired you to write this book and to become a writer in general?

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Right. I started writing by reading first. I was in isolation as everybody is in COVID. And uh yeah, I was reading stories and opened my mind, and I was so fascinated about what words can do. And uh I'll give you an example in real life. Uh Frank Stein, the monster, uh, I'll use him as an example. Mary Sherry, the writer of the book, when she was thinking of him, you know, he was just there with nothing in his mind as a creature. But the moment he picked up books, now words start forming in his mind, visions. Now he knew he wanted a companionship who was all around. All because he was reading and all these ideas was coming into his mind. So now in my journey, I thought, how can I form ideas into the mind of someone who thinks he's alone or life is hurt, or nobody sees them, they are in total isolation. How does this mind shift as the book can really shift the minds? So that's how I start writing my stories and every every other immigrant that I know. You know how our stories create a life that really means something.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Thank you also too for reminding us that some of our best teachers and workshop leaders as authors is reading other books. I'm not gonna lie, this is one of the reasons why it takes me so long to write something, because I'm like, we already have such amazing stories out there. I want to make sure that I'm contributing an original voice. And Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which I still have to watch. There's um a recent film, a new film adaptation that came out, I think by Guermo Gottoro.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah, I did, yeah, I did watch it. It's uh yeah, it's it's really good.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Oh, good, okay, good, because I'm interested in seeing it because I like his work. So I love I love that um that you are an avid reader. So can you talk more about Ayan's journey and how much did your personal experience shape Ayan's journey in the book?

SPEAKER_01 13:16

So Ayan as a character who's supposed to symbolize someone who starts from the humble beginning and rise to becoming a star in Detroit. And uh I have to act his life, some of his life, to really feel while it feels to be a DJ. So I went out to be a DJ, mingle with Detroit DJs, and it was really a nice feeling. I met a lot of people, and it was really nice seeing Ayan. He rides a motorcycle. So I have a motorcycle. I don't know if you see a helmet behind me. Yeah, so I ride a motorcycle. It was you know part of a relief uh where Ayan finds freedom. It was another part of uh his journey. So he how he skydived. I went out to skydive to you know get such a feeling as as as Ayan described in the book. So I I gave try to give Ayan a life, you know, so that he's not just an avo in the book, even if he's corrected of stories, but the main themes I acted them out to give them them a life and the meaning behind.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Nice. And I love that Ayan that you wrote Ayan to live with no fear, because me as a Detroiter who lived in Detroit for like 27 years, this is why the city is coming back, is because so many of us we live with no fear. We are risk takers, we are extremely resilient. And I and I also love too that you lived out a lot of the moments that you wrote for Aion. So that you really, because that's the other thing, too, that I love about your book, the vivid like narration is extremely clear. And so that really that's also because I have a lot of students that watch this podcast, that's also really good advice, is for you to write very strong characters, live the life that you want to write for your character so that you can embody it. So thank you for that great advice. And speaking of Detroit, and which people don't realize, or I feel like people don't want to acknowledge this. They don't want to acknowledge that Detroit is the home of electronic music. It is documented. And there is a huge, I hope they still do it. Um, the Movement Festival, which is like the electronic music festival at heart. Again, I haven't been back in Detroit since like the 2018. But there was a huge electronic music festival over Memorial Day weekend called Movement. And I hope that they still do it. And it's they set up a bunch of DJs outside. It's it's a it's so amazing. I've been a couple of times. And thank you for writing IN as a DJ because it gives an opportunity for you to talk about how important like music is so important and rooted in Detroit. So Lybox, Girl Your Roots, Where You Land takes place in my hometown with music as a key theme. Why was it important to you to set the story in this pivotal music capital?

SPEAKER_01 16:39

Right, like you said, movement, which is still happening today. Nice. And uh I have well not been to the movement yet. Uh yeah, but uh about a struggle since you know it is something you know meaningful to you. Uh as you say, techno in Detroit is really big. And uh I made a yeah and now a techno DJ. He was more like uh a karmi guy, karami music is summary music. He was blending the both sounds to create a unique a unique sound, which of course would make him know the to sound different to either uh the Detroiters there, or even anybody else, which would make them ask who is this guy? What's going on? And made him known, made him sing. And I use music because like I said earlier, uh music does not require language, it's it's a feeling, it's it's it's something, you know, it can be in Asian music, you know, you connect it to you. People here love pop music, which is unreal. You know, it means Ayan also can touch hearts of other people, can he touch his feelings, and uh that's why I made him a DJ, so he brings people and dance instead of you know being a speaker or I don't know any other thing.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Yeah, and that's actually, I'm not gonna lie, like that's one of the things COVID and the pandemic kind of took away from us. Like during COVID, a lot of the nightclubs where I live ended up closing. And I mean, I miss, I miss so much just going dancing because I miss like a bunch of us would be talking and men flirting and things like that. And we're like, who are these people? Oh my God. And then all of a sudden the music goes, and then like we are all one and we go out and dance, and I uh I miss that so much. And I, like I said, I was so happy to see that music and DJing are so pivotal in this book, especially. I don't know if you've had a chance to experience this yet, but one of the big things I miss about Detroit, there's so many people who are like making mixtapes and like independent producers and all these things, and people literally will be out on the curb on the corner selling their mixtapes and all these things. Like music is so important, so important to Detroit.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Oh, yeah, it is. Uh I am more of hip-hop, even if in the in in in the nature of the book, I'm a DJ, but uh yeah, I have been to a lot of shows with these uh Kendrick Ramal and other superstars. Oh, yeah, I was really a blast to be in those crowds. It's really amazing what's what's going on in Detroit.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Yes, thank you for insert. So um, for folks who have been following my podcast for a while, y'all know Kendrick Lamar is my absolute favorite like songwriter, and he won a Pulitzer for songwriting. I love any and every opportunity to slag him in, but I have yet to go to one of his concerts. So I'm glad that you had an opportunity to do that. Prior to having our guests on Black Writers Read, we ask each of them why they write. Here's an excerpt of what you beautifully offered. To be an author in this time means to stand strong, even when the world is loud and confusing. Many people are afraid to speak the truth. An author is someone who does not want to hide. Like a lion, an author protects stories, culture, and identity. It is important to share my words because stories help people understand each other. My writing reminds people to be brave, to remember where they come from, and to keep going. How does Ayan's journey reflect the real world experiences of immigrants today?

SPEAKER_01 20:56

Well, early on in the book, he was uh looking for a job as any everybody else. And uh his jobs were not, you know, top-tier jobs. He was in the issue somewhere. So those were the kind of jobs he was expecting to do. Even his lead, those are the jobs that it took him to, you know. And uh, when he was doing you know these kind of jobs, you know, he showed you know it was not really meaningful to him because he wanted to be something big. And uh yeah, those are the really real stories that a lot of immigrants go to. And uh in uh again, early on, he went to a grocery store by himself to Kroger and uh standing between the aisles and he didn't know why which one which food to pick because you know it was just full of hundreds of brands of cereal. And he was not used to those kind of food. So these are the stories that as immigrants go to that example is language, um Detroit slang, and people can say things and you know you just be there, not not understanding anything because you know there's a barrier between you and them. So there is a lot of layers to just being an immigrant. There is uh more to it. And uh as Ayan, he he overcomes one by one until he becomes a superstar, a DJ in Detroit. So this goes to you know to show you know Ayan, even if he has these humble beginnings and you know he rise all the way to the top when there are real examples in real life. So those are the relatable stories I was I was uh aiming to bring to life.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

And I'm curious before, because I have like just two more questions for you. I'm curious, who is your favorite author? Because I can tell just by like the journey that you created for Aeon, you are such an avid reader. Um, who is your favorite author? And then who are you reading right now? Like what books are you reading right now?

SPEAKER_01 23:20

So I am reading James Clear for like a million times, uh, the Atomic Habits. Uh I don't know, it's you know, it's uh it's been usually at the beginning of the year, you know, for the evaluation and everything. But I think my favorite writer is going, I mean May Sherry, you know, maybe because it was in 1800s when you know nobody really was writing all these, you know, very, very deep uh stories. Even this uh uh audacious story, navigating lost uh, you know, for almost three decades, I I think. And uh the journal being lost is as is just as I am, you know, it's just out there uh at the sea, you know, living life, coming back. So I think those two books are really my growth books when I think of uh deep books to read.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Nice. And one other thing I want to insert before we wrap up, um, for folks who are unfamiliar with the story of Detroit. So one of the things I miss about my hometown is the greater Detroit area, there are it's extremely diverse. Not only is there a prominent African-American community there due to the great migration of the South, that's where my family is from. There's a large um Arab population. It is the I heard the statistic, it's the largest outside of the Middle East in um Greater Detroit, Hantramic, and Dearborn. There's a large um Polish community, large, who am I missing? Um Mexican community, there's a large, there's like several others. There's a large West African population um in the Detroit area, and like just the and Jamaican population, so just the access that you have too many communities, and also just the food and the music that you have access to. And so I also want to applaud you for writing a book about belonging and different immigrant experiences, because that is truly what makes up Detroit, and that's why for me, Detroit is extremely special. So I have two more questions for you. Um, what do you hope readers take away from reading LeVox?

SPEAKER_01 26:06

I offering them uh a get into the lives of immigrants, the emotions, the jobs, the not speaking, the language, uh layers of our lives that nobody really uh talks about. And um on the other side, I'm giving an immigrant a story to hold on to, uh someone who's in their shoes at the lower stages and who arrives all the way to the top. So I'm giving the immigrant the hope as well.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

And I also forgot to mention this is another thing that's very important in the book that you mentioned. Detroiters are hustlers, like, no joke. Like everybody in Detroit, and I'm still like this now, where we got like five or six gigs, we have like our own LLCs and stuff. So, like, I love that you illustrate what that looks like for the immigrant population because it is something that is really ingrained in Detroit cusp um culture, that that hustle, that you know, making sure that you thrive rather than just survive. So the last question I have for you, Cedric, is what is next for you and how can a Black Writers Ray community support you on this journey?

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Um, I think the next phase is going to be more focusing on the Africa as a continent. Because this book was talking about the immigrants who migrated everywhere into the US as the biggest empire, greatest, I would say. So now since we are learning, we're you know, exposed to this great technology and understanding, then how are we helping, you know, other continents, especially Africa, you know, the youngest population, how are we going now to transform this continent? So this is going to be my next uh move of say.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Nice. And as someone who recently, and I hope to explore it more, um, recently dug deep into um their DNA because my family has been here. Due to the slave trade for multiple generations, I found out I am 90% of the African continent where most of my ancestry is from Nigeria, like 30-something percent. I'm excited to see what your next venture is going to be, because these are stories that we need to hear, especially us who are black and who were born stateside. Um, and then also, too, just how amazing you are as a writer. I am very excited to see what you have next and also to have you back on to talk about your next book.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Nukuru. It was a pleasure being on your on your show. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of Black Writers Read. Black Writers Read is available on all platforms. Please be sure to subscribe to Black Writers Read wherever you listen to your podcasts to receive each new episode once they are released. And after you've listened to this episode and subscribed to the podcast, I would appreciate so very much if you could also leave a review as your feedback helps me to curate the series and it helps others to find us. I hope that you are so moved and encouraged to take your support of Black Writers Read one step further and join us on Patreon. Thank you for championing this work and helping to sustain this award-winning virtual platform. Learn more about us by visiting BlackwritersRead.com. Thanks again for your support and for ensuring that Black Writers continue to matter.