AudioFile - Find your next great audiobook
Get our Newsletter
blog post image
Actress and Narrator Yetide Badaki on Storytelling and the Alchemy of Audiobooks

Nigerian-American writer, producer, and actress Yetide Badaki, well known for acting in the TV series This Is Us” and American Gods,” comes from a family of storytellers. She recalls sitting by the fire as a youth and listening to her elders. Storytelling is such a part of just being,” she says. Language and the use of it, even when people are hurling insults, can be Shakespearean.” Using language in a vibrant manner attracted Badaki to narration. It comes right to that moment between narrator and audience.”

About choosing audiobooks to narrate, Badaki says, Its about resonance.” Shes drawn to stories that allow her to be a vessel, adding to the larger story. Theres an alchemy when the words literally resonate out of your mouth. It pulls you into the space. And we are now in that world.”

The Death of Vivek OjiShe remembers reading Akwaeke Emezis novel THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI and making a profound connection. The use of language is stunning.” But in addition to the way a story is told, she is moved by the authors ability to explore the human condition. The details and specificity become universal, she says, allowing us as members of the human race to feel closer. Stories like this and Nnedi Okorafors books, which she has also enjoyed narrating, reach across the diaspora.

Badaki first prepares for an audio narration by reading the authors book and immersing herself in that experience. The parts she is unfamiliar with, she takes notes on for further exploration. She especially loves notes from authors as a way of connecting to their voice. She then starts to feel out the different characters. They tend to speak because of the way theyre written. Theres a tone to them.”


Akata Witch
Kabu Kabu
The Water Princess


The audiobooks she narrates all have their own challenges, in part because shes hard on herself and wants to do service to the work.” For example, her recent narration THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI was challenging because of current circumstances. Given the coronavirus pandemic, she questioned whether or not she would be able to get into a studio. The audiobook team helped her set up space in her home, and she communicated with the director remotely, using Zoom. She also spoke of the emotional challenges connected to Emezis audiobook and how real these experiences are in the world. Addressing identity, specifically queer identity in normative spaces, is its own challenge, but she declares, It is so worth it.”

When Badaki isnt working she enjoys watching TV and films. And, without question, she loves reading. This isnt surprising, given her passion for words and their transformative way of living on and off the page.

When words move me, I love to hear them.”— Traci Currie

Photo by Erin Simkin

Share This
More From Audiofile
blog post image
Interview with Golden Voice Narrator Emily Woo Zeller
Actor and narrator Emily Woo Zeller was inducted as an AudioFile Golden Voice this June. She is a marvel of a narrator with the ability to bring listeners into the story and
blog post image
In Conversation with Jason Reynolds, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature

AudioFile’s Josephine Reed spoke with author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds about STAMPED, a remix of Ibram X.

blog post image
Author Daniel José Older on the Power of Writing and the Spoken Word
We were thrilled to feature this interview with Daniel José Older in our February/March 2020 issue of AudioFile Magazine. AudioFile contributor Jessie Grearson spoke with Older
blog post image
Podcast Interview with Golden Voice Narrator January LaVoy

Golden Voice January LaVoy is a skilled narrator who draws listeners into whatever she's performing, whether it's a thrilling mystery or a compelling

The latest audiobook reviews, right in your inbox.

Get our FREE Newsletter and discover a world of audiobooks.

Thanks!

Thank you for contacting us!

Our group will review and follow up within 72 hours.
Thanks for your interest!

Back Home ×

Thanks!

Thank you for signing up!

Our group will review and follow up soon.

Back Home ×