Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Alaba Ilesanmi is a Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellow, McKnight Doctoral Fellow, and candidate in musicology at Florida State University. His research broadly explores the music of Africa and the African diaspora, delving into the ongoing dialogue among global Black cultures as they intersect the themes of identity and cultural politics, cultural sustainability, indigeneity, coloniality, post-coloniality, and globalization.