#productideas · Self-Revelation · Technology

Culture is the New Interface: What the Village People Firewall Taught Me About the Future of Tech

When we released the Village People Firewall for April Fools’ this year, it was a joke—sort of. Yes, it spoofed the hyper-complex jargon of cybersecurity and metaphysical tech. But underneath the satire was a real critique: most technological revolutions are framed through a Western, highly academic lens. And that’s a problem.

In the era of quantum computing, climate dashboards, and AI models with billions of parameters, a lot of people—most people—are left out of the conversation. Not because they lack intelligence or interest, but because the language, metaphors, and cultural assumptions behind these technologies don’t speak to their lived realities.

Whose Revolution Is It, Anyway?

We talk about carbon footprints, but what does that mean to a farmer in Kano who just wants to increase his yam yield by 30% before the rains stop? We rave about quantum entanglement, but what does that mean to a nine-year-old girl in Dakar who’s more interested in charging her tablet off a solar grid so she can watch cartoons—or maybe, teach herself to code?

The problem isn’t just access. It’s interpretation.

The Western Bias of Tech Discourse

Much of modern technology is developed and discussed within paradigms shaped by Euro-American academia, media, and venture capital. The metaphors we use—“clouds,” “nodes,” “quantum leaps”—are often opaque to anyone who hasn’t been steeped in those specific cultural and educational systems.

And yet, culture is interface. Without the right cultural lens, even the most powerful tools can feel irrelevant or suspicious. That’s what Village People Firewall poked fun at: how absurd it is to think you can roll out innovation without embedding it in cultural logic people understand.

When Quantum Meets Juju

Take the mock research paper we released—The Quantum Spiritual Interface. It was dense with metaphysical jargon and spiritual pseudoscience wrapped in quantum computing lingo. But it hit a nerve because it mirrored how tech often gets presented to the rest of the world: powerful, inaccessible, and totally disconnected from local wisdom.

And yet, what if there’s a real insight here? What if your grandmother’s stories, or your neighborhood herbalist’s rituals, or your community’s shared rhythms, were seen not as folklore but as operating systems? Systems for meaning, safety, identity, and—even—optimization?

Designing with Culture at the Core

Instead of asking, “How do we get more Africans into tech?” we might ask, “What does technology look like when it emerges from African ways of knowing?” What if rural farmers drove climate tech strategy, because they already understand seasonal cycles better than most PhDs? What if the interface for AI wasn’t chat boxes but talking drums, market banter, or shared communal rituals?

Designing from this perspective isn’t just inclusive—it’s more effective. Culture isn’t a distraction from innovation. It’s the operating system beneath it.

Reframing the Frontier

So yes, the Village People Firewall was a joke. But it was also a provocation. If the spiritual internet exists (and honestly, who’s to say it doesn’t?), maybe it starts in places where science hasn’t looked yet. Maybe it listens more than it logs. Maybe it understands that firewalls aren’t just code—they’re prayers, taboos, social contracts.

As we build the future, let’s not just ask what’s possible. Let’s ask possible for whom? Because until we design with cultural context in mind, the biggest breakthroughs may still feel like someone else’s revolution.

#MentalNote · Learning · Self-Revelation

Jesus Year

The Jesus Year is age 33, the year that scholars believe Jesus started a spiritual, political, and intellectual revolution. The Jesus Year is the age at which young people decide it is time to get serious about life, time to accomplish something.

I turned 33 at the beginning of April and to be honest, between COVID and some deaths in the family, there hasn’t been much to celebrate. My sister and Crystal mentioned they both do gratitude journals and I thought I’d share out 33 things I’m grateful for this year.

  1. I’m grateful for improving and overall good health
  2. I’m grateful for my parents and their health
  3. I’m grateful for my siblings.
  4. I’m grateful for Crystal.
  5. I’m grateful for my sister-in-law to be.
  6. I’m grateful for my extended family
  7. I’m grateful for my framily and family beyond blood.
  8. I’m grateful I get to do what I love every day at Google.
  9. I’m grateful for what I’ve built at tiphub
  10. I’m grateful for my past mistakes.
  11. I’m grateful for the time I enjoyed in Chicago.
  12. I’m grateful for my mentors that have guided me in this journey.
  13. I’m grateful for all the impromptu adventures around the world
  14. I’m grateful to be alive at this time.
  15. I’m grateful for having the opportunity to teach and share more about product management at General Assembly.
  16. I’m grateful for my car. It’s beautiful.
  17. I’m grateful for the pain and the joy in my life… It’s given everything more color.
  18. I’m grateful for the wisdom that comes with age
  19. I’m grateful Jay – Electronica actually came out with an album and I got to listen to it in my lifetime.
  20. I’m grateful for my time in DC. What a time.
  21. I’m grateful I had the chance to volunteer two years of my life for a greater cause.
  22. I’m grateful for my ability to continue to learn new things.
  23. I’m grateful for the luxury of watching all the bad movies on Netflix.
  24. I’m grateful for my youtube music subscription.
  25. I’m grateful I survived COVID-19
  26. I’m grateful for Jonathan Perrelli. He gave me my first shot at venture capital back in the day.
  27. I’m grateful for all the entrepreneurs I’ve had the chance to collaborate with.
  28. I’m grateful for Moderna.
  29. I’m grateful for Twitter.
  30. I’m grateful for Bollywood and Nollywood movies.
  31. I’m grateful for rainy days.
  32. I’m grateful for Cape Town’s beauty.
  33. I’m grateful for all my DM subscribers.

I’m grateful for all these things and more.

History · Self-Revelation · Why?

Is Protesting Effective?

So for those asking the question, “Are riots/protests really effective?” There’s some research from Omar Wasow, an associate professor at Princeton, that takes a look at Black protests in the 1960s and its ability to move elites, shape public opinion, and voting. If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, here are some quick takeaways:


1. Violent tactics by the state or protesters operate as a double-edged sword. State repression subjugates activists but focuses media attention on the concerns of nonviolent protesters. While violent tactics by protestors are framed as a breach of law and order.

2. Black activists overcame structural biases, framed news, directed elite discourse, swayed public opinion & won at the ballot box. An “eye for an eye” in response to violent repression may be moral & just but this research suggests it may not be strategic, but it achieved its goal.

This time around, three main changes will enhance or detract from its effectiveness.

1. Fragmented media – People have more media channels that are skewed to their already existing notions of reality. (Facebook groups/ TL, twitter followers, more skewed tv media)

2. Decentralized first-hand reporting – Everyone with a camera provides a unique perspective which leads to a diversity of data points that can reinforce or detract from a multitude of narratives.

3. Rapid mobilization of protestors. Now more than ever, it’s easier to scale protests beyond a particular city, which can lead to a larger dichotomy between local, regional and national narratives.

Holiday Weekend · Kanye West · Self-Revelation

NBA All-Star Weekend (In Pictures)

Chicago hosted the NBA All-Star events over the weekend. There were a lot of cool events. I didn’t really get to drag my dslr out but I got a couple of pictures on my One Plus 6 phone.

On Friday, I went to the brand Jordan party. Jordan team always pulls out the stops to ensure all guests have a unique experience at their events.

Miguel performed all his jams! All the ladies and the men went crazy!

Olivia, my sister/ partner in crime caught the light and the lack thereof.

Bam Adebayo winning the skills contest. Naija no dey carry last. On a more serious note, Bam wining the skills competition shows the evolution of the NBA to the skilled big man. Its a brave new world.

Sunday service at UIC. Kanye did his thing for real. The Sunday Service Choir gave me chills at times. It was a major vibe.

Olivia and I went to get dinner but ended up getting dessert. We went to Little Goat Diner and they had a red velvet milkshake. I had to order it out of obligation. We ended up eating dinner there as well. Really great food overall.

ALLL STAR Game.

This was one of the best weekends Chicago’s seen in a while. Sans the bad weather on Thursday and Friday, this was a very successful weekend for the NBA, city of Chicago, and the fans.

#MentalNote · Self-Revelation

Life Debt

I enjoy watching movies during short flights. It helps me pass the time. This most recent trip back to Chicago was a little different. I had just concluded a successful week in Washington DC  and running a program for tiphub . We met a lot of great companies, and other stakeholders and a bunch of folks had a great time. Overall solid experience.

I found myself reflecting on my time in Washington DC and a couple of quote from Seneca hit me.

“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. … The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” Seneca

As I started to meditate on this quote, I realized I frequently forget to balance life’s book. So much, I’ve accumulated life debt. This debt operates similar to financial debt in a sense. It weighs you down, if you have too much, you lose out on opportunities you’d normally get, and you have less freedom.

I realized I procrastinated/ half stepped myself straight into an existence that is okay by most standards but only a small example of what I’m supposed to be.

I’ll most likely look at that moment as a turning point in my life. I realized what it really meant to live on purpose. I saw the past, present, and future all in one moment and saw what it meant to be fully committed…. All in…regardless of the probability of failure and more focused on the idea that the opportunity that passes may never come around again.

At this point I’m rambling but it’s like a light has gone on and life makes sense. Everything’s changed (except for my inability to write coherently.) for the better and I’m excited to see where this epiphany takes me.

Travel more…. you’ll start having these come to Jesus moments more and more.