Who We Are

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Dr. Monique Charles, also known as 'the Brainy, Brawny, Beautiful Blackademic', is a cultural sociologist, theorist, and methodologist. Her research focuses on Black British music and sound, as well as embodied methodologies. 

She developed a research method called Musicological Discourse Analysis (MDA) to analyse and understand music within social science and cultural studies. Additionally, she created a theory on Black music and spirituality in live performance and clubbing spaces, known as AmunRave Theory.  

Dr. Charles is a member of the editorial boards for the Global Hip Hop Studies Journal, the Popular Music Studies Journal, and Manchester University Press’s Subcultures and Social Change book series. She is the creator, curator, and editor of Black Music in Britain in the 21st Century, published by Liverpool University Press in 2023. She served on the advisory board for Britain’s first National Black Music Exhibition, 'Beyond the Bassline', at the British Library in 2024, and for the London Borough of Culture (Brent) project, 'No Bass Like Home', in 2020.  

She is also a contributor to The Music is Black exhibition at V&A East in 2026. Dr. Charles has published works on genres such as Grime, UK Garage, UK Funky, and Afrobeats, exploring topics like politics, race, gender, migration, and spirituality. She is a member of Sacred Cyphers UK, a collective of academics dedicated to bringing Black British music into public discourse within primary, secondary, and post-16 education. 

Sacred Cyphers UK engages with contemporary sociological, cultural, musicological, and theological issues raised through music. Her love for music and sound goes beyond academic and recreational interests. As a Sound Therapist and Healer, specialising in tuning forks and voice, she employs meditative techniques, energy practices such as Cardology, and sound for healing and therapeutic purposes for the body, mind, and soul. She is an ordained minister and uses sound in ceremonial contexts.

My research areas include: 

• Christian/gospel rap music 
• UK rap music 
• Pentecostal spirituality and the Pentecostal movement in the UK 
• Qualitative methodologies and social science methods including positionality  

I completed my PhD on testimony in the Pentecostal movement in the UK at Liverpool Hope University, where I also taught and served as a personal tutor. My thesis examined testimony within the Pentecostal movement by analysing UK Christian rap lyrics and interview data collected with rap artists from London. It is currently being prepared for publication with SCM Press. In my future research, I am interested in the relationship between music and theology, as well as the use of theological themes in broader culture. I also have an interest in methodology, reflexivity, and positionality in research, along with the interaction between theology and social science methods.  

I combine my passion for studying theology with a personal connection to rap music. I have been releasing music as a rap artist for almost 20 years, and I also run rap lyric writing and performance workshops for all age groups.  I have presented online at the Sheffield Centre for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies Research Seminar on portrayals of the Bible in UK Christian rap and contributed a blog post for the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence. I was also recently interviewed for a segment on BBC Radio 4 discussing Christianity in rap music. I have delivered papers at several academic conferences organised by professional organisations I am involved with, including the Society for the Study of Theology, the International Network for Music and Theology, and the British New Testament Society. I am currently available as an Associate Supervisor for Westcott House, having secured a role in 2025.  

Away from academia and research I enjoy making music and staying active. 

Richard is currently SENCo and Assistant Headteacher at St Edmund’s Catholic School in Kent, where he directs whole-school strategies for SEND, trauma-informed practice, and inclusive pedagogy. His leadership is based on thorough data analysis, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and sustained work with external professionals, including educational psychologists and therapeutic practitioners. He holds the National Award for SEN Coordination and postgraduate qualifications in education and theology.   

Previously, Richard spent two years as Head of College in Islington, leading a specialist creative post-16 provision that supported highly vulnerable young people. In this role, he built strong professional and institutional connections across London, collaborating with boroughs, cultural organisations, education partners, and funding bodies. This work contributed to the development of innovative curriculum models, facilitated internship pathways, and promoted inclusive creative programmes. It continues to inform his research, consultancy, and policy work in urban education contexts.  

A central aspect of Richard’s scholarly work focuses on learners who fall outside the main policy and accountability frameworks, especially those he describes as “grey” or “invisible” students. His widely recognised publication The Quiet Ones: Grey and Invisible Students (Pearson Professional) offers a critical framework for identifying and supporting middle-attaining learners who are often overlooked by data-driven systems. This work has shaped national CPD since 2007 and continues to influence debates around inclusion, visibility, and educational equity.  

Richard’s research interests go beyond schooling to explore broader issues of culture, belonging, and identity. His academic work is published by Cambridge University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, and Sage, including his contribution to The Unfinished Politics of Race (2022), which investigates music, migration, and cultural politics. His work draws on sociology, theology, and cultural studies, with a particular focus on creativity as both a pedagogical and socio-political practice. 

Alongside his academic work, Richard maintains an active creative practice as a cultural producer and creative director, leading heritage- and arts-based projects that engage communities in critical reflection on place, history, and identity. He is a member of Sacred Cyphers, a collective of academics working across highly specialised areas of culture, theology, sociology, and musicology, contributing to interdisciplinary dialogue on contemporary cultural and religious expression. Across education and the creative sector, Richard has secured over £1 million in external funding. His work is marked by a sustained commitment to practice- informed research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the ethical duty to make visible those learners, cultures, and histories that are often marginalised. 

Robert Beckford (PhD) is a scholar-activist whose work has significantly influenced the intersection of theology, ' race' and culture. His eight monographs, including Jesus is Dread: Black Theology and Black Culture in Britain (1998) and God of the Rahtid: Redeeming Rage (2003), have played a key role in shaping this field. His latest book, Decolonising Contemporary Gospel Music Through Praxis: Handsworth Revolutions (2023), underscores this ongoing trend. Robert has consistently dedicated himself to nurturing scholar-activists for the church, supervising over 15 Black students to completion and currently overseeing 20 Black doctoral candidates.    

Beckford' s influence extends beyond academia. He has produced over thirty television and radio documentaries, a studio-produced social justice contemporary gospel album, and two BBC drama productions. His most recent documentary, ' After the Flood: The Church, Slavery and Reconciliation' (2022), explores religious themes related to reparations for trans-Atlantic Chattel Slavery. His latest radio documentary, ' Should I change my name? ' (2024), examines the idea of reparations as self-repair. Robert' s versatility is also demonstrated through his production of black urban music, including the socio-political, contemporary gospel album, ' The Jamaican Bible Remix' (2018). His drama works include (with David Harewood) ‘Father, Son and Holy Ghost’ (BBC Radio 3, 2013) and (with Soweto Kinch) ‘Jesus Piece’ (BBC Radio UK Black, 2017).  

Beckford' s projects have earned him numerous international awards. His accolades include a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts award), a Jamaica National Diaspora Award, a Pentecostal Scholars Award, an African American Network Sustainability Award, a London Citizens Award of Education, a Race in the Media Award, and a Christians in the Media Award. Robert is also currently the first Black President of the Society for the Study of Theology, the oldest theological guild in Britain. At present, Robert holds fractional roles in the UK and the Netherlands. He is developing an activist village in South London, in collaboration with Oasis Trust and Eastern University (Philadelphia), as part of a new trans-Atlantic practical theology educational project, which includes a new Chair in Orthopraxis.  Robert Beckford (PhD) is a scholar-activist whose work has significantly influenced the intersection of theology, ' race' and culture. His eight monographs, including Jesus is Dread: Black Theology and Black Culture in Britain (1998) and God of the Rahtid: Redeeming Rage (2003), have played a key role in shaping this field. His latest book, Decolonising Contemporary Gospel Music Through Praxis: Handsworth Revolutions (2023), underscores this ongoing trend. Robert has consistently dedicated himself to nurturing scholar-activists for the church, supervising over 15 Black students to completion and currently overseeing 20 Black doctoral candidates.    

Beckford' s influence extends beyond academia. He has produced over thirty television and radio documentaries, a studio-produced social justice contemporary gospel album, and two BBC drama productions. His most recent documentary, ' After the Flood: The Church, Slavery and Reconciliation' (2022), explores religious themes related to reparations for trans-Atlantic Chattel Slavery. His latest radio documentary, ' Should I change my name? ' (2024), examines the idea of reparations as self-repair. Robert' s versatility is also demonstrated through his production of black urban music, including the socio-political, contemporary gospel album, ' The Jamaican Bible Remix' (2018). His drama works include (with David Harewood) ‘Father, Son and Holy Ghost’ (BBC Radio 3, 2013) and (with Soweto Kinch) ‘Jesus Piece’ (BBC Radio UK Black, 2017).  Beckford' s projects have earned him numerous international awards. His accolades include a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts award), a Jamaica National Diaspora Award, a Pentecostal Scholars Award, an African American Network Sustainability Award, a London Citizens Award of Education, a Race in the Media Award, and a Christians in the Media Award. Robert is also currently the first Black President of the Society for the Study of Theology, the oldest theological guild in Britain. At present, Robert holds fractional roles in the UK and the Netherlands. He is developing an activist village in South London, in collaboration with Oasis Trust and Eastern University (Philadelphia), as part of a new trans-Atlantic practical theology educational project, which includes a new Chair in Orthopraxis. 

Pauline Muir is a Senior Lecturer and Co-Programme Director of the BA (Hons) Arts Management at Goldsmiths University, London. An interdisciplinary scholar, educator, and practitioner, her work sits at the intersection of music, religion, race, and cultural policy, with expertise in Black British gospel music and congregational worship.  

Trained originally as a classical musician, Pauline studied double bass, piano, and broadcasting at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, before completing advanced professional training at Trinity College London and Goldsmiths. She holds an MA in Arts Management in Education from City University (with distinction), a PGCE in Higher Education from the University of Greenwich, and a PhD from Birkbeck, University of London. Her doctoral research, Sounds Mega, offers a groundbreaking musical discourse analysis of Black Majority Churches in London and forms the basis of her forthcoming monograph with Routledge.  

Pauline has held academic posts for over two decades, including long-standing leadership roles at London South Bank University prior to joining Goldsmiths. Her teaching spans arts management, professional practice, hip hop, cultural policy, religion, and London’s creative ecology. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).  

Her publications include the co-edited volume Black British Gospel Music: From the Windrush Generation to Black Lives Matter (Routledge, 2024), alongside chapters and articles on decolonising congregational music, Pentecostal habitus, sound ethnography, and Black British musical identities. Pauline is a keynote speaker, presenting internationally across the UK, Europe, Africa, and the United States.  

Beyond academia, she serves on numerous boards and advisory groups, and regularly contributes to public discourse through podcasts, radio, and film. Through scholarship and practice, Pauline Muir continues to reshape how Black British sacred music is understood and valued