Jordan Stephens on Love, Chaos and Becoming a Man, Part One

Intelligence Squared

This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. Jordan Stephens’ life during his teenage years and his twenties was a whirlwind. As one half of the hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks, his days were full of success, fame and adulation as Rizzle Kicks’ debut sold over 1 million singles and 600,000 albums in 2012. But for Jordan, success brought pain in its wake: a hidden pattern of self-harm, hedonism, destructive ideas of masculinity, and heartbreak. Diagnosed with ADHD, he was always chasing the elusive feeling of love and continually found himself distracted and derailed by drugs, drink, sex and chaos. After his world imploded, Jordan chose to step away from his previous life completely and allowed himself to finally explore the pain he’d repressed his entire life. His new memoir Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak & Dogs unsparingly digs into the fear, tenderness and trauma he carried. And it examines the confusing assumptions and contradictions about what a man should be that Jordan – and increasing numbers of young men today – struggle with. Jordan came to the Intelligence Squared stage in August 2024 where, in conversation with comedian, satirist, actor and Instagram sensation Munya Chawawa, he reflected on his own life experiences as he explores how we can encourage men to have a healthier and more loving conception of masculinity.

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