Black British English is a language full of cultural rhythm shaped by generations of Caribbean and African influence. Yet on TikTok, it’s being copied, filtered and remixed into something hollow. White content creators are using AI, especially tools like Sora 2, to generate videos that mimic the sound and swagger of “roadman” speech, the same language they still mocked yet these audiences are eating it up. The humour of “roadman in Parliament” clips might feel harmless, but each share fuels an algorithm that rewards imitation while erasing the people who built the language in the first place.

As I record this from Abuja, the contrast is striking. The city hums with real multilingual energy: Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, English, Pidgin and dozens of other tongues intersect in everyday life. Here, language isn’t just a tool for clicks, it’s identity, connection and cultural memory. Watching how fluidly people code-switch reminds me how unnatural it feels to see AI flatten an entire linguistic tradition into an aesthetic trend.

This episode digs into how digital platforms are turning living languages into viral content, how AI amplifies appropriation at lightning speed, and why we need to stop sharing and engaging with these “roadman in Parliament” videos. If we don’t, the voices that gave Black British English its power risk being drowned out by the very systems built to mimic them.