Atlanta native Knowa De Baraso emerged as a standout voice in 2024, but there’s still so much more to discover about this charismatic 13-year-old. Recently, he sat down with Atlanta’s Black-owned and operated newspaper, The Atlanta Voice, for an exclusive interview, reintroducing himself to the world.

Take a look at a snippet from De Baraso’s interview below. You might be surprised by his insight, confidence, and passion for the future.

The Atlanta Voice: How important is social media to you?

De Baraso: There’s no Knowa without social media. It’s an economy. It’s a whole creator economy. It’s so powerful.

The Atlanta Voice: What do you want to be (professionally) when you grow up?

De Baraso: I want to be Knowa. I’m lucky.

The Atlanta Voice: What’s your dream college? The place you’d most like to attend when that time comes.

De Baraso: I don’t have an answer for you on that yet, but when I do, you’ll be the first to know, I promise. When I do, I hope it won’t be because of any connections or a name. I would want to qualify and get in there.

The Atlanta Voice: Is there a country or city in the United States you want to visit?

De Baraso: I intend to travel a lot more, which will be less worky and more fun. … This is random, but I want to go to Houston. There are a lot of places I’ve been to that I’d like to visit again. International-wise, there are so many. I want to go back to Africa.

The Atlanta Voice: So you’ve been to Africa. What country?

De Baraso: Ethiopia. There are a lot of great places.

The Atlanta Voice: What do you think about The Atlanta Voice and the newspaper’s legacy? You might not know this, but this year is our 60th anniversary.

De Baraso: It’s so powerful. You have so many other newspapers, Atlanta this, Atlanta that, this is powerful. It’s the voice of the people, it’s the voice of the community, and it connects the people to power.

The Atlanta Voice: Do you believe newspapers still have the ability to reach people of your generation? Do you believe it’s important to keep trying to reach younger readers?

De Baraso: I think it’s more important than ever. There’s a lot of social media out here, and The Atlanta Voice is doing a pretty good job.

Two fun facts that we learned in De Baraso’s interview is that one of his favorite restaurants is The Waffle House and he does not like rap music. To read the interview in its entirety, click here. Make sure to follow this inspirational young man on social media. You don’t want to miss a moment of his journey!

Photo: Kerri Phox/The Atlanta Voice