The My-Stery: Save the Pearls Reveals A Fear of the Future

“If we let them be in control, they will get revenge. They will do to us what we did to them.” I believe these are probably the thoughts that are and have been on the minds of many Americans; many who will state that they want their country back or that they need to preserve […]

Modern Griots: Kim Hill

“Mars” She describes herself as “the angel who wears her halo as a belt.” Kim Hill is a singer-songwriter who makes her own rules. Hill has been around since the 90s, working with the Black Eyed Peas, Tupac, Jane’s Addiction, Les Nubians and Mos Def. Although she was signed to Interscope Records in 1998, she […]

Otherworldly Videos: Black Body Radiation

Written and directed by Greg Tate, Black Body Radiation is a short film that “imagines a future New York dominated by three rival, warring, black religious sects after two space ships mysteriously crash into Manhattan. Kulu, leader of a circle of priestess healers lives beneath the African Burial Ground. Through trance she is in communication […]

Cosmic Ghost at the Museum: Afrofuturism at MoCADA

Traveling through the “Sankofa Portal:” Last week, I attended the Afrofuturism exhibition at MoCADA before it closed. This was my first time at the museum and walking in, I did not know what to expect, but afterwards I was greatly impressed. Looking at the artwork, it was easy to forget that these pieces were created […]

Otherworldly Videos: Meridian’s Magic

The video for “Magic” by Merdian. The duo consists of Yohimbe Sampson, from Game Rebellion, and Bradley Valentin, a music teacher at Urban Arts. Doesn’t the song just take you to another place? I wouldn’t mind going to the place in the video. Also, doesn’t Valentin kind of look like Theo from the Cosby Show? […]

Moving on the Wires: Chibis, Miss Zee, Concrete Park

*Do you like my chibi at the left? Well, if you want one of your own, Sugabelly will do one for you for $5. *Miss Gee of Afroglitz is creating a coloring book called Miss Zee and is raising money to print this book. Her kickstarter fundraiser has 9 days left and she still needs […]

Art of This World: “Wangechi Mutu -The Catatonic Bliss of Violent Incidences”

Here is part of an in interesting interview with Wangechi Mutu from Another Africa: …There is always a sort of underlying violence embedded in each of the pieces she creates. Affirmative fears, archetypal dogmas and the stigmata of war are all woven into one highly elaborate composition. The results are overpowering metaphors that often puts the viewer in […]

Otherworldly Videos: Root Shock

What is the opposite of future shock? Is it root shock? This is the latest performance from artist and dancer Ni’ Ja Whitson. Whitson puts contemporary and postmodern dance and art performance within an African diasporic context. Her work, Root Shock, re-imagines Yoruba diasporic and Orisa storytelling traditions, and explores the relationship between trauma and […]

Otherworldly Videos: Afro Kid

Nathan Byron of London’s Kool Beanz Productions is AFRO KID!

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: SIUE Notebook

The SIUE (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) Black Studies program has a blog dedicated to various topics, including Afrofuturism. Below is their collection of posts on the topic: A Notebook on Afrofuturism Mark Dery coined the term “afrofuturism” in 1993, and during the late 1990s, Alondra Nelson began shaping a wide-ranging series of conversations that developed […]