Modern Griots Review: Tunde Olaniran and Phon.O’s Sleepless Nights…

“Night is where my story unfolds,” Tunde Olaniran sings leaving behind a heartbroken loved one in his latest single in collaboration with techno DJ and producer Phon.O. “Leave A Light On” is from Phon.O’s recently released Black Boulder album, which features mostly instrumentals with the exception of two songs. This particular song is striking because […]

Moving on the Wires: GZA Is Dropping Science… Literally

Gza from the Wu-Tang Clan will be releasing records about outer space and the ocean. Will this be hip-hop’s version of Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants? Via Wall Street Journal “A Rapper Finds His Muse in the Stars” by Anna Louise Sussman “I thought, this is probably the longest spinning record […]

Otherworldly Videos: Whatever Happened to the Times?

Bobby Womack goes into his own outer space in his video for “Whatever Happened to the Times?”

Moving on the Wires: Black to the Future Series

Tempestt Hazel, curator of The Future’s Past exhibition and executive director of the Chicago Arts Archive: A Sixty Inches From Center Project is doing a series on Afrofuturism and Afrosurrealism. Two of her first interviewees were visual artist Krista Franklin and Afrosurrealist creator D. Scott Miller. This is the beginning of Franklin’s interview: What is […]

Otherworldly Videos: Grace Jones and a Hula Hoop

Grace Jones singing “Slave to the Rhythm” and looking fierce with a hula hoop at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert. Enough said.

Modern Griots Review: On Imani Uzuri’s Journey…

Imani Uzuri’s The Gypsy Diaries We all are torn between home and the desire to wander. Home is where we feel we belong, where we feel safe, and where our family and friends reside. However, wandering takes us to new places where we learn wisdom follow our dreams and find out more about ourselves. It […]

What is Afrofuturism? Part 9: Rhythmism

Louis Armstrong – “What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue” For Black Music History Month, I decided to write my own views on Afrofuturism: A few days ago, I finally started reading Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, and within the first few pages, I could see how Ellison used musicality with his literary […]

Otherworldly Videos: Watery Dreams

Simphiwe Dana – “Nderedi” Thandiswa Mazwai – “Ingoma”

The My-Stery: Bacchanal!!!!

Destra Garcia – “Bacchanal” While doing research to write one of my poems, I learned about the Greek god Dionysus/Roman god Bacchus and Bacchanalia festivals. When I heard the word Bacchanalia, I thought of how often Bacchanal is said in Caribbean Calypso and Soca music, and I wanted to know the connections between Caribbean carnival […]

Modern Griots: Val Inc.

Recorded by Brooklyn Independent TV, Val Jeanty, aka Val Inc., explains in this video how her Haitian background influences her career as a percussionist, turntablist, producer and recording engineer. She describes her music as “Afro-Electronica.” Listen below to her work, “Life After Dark” with trombonist and cellist Dana Leong: