For some reason, I cannot stop listening to the mixtape Party Robots from Idle Warship. I might be a little obsessed. The alternative, futuristic group at the time consisted of rapper Talib Kweli and singers Res and Graph Nobel from Canada. By the way, Idle Warship released their latest album, sans Ms. Nobel, called Habits […]
Read More Rewind: Idle WarshipLast weekend, the singer with a voice from the heavens, Whitney Houston, left us at the young age of 48. And I still feel as if someone hit me hard in the chest. It stings; I feel as if another part of my childhood is gone. Despite her demons and decades of struggle with addiction, […]
Read More Impossible: Whitney Houston TributeSaidah Baba Talibah is as awe-inspiring as her name. The Canadian artist, described as ” Living Color-meets-Erykah Badu,” recently released her debut LP, (S)Cream. Including songs like “Scream” and “So Cool,” the album is a mix between soul, psychedelic funk and rock. Talibah’s album also combines those influences with musical and community experiences from her […]
Read More Modern Griots: Saidah Baba TalibahSinger Miguel released a new song, called “Adorn” from his upcoming album Art Dealer Chic: Vol. 1. A beautiful song and video! I love how the video incorporates the painting. Already some are accusing Miguel of being gay because of the video. Seriously! First, stop implying that homosexuality is wrong and implying that there are […]
Read More Otherworldly Videos: AdornEsperanza Spalding recently released “Black Gold” from her upcoming album Radio Music Society. In her explanation about the song, she said: “This song is singing to our African American heritage before slavery. Over the decades, so much of the strength in the African American community has seeded from resistance and endurance. I wanted to address […]
Read More Otherworldly Videos: Black GoldFrom 900lb Gorilla Cypher: “Hip-hop Renaissance man, the artist’s artist. Mike Wird is an educator, organizer, entrepreneur, B-boy, DJ, Emcee, Poet, producer, writer, musician, recording artist, natural holistic health advocate and sustainable living practitioner, an organic permaculture gardener, Hip-hop community cultural consultant and spokesperson and community liaison. He is originally from Denver, CO and now […]
Read More Modern Griots: Afronaut Funk with Mike WirdFor the first day of “Black History Month” (although Black history should be all day, everyday), I want to give a little background history of my return to speculative fiction. Looking back, I have always enjoyed speculative fiction, including science fiction, horror and fantasy. Growing up, I love fables, books and films about talking animals, […]
Read More The My-Stery: My Speculative Return Home…Released in 1969, Hayes gives a love anatomy lesson. I think this may have been the soul version of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and a precursor to Outkast’s “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.”
Read More Rewind: Isaac Hayes’ HyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymisticLast night, a great discussion on twitter took place about Nicki Minaj’s new video “Stupid Hoe” and whether she should be considered an afrofuturistic artist. Here is the conversation. My two sense on it is that it is complicated. Whereas I do not often enjoy Minaj’s music (her vocals are irritating) and her lyrics are […]
Read More Nicki Minaj’s “Stupid Hoe” and Afro FuturesWe are embedded in space, even if we do not travel to outer space, and social politics have revolved around the the struggle to define time and space. Several artists have appropriated the terms, astronaut and aliens, and used them in their artwork within an afrofuturist context: 1) The above video is an excerpt from […]
Read More Modern Griots: Afronauts and Afro-Aliens
Sherese Francis 