If you title your album, All The Things You Know to Be True? (hmm, why the question mark?), and start with a song titled, “Sin and Shame,” featuring spoken word artist Leanne Stoddart and her risque joke, you will have turning heads. But it’s singer-songwriter and musician Rob Carvalho‘s smooth 90’s R&B tenor voice and […]
Read More Modern Griots Reviews: CarvalhoSince I am doing a Caribbean focus, here is my interview with Tiffany Rhodes, designer of Butch Diva, whose first major patron model for her fashion line (and one of my favorite artists, too) was dancehall queen, Patra. Rhodes’ designs are vibrant and colorful, and look as much fun to be in as it is […]
Read More Behind the Mask Interview: Butch DivaTake some mysticism and some social realities mixed with some humor and Brooklyn-by way of the Caribbean-flava and you have Old Money‘s debut mixtape, Fire in the Dark. Their album released on Dutty Artz records, the group consists of Afro-Caribbean-American (Jamaica and Guyana) duo, Ahmad Julian and Andre Oswald. The mixtape uses references familiar afrofuturist themes, like […]
Read More Modern Griots Reviews: Old Money*Today is my the anniversary of the day I started this blog, which was two years ago, and I am going to take a small break (maybe a week or two) to celebrate. Running this blog by myself can be tiring sometimes and so I should do this so i don’t tire myself out. I […]
Read More Moving on the Wires: 2 Years+Break, RebelMatic, Deluge Trailer, Meridian, Tawiah, Tar Baby JaneSekou Sundiata – “Space” Last weekend, I attended the Tongues of Fire tribute to Sekou Sundiata at the Apollo and I must say it was a beautiful, stirring and electrifying tribute. Curated by musical director Craig Harris, the show included his band Nation of Imagination as the musical background as for a few moving musical […]
Read More Modern Griots Reviews: Tongues of Fire and Erykah BaduJanelle Monae’s “Q.U.E.E.N.” featuring Erykah Badu. This song is a much better anthem than, dare I say, “Run the World (Girls).” It is funky and fierce with thoughtful commentary about those who judge and put others down. Check out Monae interview yesterday on 106 and Park. Black Girls Code Trailer — the short film about […]
Read More Black Girls/Black Women Are from the Future: Q.U.E.E.N., Black Girls Code and MBIB*Call for chapters for an anthology on Afrofuturism 2.0: “We are soliciting scholarly research, theoretical essays, and applied studies that explore how the concept of Afrofuturism is related to Africana Studies for an anthology…Authors are to submit a 250-300 word abstract for consideration by the editors by June 10, 2013. Authors of accepted abstracts will […]
Read More Moving on the Wires: Afrofuturism 2.0 Call for Papers, Janelle Monae + Erykah Badu, Kelis(warning for epilepsy!) Remember E.T. with Elliot riding the bike into the sky; that was the first thought I had reading UK rapper Juice Aleem‘s title “MoorKaba Light Bikes” on his EP featuring three versions of this song and “Anumal.” That sense of theatrics and spectacle as well as a theme of elevating oneself are […]
Read More Modern Griots Reviews: Juice Aleem“What these women become is what we will be,” Captain Larnyce Gaines gives the purpose of not only the three travelers from the future, but the underlying message of Futurology the Musical. The women finding power in themselves theme throughout this musical is its driving force and compelling feature. The Paper to Pen production, which […]
Read More Modern Griots Reviews: Futurology the MusicalEnjoy some videos from these quirky women! Laura Mvula’s “It’s Alright” from her album “Sing to the Moon” Tecla‘s “Fake Tears”
Read More Otherworldly Videos: Laura Mvula/Tecla/Sena Dagadu/Galaxy of Tar/Tawiah
Sherese Francis 