BABALU!!!!!!

Remember Desi Arnaz’s performance of Babalu on the show I Love Lucy? Well, Afrodiaspores wrote a post about the Afro-cuban origins of the song: “Last night was the vigil, and today the day, celebrated as that of Saint Lazarus, associated among practitioners of the Afro-Cuban tradition Lucumí with the orisha Babalú-Ayé, also called Asojano. He […]

Modern Griots Spotlight: “Soul Krops Presents: The Promised Land”

Rapper Kenny’s Myth released last week his new mixtape, “Soul Krops Presents: The Promised Land.” Sampling several sources, including afrobeat music, the album mixes afrofuturism and holistic spirituality. This is the description of the album: The Promised Land is the overstanding that every man is ONE and thus we are all created perfectly. Standing on […]

Modern Griots: Exuma

Junkanoo Obeah consists of folk magical practices that are performed in Caribbean islands, such as in my parents’ islands of Barbados and Dominica. It is also practiced in the Bahamas where singer Macfarlane Gregory Anthony McKay (Tony McKay) was born in 1942, and he later adopted the name of one of its islands, Exuma. Active during […]

What is Afrofuturism? Part 3

Here are two posts expanding more on the term afrofuturism: “Afrofuturism: A Beautiful History, A Brave New World” by Nicole D. Sconiers “We have a beautiful history, and we shall create another in the future that will astonish the world.” — Marcus Garvey AfroFuturism is a culture that has emerged to render a portrait of […]

The Mambos

I have mentioned mambo a few times on this blog and this will be another one. Did you know that the word for the high priestess in Haitian Voodoo is mambo? Mambo, which means “important words, matters, etc” or “conversation with the gods,” in the Central African language of Kikongo, is also used for the […]

… An Album by Its Cover: Erykah Badu

“Honey” Erykah Badu is known for her distinct album covers and her video for her song “Honey” (one of my favorite songs) highlights her affinity for album covers. Go to Soul Bounce to see the list of all the albums she referenced. Her recent album covers for New Amerykah and New Amerykah Part Two: Return […]

The Orixas

via Gira Gira Bambola “Orixas. I took a picture of these paintings in the market across the Elevador Lacerda in Salvador, Brazil. If anyone knows the name of the artist I would love to give him/her credit. What I love about the Orixas is the subversive nature of their presence in Latin American culture. Imagine […]

Yo Flo, I Have Some Words About Your Video…

For the past couple of years, I have gained an interest in studying Vodun and all the other religious systems that stemmed from it. So, I have become sensitive to portrayals of those religions (they are not cults), especially when they are put in binary to Christianity. I watched Florence and the Machine‘s video for […]

Spirituality in Africa…

“Ancestral Voices: Esoteric African Knowledge A educational documentary, spanning two continents, opening up a much-needed debate about traditional African spiritual systems; their cosmologies, ideologies and underlying ethical principles. Modern science no longer refutes the origins of mankind being in Africa and similarities in the cosmological ideologies of African esoteric systems with those found many established world […]

The Illuminati in Pop Culture?

Silverback Magazine posted a video of famous Black historian Robin Walker, author of “When We Ruled,” explaining the history and meanings behind the so-called “illuminati symbols” in pop culture and the illuminati.