Cosmic Ghost at the Museum: The Shadows Took Shape Panel Recap

As Afrofuturism becomes more mainstream, sometimes popular conversations about it become also a bit stagnant, which is why I enjoy local conversations about it and hearing people’s personal relationships to it; I tend to learn a lot more. That’s what I got with this week’s panel discussion at the Studio Museum in Harlem with curators […]

Cosmic Ghost at the Museum: The Shadows Took Shape Highlights

To the right is the exhibition book from Naima J. Keith and Zoe Whitley curated exhibition, The Shadows Took Shape. It is a nice-looking book with purple pages and reversed alphabetical order of artists, and it’s royally expensive, too ($50), but it looks worth it. Anyway, here are some of the artists and work that […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Yugen Blakrok’s “Return of the Astro-Goth”

In continuing with women this week who are taking hip-hop to higher spaces: Cosmic rap (or God Hop as some artists call it) is in South Africa by way of the Johannesburg independent label Iapetus Records (Saturn’s moon) and emcee, Yugen Blakrok. Influenced by other labels like Boogie Down Productions, The Bomb Squad and Ninja […]

Modern Griots Review: Wangechi Mutu’s A Fantastic Journey

To have a fantastic imagination requires a fluidity of perception of reality and that encapsulates Wangechi Mutu’s exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, A Fantastic Journey. Mutu’s medium of collage artwork provides a natural basis for her ideas that combine an ancient mythic and animistic values with the futuristic cyborg concepts to comment on global modern […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Jaded the Musical

Black women’s mental and physical health are often not at the forefront of news and studies, especially with the continuation of the myth of the strong black woman or medical professionals and the public who make light of our conditions. A few days ago, I attended Jaded the Musical at The Secret Theatre in Queens, […]

Modern Griots Reviews: “Finding the Funk…

…and getting the respect!” Author, music historian and filmmaker, Nelson George, said at a rough cut screening of his latest film, Finding the Funk, that funk music was a music for outsiders. Reaching its peak in the 70s and early 80s, the short time between the eras of soul and post-bop/funky jazz and the rise […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Apeshit + The Creation of the Humanoids – The Politics of Obsolescence

This morning I heard that communication companies are attempting to rid us of phone landlines and replace them with wireless service only, and it reminded me of the two films I saw last night, Leah Gilliam‘s movie Apeshit and Wesley E. Barry‘s The Creation of the Humanoids. Gilliam spoke at the showings of the film […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Sekou Sundiata Tribute at Summerstage

Although we the audience were subjected to downpours on Wednesday night, the sun seemed to come and shine, even for a little bit, for the three songtresses, Toshi Reagon, Sandra St. Victor and Nona Hendryx, who hit the stage in honor of late poet Sekou Sundiata. The singers, along with their bands and special guests, […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Malik Manifesto

On their bandcamp page, duo Malik Manifesto has the phrase “real is ‘relative,’ truth is ‘absolute.’” The motto appears to be a fitting explanation to Malik Manifesto’s debut, self-titled album. Consisting of producer Dasman and MC Mike Lamont, aka “Sintex Era,” Malik Manifesto’s album begins with what Lamont calls “the king’s manifest,” a title for […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Summerstage – Femi Kuti + Sinkane

Every time I go to a park concert, I am reminded of why I dislike going to park concerts: 1) the scorching heat (I almost passed out from it) 2) the standing up for several hours 3) the rude people who either step in front of you while you are recording a performance or the […]