Moving on the Wires: “Black Thought 2.0 Conference: The Future of Black Studies and New Media”

From Mark Anthony Neal Black Thought 2.0 Conference April 6-7 Public Conference Brings Together Black Intellectuals to Discuss Social Media and the Future of Cultural Studies *** Durham, NC– More than a dozen prominent African-American scholars will participate in a conference on the role of social media in cultural studies, April 6-7 at Duke University.The […]

Modern Griots Spotlight: The Decoders

Les Fleurs feat. Boston Fielder Baby This Love I Have feat. Leon Ware The Decoders are Los Angeles-based producer duo Itai Shapira (producer/engineer & studio/live musician) and Todd Simon (trumpeter/arranger for Mayer Hawthorne, TV On The Radio, The Lions, Quantic, etc.), with heavy contributions from Quincy McCrary on keys (Mayer Hawthorne) and Blake Colie on […]

Otherworldly Videos: The Haunting

Mirel Wagner – No Death This video reminds me of Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” Szjerdene – Blue Lullaby I heard this song on her mixtape a while ago and loved it, so I am glad she released the video! Jamarr Hall– Gravekeeper Deep poem on love, loneliness and […]

Otherworldy Videos: Charter Magic

Marques Toliver — “Charter Magic” from Butterflies Are Not Free (Source: The Now Playing Mag). His lyrics are mystically beautiful: Stop me if you can, if you can. I’m a free minded soul You can not find me cause I”m on a different level than yours. Catch me if you can, if you can. I’m […]

Modern Griots: Flobots

The political rap and rock band, Flobots, consists of vocalists Jonny 5 and Br’er Rabbit, guitarist Andy Rok, drummer Kenny O, bass player Jesse Walker, and voilinist Mackenzie Gault. Not only is the group socially aware, but are also influenced by speculative fiction and other avant-garde artists. Jonny 5 likes magic realism and his favorite […]

The Fear of the Hood

Trayvon Martin’s death, which eerily reminds me of Emmett Till, has sparked a national outcry as well as a reminder that we still have a long way to go when it comes to race. For example, there is a tumblr page exposing the racist backlash of the black character Rue in Hunger Games, the racial […]

What Is Afrofuturism? Part 7: From Urban Afrofuturism

Urban Afrofuturism posted on tumblr why afrofuturism is important to him: “This started out rambling thoughts on my thoughts on Afro-Futurism. What it’s become is a long rambling essay/poem (!) on my worldview, my religious thoughts, and what I think of humanity and existence in general. I think I’ve finally found a framework that fully […]

Moving-on-the-Wires: Call for Participants: Beyond and Between the Crescent and the Cross

If any of you are interested, here is a project about the diaspora and spirituality that I saw on poet Caits Meissner‘s blog: “My name is Kameelah Janan Rasheed and I am a photo-based artist, archivist & historian, writer, and high school teacher based in Brooklyn, NY. I am embarking on a new project that […]

Rewind: Purple Image

The ’70s psychedelic funk and rock band, Purple Image and their songs “What You Do to Me” and “Living in the Ghetto.”

If I Had My Way…

Soul Sci-fi posted this as a potential comic: “Dominique finds herself trapped at The Crossroads, the pathway between flesh and spirit, where she faces an inquisition from a handful of lethally unpredictable voodoo gods. From sailing the River of Souls with Baron Samedi, god of death, to confronting the overwhelming vastness of the Universe from […]