Haiti, Voodoo and Rebuilding…

Black Public Media released a video about the historical and present-day misconceptions about Voodoo. A voodoo priest, or hougan, Ati, gives a more accurate description of what voodoo is and its place in the rebuilding of Haiti after the earthquake. To learn more about the Haitian culture, please visit ZOE Magazine/Defend Haiti.

Nicki Minaj’s “Stupid Hoe” and Afro Futures

Last 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 […]

Otherwordly Videos: Alaalo

An African Epic. Alaalo (Someone Has a Story), is a short film by a Pratt Institute student, David Adeogun. The coming-of-age film deals with a “group of young African American children and their mentor, and their various struggles as young black people in a culture where Africa is hardly talked about.” To watch the whole […]

Modern Griots: Ayiti Resurrect

Carmen Mojica posted about Ayiti Resurrect, a grassroots organization whose work is centered around helping to rebuild Haiti: “Ayiti Resurrect is a team of visionary artists, community builders, mental health specialists, and holistic healers with bloodlines in Haiti and the African Diaspora. We have organized ourselves as a grassroots delegation working in collaboration with local […]

Modern Griots: Afronauts and Afro-Aliens

We 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 […]

Otherwordly Videos: The Power of Pure Funk

“One man’s quest for freedom in a world where music has been outlawed.” If you love music and study music history like I do, you know how powerful music can be. But would music be able to subvert a future fascist state? Anything’s possible (and it has been done before). From director Marc Adamson, the […]

Moving on the Wires: The State of Black Science Fiction in 2012

Alicia McCalla, whose book Breaking Free will come out in two weeks, is part of a 7-week online discussion about black science fiction with several science fiction authors on her website. As part of the black history month celebration, each week McCalla will provide a question for everyone to respond. This is the Rasheedah Phillips (The […]

Moving on the Wires: Blackout

Just letting you all know that tomorrow many sites, including this one, will be involved in a black out to protest the SOPA bill that could severely hurt the internet. If you want to find out more, go to Web Goes on Strike and Fight for the Future

Otherworldly Videos: Wicked Scientist

This song is by English rapper, Juice Aleem (sounds like Jerusalem) and it is from his Wicked Scientist Mix. Reminiscent of the visuals of early Hip Hop & Rap video, it was partly inspired by an old VHS and TDK tape footage. Not only does Aleem use mystical elements in his song, but also the […]

The My-Stery: He Is More Than a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr.

Jay Smooth‘s “Ten Other Things Martin Luther King Said” When most people think of Martin Luther King, Jr., they tend to think of only his “I Have a Dream Speech” and they usually only think of a small fraction of it. Often they will use the speech to make King seem less radical than he […]