What Is Afrofuturism? Part 17: Decentering Cultural Space in Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism as an aesthetic and critical lens is known for its analyses and strategies of decentering and revising norms and stereotypes about race, gender, sexuality and class, but as Afrofuturism is expanding, there are other areas, besides the ones mentioned before, to still be worked on like issues of globalism (“the neoliberal vision of homogenising […]

Otherworldly Videos: S.A. Miller’s “Into the Darkness”

Happy Friday the 13th! While browsing the internet for Caribbean speculative film, I found Bajan (Barbadian) filmmaker channel and his apocalyptic film Into the Darkness. The film follows a young boy who is trying to survive amidst the threat of revenants — visible ghosts or animated corpses that were believed to return from the grave […]

The My-Stery: Honoring Black Women’s Voices, Bodies and Supernaturalness

“The erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling.” – Audre Lorde Quite a number of people within the past couple of weeks have basically told black women (and other women of color in general) […]

Obeah Playlist

To end my Caribbean focus for the past few weeks and to show support for the re-premiere of the Canada show Obeah Opera (hopefully one day it will go international), here is an Obeah playlist. Enjoy! Exuma – “Obeah Man” Nina Simone – “Obeah Woman” “Scratch” Lee Perry – “Obeah Room” Mighty Shadow – “Obeah” […]

Modern Griots: The Mighty Shadow’s Musical Jumbie

For an afrofuturist artist in jazz, you may think of Sun Ra, in funk, Parliament Funakdelic, and in reggae/dub, “Scratch” Lee Perry. But for calypso, it is probably singer The Mighty Shadow, or Shadow. Born Winston Anthony Bailey and originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Shadow is known for his 1974 mythic song “Bassman,” about a […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Carvalho

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 […]

Otherworldy Videos: Captain T and T

Captain T and T Written, directed and produced by married duo Christopher and Leizell Guiness, this short film is about a Trinidadian man who recalls his younger days as six-year-old “Thin Foot” when he experimented to find what kind of superhero powers he had. Learning through these trials gives him a chance to “become” who […]

Behind the Mask Interview: Butch Diva

Since 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 […]

Modern Griots Reviews: Old Money

Take 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 […]

Art of This World: Ebony G. Patterson, and The Grand Rue Sculptors

I found this post via the Canadian afrofuturist website Outterregion: (Note: I edited some of it) Justice, truth be ours forever Jamaica land we love – Excerpt from Jamaican National Anthem The media has been showing only stories of violence from Jamaica for some time now due to unrest in West Kingston. It was very […]