The Percussive Approach in Hip-Hop Music

Since I just handed in my final draft for my undergraduate thesis, I wanted to talk a little bit about it. Basically, I use percussiveness as a structural basis for African diasporic music and philosophy. Percussiveness is not only about percussion instruments, but also about social impact, or how different rhythms and patterns of music, […]

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 […]

Modern Griots: Afronaut Funk with Mike Wird

From 900lb Gorilla Cypher: “Hip-hop Renaissance man, the artist’s artist. Mike Wird is an educator, organizer, entrepreneur, B-boy, DJ, Emcee, Poet, producer, writer, musician, recording artist, natural holistic health advocate and sustainable living practitioner, an organic permaculture gardener, Hip-hop community cultural consultant and spokesperson and community liaison. He is originally from Denver, CO and now […]

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 […]

Otherworldly Videos: The Haunting of Sound

As I work on my honors thesis about percussive and body politics of black music, specifically in hip-hop, the focus of my paper is forming as how sound in black culture has been used as a subversive tactic. Both James W. Perkinson’s Shamanism, Racism, and Hip Hop Culture: Essays on White Supremacy and Black Subversion […]

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 […]

Black People and Comic Books? Part II

Via Arc Direct (posted 2 months ago) “During the next few weeks I will highlight some of the audio elements that make up weeksvILLe puMzI X, an afrofuturist/black speculation fiction themed sound collage. Each of the production’s sound elements was placed to create a sense of thematic significance. In the case of “Secret Wars, Pt. 2 & Superfly Meets […]

Rewind: “Bridging the Gap”

Nas feat. Olu Dara- Bridging the Gap I remember seeing this video a few years ago and I remember liking it, but it did not fully connect with me until recently when I started my research on jazz, blues and hip-hop for my senior projects. My appreciation of Nas increased knowing that his father is […]

We’ve Got the Jazz (Style)

Jazz musician Etienne Charles speaks about how today’s hip-hop style is borrowing a lot from yesterday’s jazz style– the suits, ties, fedoras, jackets. Check out more from iRock Jazz.

Modern Griots: Gerald Watson, DJ 2-tone Jones and Shaolin Jazz

Yesterday, I wrote about the Festival of the Nw Black Imagination and one of the speakers was DJ 2-tone Jones. The idea for Jones and Watson’s project started with the graphic designer Logan Walters‘ project called, Wu-Note, in which he redesigned Wu-Tang Clan album covers as if they were original jazz Blue Note Records albums. […]