The My-Stery: Why STEM Fields Need an A(rt)…

A few days ago I witnessed a twitter battle between astrologist Sam F. Reynolds and Science Nerd/Blogger Rai Elise on November 5th (click on view conversation to read her tweets) over the legitimacy of astrology and the conversation highlighted some important and common conflicts between art fields and science/math/technology fields. Reynolds says some key things […]

What Is Afrofuturism? Part 16: Nettrice Gaskins

I haven’t posted one of these in a while, but I enjoyed reading Nettrice’s post, including the pictures, so here is some of it below with a link to read the rest: ”Without an image of tomorrow, one is trapped by blind history, economics, and politics beyond our control. One is tied up in a […]

The My-Stery: Janelle Monae and the Struggle for Black Complexity in Mainstream Media

“Narrow views of Blackness lead to a sometimes stalled consumption of challenging art and media.” – Dara M. Wilson While reading the Pitchfork feature on Janelle Monae, some of the issues concerning her art process and the reception of her art reminded me of the balancing act between black intellectuality and black physicality and the […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Sun Ra Poetry

Many know Sun Ra for his cosmic, avant-garde music and costumes as well as a pioneer in afrofuturism, but there is not as much discussion of the poetry he wrote, which he often put together with his music. He did say, “Poems are music: some of the songs I write are based on my poems,” […]

It’s The End of the World: Apocalyptic Playlist

I thought I’d do this for fun! When most websites compile lists of their favorite apocalyptic songs and music videos, some of these are probably not the first to come to mind. So, enjoy! Living Colour – “Time’s Up” Fishbone – “Party at Ground Zero”

Behind the Mask: D. Denenge Akpem

Here is another segment. Its focus will be fashion – hair, clothes, carnival costumes, etc. First, D. Denenge Akpem’s performance-lecture on Afrofuturism and fashion, “Constructing Future Forms.” Update: Read her two articles from Chicago Arts Magazine Constructing Future Forms: Afro-Futurism and Fashion in Chicago, Part I Constructing Future Forms: Afro-Futurism and Fashion in Chicago, Part […]

The My-Stery: Now Put Some Vodou On It

As I study more about myth and religion, I am starting to understand the art of different artists more. For example, Janelle Monae. The first time I heard Monae was in her video for “Many Moons.” Actually, the first time I saw her was in Big Boi’s “Morris Brown,” but I didn’t know it was […]

Modern Griots: Do You Believe in Magic?

Have you ever heard of Black Herman? Born in Virginia in 1892, the stage magician, entertainer and hoodoo dabbler, whose original name was Benjamin Rucker, was one of the most prominent of his time. Learning his skills from Prince Herman (Alonzo Moore), Rucker took Herman’s name in honor of him after he died in 1909, […]

“What is Afrofuturism?” Part 5

Oliver Blecher did a post on afrofuturism and its manifesto. Blecher is a doctoral candidate in geography at the University of British Columbia. Currently, he is writing a book on the history of social scientists in the U.S. military, and he frequently writes commentaries on politics and popular culture. I first came across the term […]

Sun Ra and George Clinton, Brothers From Another Planet

Don Letts‘, the well-known British music documentarian and DJ, 2005 BBC documentary on the “out-of-this-world” jazz musician, composer, and bandleader, Sun Ra. Born Herman Blount, in 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, Sun Ra later claimed to be from Saturn and his music definitely sounded like it came from there. Using interviews from members of his “Arkestra” and […]