Spring has sprung in New York; the tulips are in full bloom, young leaves are poking out on trees and the incessant jingle of ice cream trucks is in the air. As things warm up, 'tis also the season for Brooklyn’s annual Afropunk Fest, to be held this year Aug. 26-27, to announce the lineup. The Afropunk festival began with a 2003 documentary, Afropunk, celebrating black American punk culture, and has grown into an international cultural movement. In their words, this movement was catalyzed by the discovery by “alternative urban kids across the nation (and across the globe) who felt like outsiders [that] they were actually the core of a boldly innovative, fast-growing community.” Twelve years after the first Afropunk Festival in Brooklyn, the annual celebration has bloomed into a huge event drawing many artists whose names, while they might not be Top 40, are nonetheless shining bright in the world of musical innovators. This year’s lineup, as usual, is a sparkling string of gems, many young and fresh in the music game and some veterans of the business. The musical offerings range across blues, rock, alternative r&b, neo-soul, reggae, soul, punk, metal, hip-hop in all forms and several artists whose music is something entirely their own.
Here's a few that we've seen on Afropop before:
Jojo Abot: An abundantly inventive Ghanaian creator who blends music, fashion and design to stunning effect, heard on our Africa Now! 2016 program and in this concert report (and exclusive interview forthcoming).
