User:Shmebul0cck/sandbox

Bibliography + Notes
Afrofuturistic music history, sound, lyrics/// Afrofuturistic lyrics often touch upon black social issues, identity, and experiences. Santos, Gil. "Evolution of Afrofuturism in Music." Culture Bay, 28 Aug. 2023. https://culturebay.co/blogs/afrofuturism/evolution-of-afrofuturism-in-music. Accessed 25 February 2024.


 * Covers in some depth the themes and lyrical content of Afrofuturistic music.

Outline - Ross
The article doesn't deeply touch on what makes Afrofuturistic music Afrofuturistic. With sound, it is not as easy to recognize Afrofuturism if you're not sure what you're looking for or what to expect. I hope to add on the sonic qualities of Afrofuturistic music as well as the themes that appear within the music, specifically in the 21st century section of the wiki article. The article source I chose touches upon the different figures in Afrofuturistic music and what landed their work into the genre. I think adding this info will give some clarity on what defines Afrofuturistic music sonically and content-wise.

Mid- to late 20th-century development
Afrofuturism within music represents a diaspora of music that is non-traditional, focusing around the topic of blackness and space.

Afrofuturism was a label also retroactively applied to George Clinton and his bands Parliament and Funkadelic with his magnum opus Mothership Connection and the subsequent The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, P-Funk Earth Tour, Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome, and Motor Booty Affair. This also applies to Jimi Hendrix's work such as Electric Ladyland and "Third Stone from the Sun".

Provoked by Miles Davis to use electric keyboards, Herbie Hancock quickly developed his taste for gadgets into an appreciation for electric and synthesized sounds. He did this in his solo career throughout the 1970s and 1980s, at the same time adopting tribal names for his group and increasingly using electronics in his music, in a techno-primitive direction. His record covers were a very important element in this aesthetic, involving artists such as Robert Springett, Victor Moscoso and Nobuyuki Nakanishi.

In 1975, Japanese artist Tadanori Yokoo used elements of science fiction, along with Eastern subterranean myths, to depict an advanced civilization in his design of the cover art for African-American jazz musician Miles Davis's live album Agharta.

Other musicians typically regarded as working in or greatly influenced by the Afrofuturist tradition include reggae producers Lee "Scratch" Perry and Scientist, hip-hop artists Afrika Bambaataa and Tricky, electronic musicians Larry Heard, A Guy Called Gerald, Juan Atkins, Jeff Mills, Newcleus and Lotti Golden & Richard Scher, writers of "Light Years Away", described as a "cornerstone of early 80's beatbox afrofuturism".

During the 1980s, the burgeoning Detroit techno scene also developed a futurist vision specific to Detroit's suburban black community.

A newer generation of artists are creating mainstream Afrofuturist music – for example, Janelle Monáe, Outkast, Missy Elliott and Erykah Badu.