*TW: brief discussion of sexual assault and rape Femmes are often expected to perform femininity in a way that expresses softness, gentleness and sensitivity but then are quickly chastened when they sincerely embody that softness, gentleness and sensitivity. Often, their connection to emotion can be labelled as “too sensitive, too emotional, too hysterical, too, too,…
Over the past couple of years, Mannywellz has stacked up an impressive music catalogue. Breakout songs like “Wellz”, “SoulFro” and “Meta” — display his songwriting abilities and the different genres he is able to tap into. Mannywellz also snatched a Grammy Award for his contribution to John Daversa and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals…
If we think of United States narratives of alien invasions, we could — with some imaginative effort — easily align a white and western dystopia with various fragments of the African diaspora. From violent domination, imposed languages and other elements involved in the colonising process. If the central dystopia in the imaginary of a country…
“Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, has one such scene worthy of attention. The local skate scene is on the rise, helped by Motherlan, the new streetwear brand-meets-skate team that’s championing Nigerian skating.” Highsnobiety, 2019. The link between skateboarding, or rather skate culture, and fashion is undeniable; a tie that has only grown from strength to strength…
enid ze, is the sonicscape brainchild fleshed by Zimbabwean-born Yale University graduate of Philosophy of Religion and musician Nyasha Chiundiza. The work of mediating his imagination and daydreams through music has been a part of Nyasha’s life from the age of eight as he was growing up in the suburbs of Harare, Zimbabwe. Under the…
To South African listeners the hypnotising droning of a dembow rhythm might seem as foreign as they come. In fact Reggaeton and its signature rhythmic structure is not really something heard all that often within a South African context or at least, so I thought, but let’s just say that the popularity of Reggaeton isn’t…
In an essay on noise music, the artist and archivist Cedrik Fermont aka C-dirk, takes note of the colonial and racist bias implicit in how music is defined. While experimental music from America and Western Europe is considered the sonic avant-garde, radical sounds from the global South are often bracketed and confined into the banner…
We live in strange times. Truly. Besides all the other shit, we have charlatans calling themselves “influencers” when they wouldn’t know influence if it was Jedi-mind-tricked into them. Back in the day, “influencers” were called trendsetters and, well, that term had a bit more gravitas to it. Trendsetters aren’t about pushing some bullshit on the…
Leaving Côte d’Ivoire during the civil war in 2004, multidisciplinary artist Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien now lives in Paris. Bringing to light the duality of distinct cultural elements in order to establish new fused expressions, Marie-Claire’s practice is layered thick with meaning. Her interest lay in the intricate relationality of universal pop culture, the everyday as…
In the Yoruba language, Dúdús, means “negro, black or dark”—black as the complete absence or complete absorption of light—transcendental and ineffable. It is also the name from which the digital platform Projeto Dúdús takes its title. A creation of visual artist and activist Gabriel Hilair, Projeto Dúdús (now a collective with members Guilherme Teixeira, Mayara…
Manufactoriel is a research proposition in African and Black contemporary visual culture, art and style. The textual and visual allowances of the internet have contributed to the expansion of the project, and have also been sites of critical investigation. Beginning on Tumblr, the platform has transitioned to its own domain, demonstrating their desire to independently populate…
The Black Lunch Table (BLT) is an oral-history archiving project staged as an ongoing collaboration between visual artists Heather Hart and Jina Valentine. Since its inception in 2005, BLT has been engaging communities, questioning dominant narratives and histories of acceptance through facilitating candid conversations. Placing itself firmly at the intersection of authorship, reflections and living attitudes…
