Multiplicity (final)

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Af r oPunk : Communi t y .

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3 S a r aY a n i c o s t a s Af r o p u n k :F e s t i v a l ,Mo v e me n t ,Co mmu n i t y . . . . . p .

6 I n c l u d i n gi n t e r v i e w! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p .

9 Ad e z eWi l f o r d S u nAr a w:E c h o e so fB l a c k n e s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p .

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1 3 Ch l o eCo l e “ S h o r t ” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p .

1 6 K a t i eB o c k

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS DEAR READERS, WHAT IS BLACKNESS? This is the question we started this issue with. To answer the question, our contributors chose different black individuals to write about and explore the ways in which they created their own variations of what it means to be black. One of our contributors even stretched the definition of blackness by profiling Sun Araw, a musician who isn’t black but produces “black” music. Since defining blackness is elusive, our contributors attempted to depict variations of blackness as a way of highlighting its multiplicity.

In many ways the Afrofuturism movement inspired this issue. By thinking of black people in the future, Afrofuturism inherently re-imagines blackness. As Eshun writes in Further Considerations: “the manufacture, migration, and mutation of concepts and approaches within the fields of the theoretical and the fictional, the digital and the sonic, the visual and the architectural exemplifies the expanded field of Afrofuturism.” Eshun asserts that evolution and adaptation is essential to blackness. Thus, these modes of blackness we present echo Afrofuturism’s focus on moving black bodies out of the past to both explore and expand their role in the future.

We love the format of magazines: it’s bright, colorful, entertaining. It’s easy to pick up and start perusing at any page, for any reason. Choose the facet of blackness that interests you most, and begin there. Or page through for the ads, each of which is also an Afrofuturistic piece in its own right. Or, if you trust us, follow the table of contents and let us show you each story in order, building resonance through their organization. We love the internet: the sounds as well as the sights, the power to move across worlds with a single click, the instantaneous satisfaction. Explore the videos, articles, and readings embedded within this magazine. Click. Search. Discover.

We hope that in reading this issue, your definition of blackness begins to shift, expand, and evolve. Please enjoy!

Thanks for reading, The Editors of Multiplicity

“Janelle Monáe brandishes the acetylene torch for radical Afrofuturism…She’s an agent of change, and we’re not just talking robot emancipation.”

-John Calvert, TheQuietus.com

“Janelle Monáe: Sister from another planet…recalls Prince, OutKast, Erykah Badu, James Brown, Grace Jones, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Bernard Herrmann, Funkadelic and the Incredible String Brand” -Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian

on Tour now UPCOMING DATES April 12th April 13th & 20th May 16th

University of Pennsylvania Coachella San Francisco Symphony

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AfroPunk Fest An Interview with Kara Mahon

Recently we interviewed Oberlin junior Kara Mahon about her experience at AfroPunk ‘12

A Closer Look Kara is from New Rochelle New York and currently lives in Ohio while finishing up her undergraduate time at the liberal arts college Oberlin.

This interview was rescheduled in light of the race and hate crimes that were occurring on Oberlin’s campus this past m onth.

Thankfully Kara was able to share some thoughts, despite the racially charged atmosphere at her school.

Multiplicities wants to represent as many voices as possible in every issue. As a supplement to our look into AfroPunk as a movement, we thought it would be best to include a first hand view of the festival.

Here is a brief interview with festival-­‐goer Kara Mahon:

M: This interview is just to see how Afrofuturism as a movement is compared to countercultures like AfroPunk and how people are drawn to certain groups musically, artistically and culturally. Can you give me an impression of what you encountered at the festival, how you felt about being there and the types of people you thought were there?

“I loved everything about the festival.”

KM:I am attracted to the AfroPunk subculture mainly because it encompasses so many other subgroups and identities. I am a queer, Afro-Caribbean girl who listens to reggae, dancehall, metal, r&b, hip-hop, etc. Being able to mesh all of that together in art, whether visually or sonically, is just amazing to me

M:How did you find out about the festival?

KM:As far as the festival itself, I found out about it by word of mouth I believe. I have known about it for a couple of years but never actually went to check it out. I am a huge Bad Brains fan and I may have heard about it from their fan pages or something. I decided to go this past summer because Reggie Watts was performing (I'm kinda obsessed with him lol) And I couldn't miss Erykah Badu and Janelle Monae.

Photos Courtesy of Kara Mahon

M:What the general feeling about AfroPunk, did the organizers make mention of alternative culture?

KM: AfroPunk allows for the intersection of identities which should not be taken for granted in the Africana community. We do not have access to certain spaces. And when we do finally enter them we have to work harder than everyone else to gain visibility. There have been times when I just didn't feel comfortable at metal shows. I loved M: Was music the only thing featured at the the music but I just couldn't deal festival? with being the token Black person.

AfroPunk offers an environment of KM: Sometimes when you get a bunch of young, both, and rather than either, or. It’s a safe space that allows you to intelligent, confident, creative kids of color admit that you like both hip-hop together in one place it can turn into a contest. and rock. That you beatbox and Who looks 'the most different'? Who looks like skateborad. etc. Brown skin 'they aren't trying'? That kind of thing. And becomes the thing that almost though I had a blast, you could tell that not everyone has in common and your everyone was there to just enjoy the music and the weather. Some just came out to be seen. But art is what represents you.

I guess you have the superficial type in all subcultures.

byline

Lorem Ipsum

AfroPunk Fest 2013

Commodore Barry Park August 24-25 Lineup Announcement Soon! Â

Sun Araw: Echoes of Blackness Sun Araw (sound familiar?) is a master looper, sampler, and creator of ghostly, sun drenched soundscapes, often infused with remnants of past decades and previous masters. Cameron Stallones is the man behind name. He is originally from Austin, Texas but now lives in Long Beach, an element which is definitely factored into the equation when considering the numerous influences that inspire his tie-dye, beach fuzz music.

Sun Araw is a very interesting artist to consider while looking through the Afrofuturist lens. His music, techniques and philosophical approach quickly reminded me of those key Afrofuturist ideas like the exploration of time and space through music, the repurposing of sound, and the technical manipulation of instruments and electronic equipment.

In an interview with M. Hugh Steeply, a writer for the online music and film webzine Tiny Mix Tapes, Stallones generously reveals the influences and drives behind his music. He explains that he is heavily influenced by other musicians (mostly from the 60’s, 70’s era) like Fela Kuti, as well as long-take filmmakers such as Tarkovsky, Altman etc. But even though Sun Araw’s music includes faded impressions of other artists within the dizzying overlap of timeless sounds, he maintains that in order to create truly authentic and personal music, he must first be in tune with his own creativity and emotional state.

Steeply: “That faded impressions idea is real interesting in the way that Heavy Deeds sounds so much swampier and toiled than both Beach Head and those afro-funk reference points; they sound really nicely tangential to me. So you're particularly drawn to putting new and personal energy and ideas into the older things you hear?”

Stallones: “[…] An organ idea from Steve Reich's “Four Organs,” or a guitar tone off a Big Star record, or a rhythmic idea from The Pyramids, or something like that becomes the wrapping for the idea that came from basking [in] the glow. It's important to me that the idea itself comes from beyond all that, but once the idea has been retrieved, it's a joyful celebration to deck it out in subtle hints and tributes to music, film, any cultural artifacts that I love. Those artifacts get fused with zones you've placed them in, and become important, glowing iconography in the mythology, and they help you find your way back there when you want to go.”

For Sun Araw, the environments in which he works are also important in steering the creative process.

In 2012, Araw took a trip to Jamaica, collaborated with the aging reggae-roots band The Congos, and released the album entitled Icon Give Thank. Araw’s musical tools and techniques were originally developed by 60’s Dub producers like Lee “Scratch” Perry, and later carried across genres and geographical borders along what Nabeel Zuberi would call the “roads” of Diaspora and globalization.

So this collaboration truly represents Dub’s journey across borders and trip back to the homeland, a tangibly Afrofuturist enterprise. In an interview at Festival EDP Paredes de Coura (which is great to watch as Cameron and his friend and band mate Alex beautifully account for the philosophy and experience behind Sun Araw), one of my favorite moments is when Cameron speaks of his trip to Jamaica and says: “These people live like kings there because they still remember how, you know, and they remember how to improv, you know?”, and Alex continues the statement and says “improv in life, not just music”.

So, is Sun Araw an Afrofuturist? Is he furthering the black legacy in music? Can he faithfully embody blackness if Cameron Stallones is a white man with a handlebar mustache?

Should that matter?

Blackness in the Afrofuturist sense is not a single, unchanging identity, but rather a continuously metamorphosing one. It is neither a stereotype that black people follow, nor an archetype that they “ought to follow�. Sun Ra and George Clinton, two important and influential musicians, have both created incredibly distinct and representative personas, and they often rally their listeners and talk of going away and conquering space.

However, their mission is definitely not to carve a path or provide their fans with a mould for what blackness is or should be. Instead, Ra and Clinton are honoring pure creativity and potential, and invite their fans to do exactly what they do, which is to express themselves in the most authentic and liberating way, even though they make reference to elements of black culture. They seem to be promoting inspiration rather than emulation.

And this is what Sun Araw’s project is all about. He chose not to adhere to any musical conventions, pushes the boundaries of experimental music, and promotes intuitive improvisation, all the while channeling echoes of AfroDiasporic and black sounds, among other cultural influences. But once again, does he actively participate in the celebration and exploration of blackness? Or is Sun Araw one of many individuals who have simply been exposed to black culture through globalization?

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF BLACKNESS LOOK LIKE? The trailer for After-Earth, Will Smith’s newest movie, was released in December. Here is the TRAILER. After-Earth is a tale about a father and son crash-landing on a dystopian earth a thousand years after mankind escaped their origin planet. This plot seems to have resonances of Octavia Butler’s Afrofuturist novel, Dawn.

The release of another Hollywood sci-fi flick starring Will Smith inspires us to re-examine the reasons why Smith has been so successful in a genre where, historically, black actors have been absent.

In his book Black Space, Adilifu Nama explores the representations of blacks in sci-fi cinema. He notes a shift in the genre in the 1990s and poses the question: “Who explains the centrality of black representation in a genre known for leaving black people out?”

He answers: “Will Smith.”

Nama attributes Smith’s success to his rap career and his popular sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. These reasons focus on components of Smith’s persona that adhere to traditional black stereotypes.

“Who explains the centrality of black representation in a genre known for leaving people out? Will Smith.”

Smith’s work in Men in Black, one of his first commercial successes in the sci-fi genre, supports this interpretation because he released an accompanying rap SONG, which contributed to the movie’s success.

However, other scholars and critics view the increased representation of blackness in 1990s Hollywood with more skepticism. In Framing Blackness, author Ed Guerrero asserts that 90s movies depicted “themes and formulas dealing with black issues and characters that are reassuring to a white audience.

Will Smith’s Sci-Fi Movies Independence Day (1996) Men in Black (1997) Men in Black II (2002) I, Robot (2004) I Am Legend (2007) Hancock (2008) Men in Black III (2012) After-Earth (2013) Hancock 2 (pre-production) I, Robot 2 (pre-production)

Thus, he argues that Hollywood limited representations of blackness.

Guerrero also writes that the newfound popularity of rap music wasn’t a sign of Americans embracing black cultures.

Instead, he explains that there was a new audience, “a vast, crossover, white youth population that [had] come to identify its milder suburban discontents with black anger and rebellion.” He explains that once white culture reappropriated black music, they were willing to embrace the black individuals who produced it, like Smith.

Men in Black, 1997 In a similar vein, movie critic, Victor Wong wrote a piece for Alternative Takes analyzing the role Smith’s blackness played in Men in Black. He points out that the film avoids explicitly acknowledging Smith’s race, only doing so once or twice in the contexts of jokes. He asserts that this shows that Hollywood wants to mask Smith’s blackness. He also argues that Smith’s character was edited -- from the choice of weapon he uses to the way he speaks and behaves -- to counteract black stereotypes and therefore be “safe.”

However, Guerrero’s and Wong’s problems with Hollywood’s representations expose the limitations they themselves place on the definition of blackness. For example, Guerrero is angered by “the juxtaposition of the opulent, soothing image of a black professional class rendered on “The Cosby Show” in contrast to the stark, real-time, genocidal slaughter of urban blacks on the nightly eleven o’clock news.” He seems to reject the reality of black professionals. In doing so, he rejects the idea of multiplicity of black identity.

However, Guerrero’s and Wong’s problems with Hollywood’s representations expose the limitations they themselves place on the definition of blackness.

While these scholars and critics’ opinions are helpful in discussing Hollywood’s representations of blackness, they do not provide an adequate answer to the central question: What is the appropriate representation of blackness? Does each black actor have to adhere to this appropriate representation? Are there as many representation of blackness as there are figures to represent?

Independence Day, 1996

I, Robot, 2004

The future is here.