On the heels of announcing the first wave of artists for the festival, AFROPUNK, the renowned festival and movement, returns to share a new round of talent. Bringing together the largest virtual gathering of the worldwide Black creative community into one curated online space for the first time in its 15-year history, PLANET AFROPUNK will also host Oscar and Grammy award-winning Chicago rapper Common for a performance powered by Bose, Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade, Sudanese-American artist Dua Saleh, genre-fluid band ASIATICA, North Carolina experimental four-piece BLACK HAÜS, Kenyan Nyege Nyege affiliate and rapper MC Yallah, and Soweto punk rockers TCYIF alongside the previously-announced Ari Lennox, Tiwa Savage, Moses Sumney, and Smino just to name a few. PLANET AFROPUNK will be co-hosted by actress and UNHCR Ambassador Nomzamo Mbatha, Bahia cool hunter and entrepreneur Loo Nascimento, as well as OG AFROPUNK fam Gitoo.
Additionally, AFROPUNK Bahia, supported by the Salvador Convention Center as the host for some of these vibrant performances, will have new additions to their sets. The previously-announced Brazilian artist Larissa Luz will now be joined by legendary Bahia singer / percussionist Carlinhos Brown, ten-piece Afro-Brazilian band Afrocidade will feature guest appearances from Majur and Mahal Pita, and ÀTTØØXXÁ’s set will also feature an appearance by the rapper Hiran.
AFROPUNK Bahia will also feature Solution Sessions Brasil and Afterdark. Powered by Bradesco, Solution Sessions Brasil puts at the center of the debate the trajectories of the great Black names that intersect to promote solutions, propositions and Black perspectives about the future of Black entrepreneurship and Afro Tourism, the importance of strengthening the Black community and the power of Black influence. Taking place after the performances on the Global stage, Afterdark features the brand new musical scene in Bahia and presents new mixes and an eclectic and electrifying lineup. Red Bull’s energy will also be responsible for keeping the high vibration of the AFROPUNK Bahia audience. The result is bound to be a festival unlike anything you’ve seen from AFROPUNK yet, with performances streaming everywhere from Atlanta, South Africa, Los Angeles, Nigeria, the UK, and Botswana just to name a few.
The festival is also set to host “Punk is Jazz, Jazz is Punk,” a conversation with Grammy Award winners Robert Glasper and Terrace Martin moderated by curator Tyree Boyd – Pates. At face value, it’s hard to imagine something that could be further in sound and structure from “Jazz” than “Punk Rock” but Punk and Jazz have elements in common — the most important being attitude. Whether it came from the boundary-pushing free Jazz of the late ‘50s or the experimental electronic sounds of the late 60’s and 70’s, the spirit of adventure, creativity and general fuck the system, throw “the rules” out the window mentality has always been a part of Jazz’s historical trajectory and is what makes it Punk. Punk is anti-rules. Terrace and Roberts’ ability to merge Jazz with some of today’s biggest Hip Hop stars, Soul Singers and old Jazz greats is testament to musical renegade mentality. We want to dig into and dissect their ethos and delve into the future melding of Jazz, Punk, Rock and Hip Hop into a genre fluid expression of Blackness.
PLANET AFROPUNK will also feature a premiere list of speakers including actor and activist Jesse Williams, comedian and actress Amanda Seales, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah correspondent Dulcé Sloan, and multimedia journalist Ivie Anie. Also joining the lineup is media personality Ashlee Marie Preston, singer-songwriter and model Dawn Richard, and activist Tamika D. Mallory. See full lineup details below with newly announced performers in bold:
Afrobapho Afrocidade feat. Majur and Mahal Pita Ari Lennox Arka’n Asrafokor ASIATICA ÀTTØØXXÁ feat. Hiran Balimaya Project Blac Rabbit BLACK HAÜS Blinky Bill Bongeziwe Mabandla Bootsy Collins Common DJ Poison Ivy DJ Ruckus Dua Saleh Duckwrth DUMA Duo B.A.V.I. Durand Bernarr Ecko Bazz Elaine Jahmed Johnny Cradle Jonah Mutono KIRBY Larissa Luz +Carlinhos Brown Loshh Lous and the Yakuza Masego Mayra Andrade MC Yallah Mereba Meshell N’Dege Ocello Moonchild Sanelly Moonga K. Moses Sumney Muneyi Muzi Nêssa Rebelmatic Sampa The Great Serpentwithfeet Smino Solo Ntsizwa Ka Mthimkhulu Songhoy Blues T. Nava Tawiah TCIYF The Veldt Theon Cross Tiana Major9 Tiwa Savage Tobe Nwigwe Tomi Agape TrapFunk & Alívio Ukhoikhoi Virus Yan Cloud Yves Tumor
Speakers: Amanda Seales Ashlee Marie Preston Blerdcon Bridget Todd Dawn Richard Dulcé SloanIvie Anie Jesse Williams Maimouna Youssef AKA Mumu Fresh Robert Glasper Tamika D. Mallory Terrace Martin
PLANET AFROPUNK – the theme and destination of this year’s Black cultural explosion is taking place on October 23-25. AFROPUNK’S 2020 festival pays homage to the reality that the upheavals experienced over the course of the year are far from novel; they have been central to the Black experience across space and time, which is recognized in this year’s theme, “PLANET AFROPUNK: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE IS BLACK.”
As a result of our unique partnerships, PLANET AFROPUNK will be a completely free virtual experience for its entire global audience, made solely possible by its brand partners. Festival-goers will be given an option to donate money to organizations including Black Futures Lab, Color of Change, Movement for Black Lives, Equal Justice Initiative, Fair Count, and The Bail Project among others.
By enabling Black culture to be surfaced
in new ways through technology, AFROPUNK is opening up a unique space to create the most polarizing conversations that are needed in pop culture.
Through PLANET AFROPUNK, a space that has been curated for the global Black community to explore and celebrate the depth and breadth of what it means to be Black on this planet. As the engine room of the Black experience, PLANET AFROPUNK is a fluid, digital space designed to embrace the plurality of Black stories and individualities that are experienced through Black music, art, conversation and activism, across borders and continents.
Following the events of this year, PLANET AFROPUNK has been designed to encourage the continued live interaction, activism and debate on racial justice normally associated with its physical festival. There will be space curated to explore everything from politics and social justice, meditation and Black self-care, through to the trend-setting cultural hot-takes emanating within the Black community. With this year’s festival taking place just ten days before the US 2020 presidential election, the intent of these conversations will be to bring momentum to community engagement, find collective solutions to long-standing issues affecting the Black community and to, most of all, encourage the AFROPUNK community to vote.
PLANET AFROPUNK will create new ways to experience the next generation of Black creativity, music and culture through the support of this year’s many partners, who will power AFROPUNK’s iconic digital destinations, alongside VERIZON, who is helping to charge our incredible artist lineup for AFROPUNK’S festival on the World Stage, and BOSE, who is supporting the audience’s musical discovery journey through a special set from Masego, Serpentwithfeet and Jonah Mutono also on the World stage and TEQUILA DONJULIO 1942 who is powering sets by DJ Poison Ivy and DJ Ruckus. This year’s digital destinations include:
- Ideaville, powered by Target, will be one of the most exciting and anticipated destinations at PLANET AFROPUNK. With keynote speakers, AFROPUNK Solution Sessions and luminary interviews, Ideaville will empower connections between people, ideas and solutions. With AFROPUNK, Target will spotlight Black voices and stories, while creating a safe space for all of AFROPUNK’s communities, featuring a Black Queer Town Hall and community soapbox. Target has partnered with Penguin Random House to uplift Black voices by featuring a selection of NY-Times best-selling authors in our Rock N’ Read Bookstore and powering author readings and conversations.
- Bites&Beats will return this year delivered by Grubhub, which will be offering virtual festival-goers access to exclusive experiences and Perks from restaurants across North America. CÎROC VODKA and CROWN ROYAL REGAL APPLE have partnered with Ghetto Gastro to bring Planet AFROPUNK lively and delicious conversations about culture through cuisine in Bites & Beats. The Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia joins Planet AFROPUNK to share one of her favorite recipes: Booty Poppin Potatoes and shows us how to make a Red Bull Tropical Tequila cocktail.
- Art & Times will create an immersive gallery experience, celebrating hand-picked work from South African artists in collaboration with Esprit, showcasing how unusual and original combinations create something truly unique.
- Hair & Beauty Village will explore all of the facets of Black hair through the eyes of creators, innovators, visionaries and artists to manifest conversations, creativity and community. Hair plays a central role in the identity, self-concept and political consciousness of Black people, and Maui Moisture will be powering important conversations on-platform for festival-goers.
- Activism Row will generate discussions on criminal justice reform, the failings of the criminal legal system and the systemic racism and segregation plaguing the public school system. Ben & Jerry’s will highlight how partner organizations like The Advancement Project National Office, Close the Workhouse Coalition, and Power U work to eliminate injustices in Black communities nationwide. Non-profit organization AARP will also be celebrating Black roots and activism through a video tribute and encouraging voter engagement.
- Spinthrift Market will feature a curated selection of Black-owned vendors from around the world. Guests will discover makers and creators across many different product areas including beauty, fashion, wellness, gifts, services and more.
Nichelle Sanders, Strategic Advisor at AFROPUNK, said:“Being Black on planet earth is like science fiction. With the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many others, we have seen the pain and trauma of the past resurrected, and all while suffering through a global pandemic. But, as Black people, our unity and creativity are our greatest weapon against oppression and adversity. To convene a global family reunion at this moment in time is therefore essential.
“Now more than ever we need the resilience and creativity of our community to keep our culture alive and thriving. In creating PLANET AFROPUNK we’ve designed a safe space for our community to celebrate and inspire, cry and shout, and to heal and motivate one another. AFROPUNK’s approach to activism and fighting oppression has always been to celebrate Black music, art and culture – and ultimately Black joy. The AFROPUNK community is global, and we’ve built this planet to connect seamlessly. All across the world we are connecting in sameness and in difference to discover the joy in our Blackness, but also in the visual and musical artists and authors. And this is what AFROPUNK enables.
“We can’t wait to see the faces, hear the voices and connect the AFROPUNK community – as unique, expressive and unapologetic as it is – to each other. Welcome to PLANET AFROPUNK!”
For AFROPUNK, music, art, supporting Black-owned businesses and in-depth conversations will be the foundation of this global community’s three-day virtual reunion. There will also be opportunities to circulate the Black dollar at this year’s all-digital Spinthrift Market with AFROPUNK’s community of small businesses, artisans and restaurants, as well as a chance to focus on mindfulness and restoration at AFROPUNK’s first-ever Radical Self-Care destination.
PLANET AFROPUNK will be streamed at PLANETAFROPUNK.com with exclusive content on Facebook Live from October 23 to October 25. Details on how to RSVP can be found at PLANETAFROPUNK.com.
