On the Verge of AfroFuturism and Sa-Ra the Creative Partners

Here's an artistic video expression piece I did a sitting for.  When I did it, I was like "Huh?" Then Ol' girl April Banks told me her piece got accepted to the AfroFuturism Tour.  I guess they thought her art was "All that," but a part of me likes to think that it was my "DPisM" that freaked it. 
*I'm also trying out this new media player.  Let me know if it sucks. 

Speaking of Afrofuturism, could this be were we are headed?  Or even a better question; Do we control the direction of Afrofuturism? I say "we" because if you're reading this you're "on line" and there is clearly a distinct crowd of Black folk:

1. Those on line
2. And those who don't even have an email

Remarkably, there is a whole population of Black folk that suffer from technology deprivation.  The root of this affliction often stems from political factors ranging from inner-city education to impoverished households... Ironically, Chuck D spoke on this very reality when the Internet was in its' early infancy during the early 1990's.  He saw it then as a form of racism and he continues to encourage Black people of all ages to embrace technology in order to stay abreast with the rest of the world, or get left behind.

As more and more Black people embrace the web through blogging, I'm amazed at how many dedicate time and energy to put down our celebrities, icons and gossip about who's screwin' who...

Then again there are those dedicated to intelligent conversation and pushing the technolgy and artistic envelope that George Clinton and Sun Ra created. These writers/artist/epxpressionist are doing it through technology, art, and the Internet. And they're combining all of the above with their imagination so we can stretch our minds past 2006 and beyond. 

I wanna point out some dope artist who are pushing AfroFuturism forward: Sa Ra. I actually ran into the main kat Taz when I was in LA chillin on a supa dinner date.  I was kinda star struck but I approached dude anyway especially since it looked like nobody knew who the hell he was.

dpm:  Is this the bathroom?..

Taz: It's over there.

dpm: Oh shit! Sa Ra, right?

Taz: Yeah man.  My name is Taz....

dpm: Word.  I'm Deepium.  It's a pleasure.  I love y'allz shit.  Y'all are like Parliament 2006

Taz: Word?!  That's a big compliment.  Thanks.

dpm: It turns out that I wrote an article about the ABB Records for BInformed magazine outta Philly and I mentioned you guys as one of their projects...

Taz: Yeah man, we just signed with Kanye's label, "Good Music."

dpm: No shit?!

Taz: Yeah man.  We got a sampler floating around but check for the single next month.  The full lenth should drop in June.

dpm: Word man.  I can't wait for that shit.  That Double Dutch Co-Co Pops was my shit!

Taz:  Thanks man.  Catch us at Sa-Ra.net. Do you have a site?

dpm: Ah yeah, it's ah...  onthevergeofdatingwhitegirls.com

Taz: (looking at me kinda crazy) Word?

dpm: Yeah man.  It's on some Black shit.

Taz:  Ok. 

dpm: Word man.  It was nice meeting you.  I gotta go piss...

(We shook hands and that was it: Taz from Sa-Ra)  Peep 'em y'all...And they're on Kanye's new label Good Music? I hear this label is supposed to put Kanye on status with Diddy and Bad Boy Records...  We'll see. 

Word to the Verge!

Comments

[The Phoenix]

YaY! I'm first...great post. There ARE still a lot of folks behind in the times. I'm glad my parents got hip and "connected" a few years ago. Now my mother uses the internet to research EVERYTHING! And my father is busy e-hustlin on E-bay! HAHAHA

[Supa]

Good shit!

[dpm]

It's my belief that as Hip Hop becomes more WhiteLuted, AfroFuturistic art forms will emerge as pop culture.

One thing I've always noticed about P-Funk is that you can't front on it if you ain't Black. The essential ingredient in Funk is rhythm and Blackness. If you can't dance... You cain't dance.

That's what the whole Parliament story of "Mr. Big Nose" was all about. Mr Big nose was the white man trying to catch the groove...

My fellow Funkateers feel me...

[EmergingPhoenix]

I have to check the video thing out, it sounds great. I was actually looking for something to host a streaming video I had wanted to post on my site recently, and had a hard time finding something that had all the things I needed. Now I have to go back and resurrect that project, and see if it is compatible with One True Media...

[Tee]

Hey, I've met Taz B4. As a matter of fact I've been to his home. The guys of Sa-Ra are some of the coolest kats you could ever meet. Taz is the stylist, O'mas is the serious one and Shafiq is the quiet one. I love their music and I love them as Black Men. Look forward to seeing them perform.