"I need answers: is OKP cool with Afropunk?" Mon Aug-28-17 07:30 PM by Somnus
I just read an article posted within the comments section of an Afropunk article (dealing w/ Mayweather's spousal abuse) and it's claims, from a supposed insider, that the organization is really ran by an elitist who in truth really has a great disdain for Black Americans and panders more towards the white demographic.
Now I've been to a few of those fest and the vibe, for the most part, seemed cool. But this last one...ehhh, I dunno, something was in the air and it most def wasn't on some "we family" type shit...it was weird, str8 up, to say the least.
So I ask, and also because I've seen a couple of folks on here kinda take a 'meh' stance on the fest, is Afropunk kinfolk?
________________________________________________
The ULTIMATE negation of everything.
The space between despair and orgasm is hard to fill ~ Maron
4. "It's always had that weird vibe to me the times I went" In response to Reply # 0
Granted, they were all in the past five years.
>Now I've been to a few of those fest and the vibe, for the >most part, seemed cool. But this last one...ehhh, I dunno, >something was in the air and it most def wasn't on some "we >family" type shit...it was weird, str8 up, to say the least.
The vibe felt somewhat closed and standoffish, although everyone seemed pretty cool. Just not the same as other underground black folk events in Philly and NYC.
5. "RE: *touches nose with index finger* " In response to Reply # 4
>The vibe felt somewhat closed and standoffish, although >everyone seemed pretty cool. Just not the same as other >underground black folk events in Philly and NYC.
thought I was buggin for a min
guess next time I'll just ditch the snapback and polo and opt for a dashiki and fedora LOL
________________________________________________
The ULTIMATE negation of everything.
The space between despair and orgasm is hard to fill ~ Maron
6. "7 years ago..." In response to Reply # 0 Mon Aug-28-17 09:26 PM by Sarah_Bellum
When Afropunk had black kids actually playing hardcore, punk, metal, screamo and shoe gaze, OKP hated afropunk. Even sacked their boards.
Now that it's changed over to people standing around in freshly acquired vans and "punk rock" costumes to listen to ever so slightly edgy R&B, OKP loves it.
Double 0 DJ/Producer/Artist Producer in Kidz In The Hall ------------------------------------------- twitter: @godouble0 IG: @godouble0 www.thinklikearapper.com
8. "All day long I saw the crowd passing by to go to Afropunk (i live close)" In response to Reply # 0
crowd was pretty young for one
and the originality and free spirit of the first years that I saw (from pictures admittedly) was replaced by a kind of canned hippie-ism, at least from the young people I saw. But overall the people seemed positive and energetic, and seemed to be as a collective pushing boundaries
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79594 posts
Tue Aug-29-17 09:06 AM
16. "haha.. they fucking up your hustle? " In response to Reply # 10
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
11. "Afropunk grew into the thing we needed even if we hate it" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Aug-29-17 02:52 PM by BigReg
Im the nigga that used to get made fun of my rock music tapes so I had to hide em in school in different cases. I went to hella Afropunk related shows in the 00's when they were in dive bars and I cried sellout when the original founder James Spooner left.
So when a few ex-music execs took over Afropunk and quickly pushed young scrappy artists out for more established and mainstream dolla artists in hip-hop and R&B I was disappointed.
Hell, this year the Afropunk stage with actual punk and rock music was a good ten minutes walk AWAY from the main festival in a sad little parking lot behind a skate park...it's insulting to its roots and they shouldn't have even bothered imho.
That said Afropunk is the BLACKITY BLACK festival that is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL.
It's cool seeing a wide variety of blackness; gay club kids, black jack & jill'ers, skaters, nude yoga instagram models, black rockers, and regular ass niggas posted up vibing to Solange. People dancing, people drinking, no beef, with everyone in such a good mood you can walk up to anybody and start a 10 minute conversation based on the vibe alone.
Like Lightworks is right; alot of motherfuckers show up just to show out. But I can't be mad at all the imaginative costumes and seeing black beauty of all kinds.
Its not as if these are monied Fashion Institute students; these are quirky black kids being their best creative selves. I can't be mad at anything that gets 19 year olds from the hood making it into GQ, Elle, etc on some, 'Check out how fashion forward these kids are'.
So while the punk rock kids are gonna have to find new pure spaces, the fact that Afropunk bridges such a large group of blackness under one umbrella makes it a easier for the next generation of BigReg's not having to hide their rock tapes (or rock mp3's, lol)
13. "does it have shit to do with Rock tapes?" In response to Reply # 11 Tue Aug-29-17 08:30 AM by SoWhat
Kids in fedoras and dashikis with chew sticks in their mouths and wearing a Metallica tshirt don't necessarily listen to Rock. Bc they're there to see Solange, not Bad Brains.
14. "That's the point of my post ya bastard!" In response to Reply # 13 Tue Aug-29-17 08:56 AM by BigReg
I KNOW I BE RAMBLING BUT I AINT THAT BAD, SOWHAT
An unabashedly black coachella is long overdue...if we gotta deal with the fashion hypocrisy of a dude there fronting with a Slayer 'South of Heaven' t-shirt with biblical tats and a small jesus piece on (true story) so be it. I saw what I presumed to be a stripper throw on a white dread wig and suddenly she's afropunk ready, lol.
But those are minor 'Gotta keep the scene pure, man' blips in the grand scheme of thousands of black people singing Solange's FUBU, ballroom kids getting the fuck down in broad daylight as opposed to the un-nypd friendly warehouse fringe they've been banished to, and seeing a 14 year old black girl crowdsurf for the very first time.
i like the idea of a Black Coachella. and if it means putting up w/some of the eye-roll-inducing parts of the Afropunk experience then so be it. the benefits are worth it.
i do wish more of the kids wearing Iron Maiden tshirts were into that kind of music for the sake of kids who were like you. but we can't have it all. and a little progress is better than none.
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79594 posts
Tue Aug-29-17 09:08 AM
17. "I thought the whole point was to show up and show out? " In response to Reply # 11
never been but the pictures make it seem like its the one day Black folk get to be "free" in all their weird punk glory.
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
18. "Its roots were to showcase black rock and punk bands" In response to Reply # 17 Tue Aug-29-17 09:17 AM by BigReg
Specifically a place for black kids into said music could vibe and jive. It worked its way up to be a cool festival where you might have a bigger act (lets say bad brains, perhaps a wild card like Badu) anchor it along with some very underground acts. Back then id argue the crowd was more okayplayer-y with just doc martens on one end, regular black skater kids on the other.
The OG founder then basically sold his rights to some ex-music execs (they black tho) and the focus drastically switched and it's what you see today.
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79594 posts
Tue Aug-29-17 09:22 AM
20. "I always viewed the photos as a Burning Man for weird Black folk" In response to Reply # 18
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
22. "At the end of the day it's very milquetoast music festival" In response to Reply # 20
Even shit like weed which should be everywhere I only smelled once in a blue moon. Probably because NYPD roams around periodically which typing it now is getting me irked; I go to festivals on a regular basis in NYC and once you get into the festival grounds the cops disappear...unlike afropunk
The fashion is the most risque thing there...outside some withoutfits its pretty kid friendly.
^ that is Afropunk - that's the point. it's been reconfigured to allow room for more 'weird' black folks who aren't necessarily into Punk/Rock. b/c there are plenty who are 'weird' but still dig acts like Solange.
i love it specifically b/c ppl like him don't get it. i hope that ppl like him will learn something from it though. and if they don't - fuck them.
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79594 posts
Tue Aug-29-17 09:44 AM
27. "lmao.. I was throwing afropunk parties in Richmond in the 90's" In response to Reply # 23
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79594 posts
Tue Aug-29-17 09:49 AM
31. "lol, you think they use Uber to get to AfroPunk? " In response to Reply # 29
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
30. "Oh the cops are cool, just doing the comparison in my head" In response to Reply # 24
because while they were there chillin I don't see them there in that kind of event AT ALL outside of the entrances/very specific posts. Id like to give em the benefit of the doubt and say its because crowds and festivals have been terrorists targets as of late, but fuck em, lol
>in obvious areas...they really didn't seem to be doing much >other than making sure the heat and dust didnt kill anyone > >that med tent is really the only area where i saw them at all >tbh but that was last year
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79594 posts
Tue Aug-29-17 09:45 AM
28. "oh shit, you said weird. lol" In response to Reply # 21
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
37. "yes to all of that. i didn't go this year but i went last year" In response to Reply # 11
my favorite memory was waiting in line for the bathroom and some young black kid came looking for his skateboard, that was right behind me against a fence...he left it there 7 HOURS AGO and it was still there....we all marveled about how awesome that was.
40. "Thank you for this Reg." In response to Reply # 11
We did one of the after parties for Afropunk this year and the sheer variety of blackness in one room was awe inspiring.
all the "too cool for school" black people are in the minority on this one because i saw all types of people at the festival. It's not one type of person going. Only thing they had in common was an explicit desire to be around other black people.
And I can't be mad at that? This is the closest to a Black Woodstock we'll get in this era. Somebody else should go make a more authentic and smaller platform for Black rockers but this one has been taken over by what the people actually want. 10,000 black people singing along to Solange FUBU is worth the sell out imo. We needed this more than that. And I was down with Afropunk and James Spooner from day zero.
> >That said Afropunk is the BLACKITY BLACK festival that is >ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. > >It's cool seeing a wide variety of blackness; gay club kids, >black jack & jill'ers, skaters, nude yoga instagram models, >black rockers, and regular ass niggas posted up vibing to >Solange. People dancing, people drinking, no beef, with >everyone in such a good mood you can walk up to anybody and >start a 10 minute conversation based on the vibe alone. > >Like Lightworks is right; alot of motherfuckers show up just >to show out. But I can't be mad at all the imaginative >costumes and seeing black beauty of all kinds. > >Its not as if these are monied Fashion Institute students; >these are quirky black kids being their best creative selves. >I can't be mad at anything that gets 19 year olds from the >hood making it into GQ, Elle, etc on some, 'Check out how >fashion forward these kids are'. > >So while the punk rock kids are gonna have to find new pure >spaces, the fact that Afropunk bridges such a large group of >blackness under one umbrella makes it a easier for the next >generation of BigReg's not having to hide their rock tapes (or >rock mp3's, lol)
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
She clearly is not as knowledgeable on the subject, which is why she made it more into a personal essay type thing instead of something more authoritative, but she raises the right questions. Here are some excerpts:
"However, the Afropunk of 2017 is a far cry from the inaugural gathering of 2005—not to mention the namesake 2003 documentary by James Spooner that was the inception of it all. In little over a decade, the event has gone from a donation-only gathering to a $55-per-day festival with notable sponsorship from international brands such as Toyota, Coors Light and Red Bull."
"For now, Afropunk-as-genre seems to have been stifled for Afropunk-as-culture, and countering the monolith while also becoming the monolith is a tough tightrope to walk."
42. "She misses the point. Afropunk didn't want to be a genre" In response to Reply # 41 Fri Sep-01-17 09:33 AM by BigReg
Afropunk wasn't a counter culture movement; Afropunk's goal was to be a safe space.
It was push back towards a very narrow accepted view of black culture that entrenched itself from the 80’s into the 90’s. In the 70’s you could be eclectic AND black..shit was expected. By the 90’s…NOPE.
It was a safe space for weird black kids to engage in things that were uncool at the time according to their black peers, (Skating, harder edged rock music and other assorted artsy shit).
And not to have to have to deal with the baggage that comes with being the only POC in a space that’s only full of white people (“Lemmie touch ya hair" "you aren't really black cause you like rock music" "Hey, got any drugs?" lol)
The thing is in 2017 I don’t think you need the Afropunk of 2005. The greatest rapper in the world in Afropunk 2005 was Lil Wayne and a couple of years later that nigga was skateboarding and dropping his own thoroughly shitty rock album. XXXTension just dropped an album that’s PURE 2005 Afropunk, shitty grunge chord progressions and all:
and the current world's greatest rapper, Kendrick, is geeking off it on twitter.
Not saying everything is Kumbaya; queer kids still get it on both sides, I had the pleasure to run into neo-nazi’s at a lightheated punk show early this summer for the first time in over a decade (THANKS TRUMP). It's less us becoming more enlightened than kids growing up in the genre free itunes era. But whatever the reason the needle has shifted.
Like back in the OG Afropunk era shit like this was unimaginable:
We can get into the weeds of what happens when a non-for profit enterprise focused on POC like Afropunk in 2005 turns into a festival behemoth taking rightwing Coors dollars and it would be a great discussion, but considering the state of the world today I can’t get mad at a festival focused on one specific set of black culture has umbrella’ed up into being more inclusive of other black 'countercultures'
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
General Discussion
