Afrofuturism was (and still is, to some degree) a major movement within the African-American community, starting in the 50’s with Sun Ra’s unique jazz workings and his “Arkestra”. It later spawned the film Space Is The Place, groups like Parliament-Funkadelic and a slew of other musicians, writers, poets and artists.
“Speculative fiction that treats African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of 20th century technoculture—and, more generally, African-American signification that appropriates images of technology and a prosthetically enhanced future—might, for want of a better term, be called Afrofuturism.”
Mark Dery in “Black to the Future”, 1995.
Fortunately, King Britt has provided us with a concise selection of material to appreciate the cultural aesthetics of this period, with tracks from Sun Ra (of course), Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis as well as modern day proponents Flying Lotus, Jneiro Jarel and Mndsgn. According to Britt, “the mix is part of the Noise From The 18th Floor series, presented by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage”. The mix starts with an interview with Tracy Tanenbaum and the music kicks in at the 8:40 mark.
It’s all good music, so you’re gonna wanna stream/download it below.
EDIT: The original Soundcloud mix was taken down so here’s a Spotify playlist instead.