Afropunk Festival Explained

Years Active:2005-Present

Afropunk Festival is an annual arts festival that features music, film, fashion, and art produced by alternative black artists.

The Afropunk Festival began in 2005, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. By 20218 Afropunk Festivals had also been held in various major cities, including Atlanta, Paris, France, London, UK, Salvador, Brazil, Dakar, Senegal, and Johannesburg, South Africa. The festival was founded and conceived by Matthew Morgan and the film component was co-founded by James Spooner, which grew out of the 2003 documentary titled Afro-Punk which studied black punks across America.[1] produced by Morgan and written by Spooner.

History

See also: Afro-Punk (film).

2005-2008

The festival was targeted towards black alternative-minded punks and supported by The Brooklyn Academy of Music. As the festival grew and the music industry became more diverse, the musical curation shifted towards reaching a broader black audience and the festival also began charging an admission fee.[2] Due to festival alterations that deviated from the original Afropunk culture, former co-founder, James Spooner ended his involvement in 2008.[3]

2009-2019

Jocelyn A. Cooper became involved with the festival in 2009. Afropunk Festival grew to hundreds and thousands of attendees,[4] expanding into the cities of Atlanta, Paris, London, Johannesburg South Africa, Salvador, Brazil, Miami, and Minneapolis.[5]

2020-Present

Afropunk is acquired by entrepreneur Richelieu Dennis and Essence Ventures.[6]

Criticisms

Having emerged from political punk roots, Afropunk Festival has faced criticism at times,[7] including backlash over booking artists such as MIA,[8] Ice Cube[9] and Tyler the Creator.[10]

Attendees have also critiqued the values of Afropunk's organizers surrounding LGBQT concerns, treatment of employees, and its corporate leanings. Some attendees critique the festival for appealing to white audiences,[11] including an instance of attendees being removed from an area of the festival for wearing a homemade t-shirt critical of the event.[12] In August of 2018, Afropunk's Editor-In-Chief resigned after over a decade of work for Afropunk citing mistreatment and a corporate agenda he labeled "performative activism".[13] [14]

Performers

Brooklyn, July 3-8, 2009

[15]

Brooklyn, June 25-27, 2010

[16]

2011 cancelation

Cancelled due to Hurricane Irene.[17]

Brooklyn, August 25-26, 2012

Brooklyn, August 24-25, 2013

[18]

Brooklyn, August 23-24, 2014

[19]

Brooklyn, August 22-23, 2015

[20]

Brooklyn, August 27-28, 2016

[21]

Brooklyn, August 26-27, 2017

[22]

Paris, July 14-15, 2018

[23]

Brooklyn, August 25-26, 2018

Atlanta, October 13-14, 2018

Johannesburg, December 30-31, 2018

[24]

Paris, July 13-14, 2019

[25]

Brooklyn, August 24-25, 2019

[26]

Atlanta, October 12-13, 2019

[27]

Johannesburg, December 30-31, 2019

[28]

Virtual, October 23-25, 2020

[29]

Atlanta, September 25-26, 2021

[30] [31]

Miami, May 20-22, 2022

[32]

Minneapolis, June 18-19, 2022

[33]

Brooklyn, September 10-11, 2022

[34]

Bahia, November 26-27, 2022

[35]

Manhattan, February 24-25, 2023

[36]

Brooklyn, August 26-27, 2023

[37]

References

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Notes and References

  1. https://www.villagevoice.com/2013/08/21/afropunk-started-with-a-documentary-ten-years-two-websites-and-eight-festivals-later/ AfroPunk Started With a Documentary
  2. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/gentrifying-afropunk Gentrifying AfroPunk
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/15/we-still-need-to-be-seen-behind-the-rise-of-black-punk-culture We Still Need to be Seen: The Rise of Black Punk Culture
  4. Web site: Is Afropunk Fest No Longer Punk?. Josephs. Brian. August 17, 2015. VICE. March 7, 2017.
  5. Web site: Jocelyn Cooper. Naasel. Kenrya. 11 May 2015. Fast Company. 11 May 2017.
  6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestheculture/2021/09/08/richelieu-denniss-essence-ventures-has-acquired-beautycon-media-inc-will-take-over-beautycon-festival/?sh=14b098292d0c Richelieu Dennis’s Essence Ventures Has Acquired BeautyCon Media, Inc.
  7. https://mg.co.za/article/2017-05-19-00-afropunks-growing-gains-and-pains AfroPunk's Growing Pains
  8. Web site: M.I.A.'s Provocative Pop . www.newyorker.com.
  9. Web site: Ice Cube Justifies Lyrics . www.huffingtonpost.com.
  10. Web site: Rappers and Rape . www.theguardian.com.
  11. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cultural-appropriation-ally-afropunk How to be a Good Ally at AfroPunk
  12. https://www.theroot.com/couple-thrown-out-of-afropunk-for-protest-t-shirt-quest-1828793292 Couple Thrown Out Of AfroPunk VIP
  13. https://www.thefader.com/2018/09/05/afropunk-editor-resigns-cites-performative-activism-employee-mistreatment-open-letter Afropunk Editor Resigns
  14. https://www.vibe.com/2018/10/afropunk-festival-staff-reports-abuse/ Festival Staff Abuse, Vibe Magazine
  15. Web site: "Afro-Punk – 2009 Brooklyn festival dates & lineup (Janelle Monae, Living Colour, Earl Greyhound, Saul Williams…)". 2023-05-13. 2021-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20211127085717/https://www.brooklynvegan.com/afropunk-2009-b/. live.
  16. Web site: "Afropunk '10 NYC - AFRO-PUNK". 2023-05-13. 2011-02-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20110220150557/http://www.afropunk.com/page/afropunk-10-nyc. dead.
  17. Web site: "Afropunk Festival - August 25-26 2012 - Commodore Barry Park Brooklyn, New York". 2023-05-13. 2014-08-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20140824004350/http://afropunkfest.com/2012/#the-bands. dead.
  18. Web site: "AFROPUNK FEST :: August 24-25 2013 - Commodore Barry Park, Brooklyn | New York". 2023-05-13. 2014-08-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20140829234505/http://afropunkfest.com/2013/#the-bands. dead.
  19. Web site: "Bands - AFROPUNK FEST :: August 23-24 2014". 2023-05-13. 2014-08-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20140829234648/http://afropunkfest.com/the-bands/. dead.
  20. Web site: "This Lineup Proves Why AfroPunk Festival Is A Must-See This Year". 2023-04-29. 2021-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614130248/https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/afropunk-2015-brooklyn-lineup-352183/. live.
  21. Web site: "afropunk announces additions to 2016 brooklyn lineup including laura mvula, yaadcore, ho99o9, blxpltn, sir the baptist & more | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-29. 2023-04-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20230429211024/https://afropunk.com/2016/07/afropunk-announces-additions-to-2016-brooklyn-lineup-including-laura-mvula-yaadcore-ho99o9-blxpltn-sir-the-baptist-more/. live.
  22. Web site: "AFROPUNK Returns to Brooklyn in 2017 with Gary Clark Jr, Kaytranada, Dizzee Rascal & More". 2023-04-29. 2022-10-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20221005064923/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/afropunk-brooklyn-2017-lineup-7752290/. live.
  23. Web site: "Afropunk Brooklyn 2018 Line-up Announced | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2023-01-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20230129232106/https://afropunk.com/2018/03/afropunk-brooklyn-2018-line-announced/. live.
  24. Web site: "joburg! afropunk joburg 2018 lineup announced! | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2023-04-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20230422230731/https://afropunk.com/2018/07/joburg-afropunk-joburg-2018-lineup-announced/. live.
  25. Web site: "Paris | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2019-10-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20191009111251/https://afropunk.com/festival/paris/. live.
  26. Web site: "BROOKLYN | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2019-10-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20191003062053/https://afropunk.com/festival/brooklyn/. live.
  27. Web site: "Afropunk Presents: The Carnival of Consciousness 2019". 2023-04-22. 2023-04-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20230422191019/https://newnoisemagazine.com/afropunk-presents-the-carnival-of-consciousness-2019/. live.
  28. Web site: "JOBURG | AFROPUNK". 2023-11-04. 2023-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20231105030409/https://afropunk.com/festival/joburg/. live.
  29. Web site: "AFROPUNK EXTENDS LINEUP FOR 2020 VIRTUAL FESTIVAL PLANET AFROPUNK | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-29. 2021-10-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20211017083208/https://afropunk.com/2020/10/afropunk-extends-lineup-for-2020-virtual-festival-planet-afropunk/. live.
  30. Web site: "ATLANTA | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2022-05-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20220527195350/https://afropunk.com/festival/atlanta-2/. live.
  31. Web site: "Buy Tickets to AFROPUNK ATLANTA 2021 in Atlanta on Sep 25, 2021 - Sep 26,2021". 2023-04-22. 2022-05-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220512182449/https://wl.seetickets.us/event/AFROPUNK-ATLANTA-2021/433602?afflky=Afropunk. live.
  32. Web site: "Line-up | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2022-05-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20220527101445/https://afropunk.com/festival/miami/line-up/. live.
  33. Web site: "Minneapolis Festival Line up | Event Is Closed | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2023-04-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20230419052802/https://afropunk.com/festival/minneapolis/line-up/. live.
  34. Web site: "BROOKLYN 2022 | AFROPUNK". 2023-04-22. 2023-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20230418190552/https://afropunk.com/festival/brooklyn/. live.
  35. Web site: "Bahia 2022 | AFROPUNK". 2023-11-04. 2023-06-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20230628174815/https://afropunk.com/festival/bahia/. live.
  36. Web site: "Black HERSTORY | AFROPUNK". 2023-11-04. 2023-06-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20230628175533/https://afropunk.com/festival/blackherstory/. live.
  37. Web site: "Brooklyn 2023 | AFROPUNK". 2023-11-04. 2023-08-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20230827095628/https://afropunk.com/festival/brooklyn/. live.

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