AFROPUNK, the radical black counterculture music festival will celebrate it's 10th year anniversary in New York City this weekend. If last year's numbers are any indication, a crowd of over 60,000 can be expected at Brooklyn's Commodore Barry Park.
The festival has grown since its start in 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, thanks to its co-founder Matthew Morgan. Morgan, who is considered the most radical of his four siblings, is the biracial son of a Guyanese father and a Russian-Polish mother. He grew up in England during the 1970s where he witnessed the rise of the rebellious punk rock era.
"I saw young people of color come up at time in the UK where they were pushing back against the government," Morgan told The Huffington Post in a phone interview. "They were pushing back against society in general, and punk rock -- from a white Western sense -- came from that angst and that rebellious nature that was from young black people."
Morgan came to America in 2000, to continue his work with musicians, primarily black artists whose style tends to be outside of the typical norm. Arriving in New York City, he expected to find a more accepting atmosphere, but was instead he says he was greeted by the same attitudes that made him feel like an outcast in London.
It started with a documentary in 2003 simply titled "AfroPunk". The film directed by Morgan and his colleague James Spooner, explores the relationship between race and punk rock, especially the feeling of exclusion and duality in a majority white music genre.
According to the AFROPUNK website, the first festival was held in 2005 at The Brooklyn Academy of Music. "We started...with a notion that it's not that safe for punk rock black kids to go to shows," said Morgan. A decade later and AFROPUNK has an international name and presence, with an inclusive identity for anyone who is "other". This year marks the first year that the festival isn't free, festival-goers can either pay or do community service, such as feeding the homeless, for admission.
"We were going to end up in the poorhouse [for] this thing that we built that people love, so we decided to ask people the ultimate question: are you able to put your hand in your pocket to support this black business that you love that has helped you identify who you are?" Morgan said. While some say punk isn't really punk anymore, Morgan disagrees, saying "AFROPUNK is a mindset…it's not a musical genre."
By Devon Pyne for RAPstation.com
AFROPUNK celebrates 10th anniversary
AFROPUNK, the radical black counterculture music festival will celebrate it's 10th year anniversary in New York City this weekend. If last year's numbers are any indication, a crowd of over 60,000 can be expected at Brooklyn's Commodore Barry Park.
The festival has grown since its start in 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, thanks to its co-founder Matthew Morgan. Morgan, who is considered the most radical of his four siblings, is the biracial son of a Guyanese father and a Russian-Polish mother. He grew up in England during the 1970s where he witnessed the rise of the rebellious punk rock era.
"I saw young people of color come up at time in the UK where they were pushing back against the government," Morgan told The Huffington Post in a phone interview. "They were pushing back against society in general, and punk rock -- from a white Western sense -- came from that angst and that rebellious nature that was from young black people."
Morgan came to America in 2000, to continue his work with musicians, primarily black artists whose style tends to be outside of the typical norm. Arriving in New York City, he expected to find a more accepting atmosphere, but was instead he says he was greeted by the same attitudes that made him feel like an outcast in London.
It started with a documentary in 2003 simply titled "AfroPunk". The film directed by Morgan and his colleague James Spooner, explores the relationship between race and punk rock, especially the feeling of exclusion and duality in a majority white music genre.
According to the AFROPUNK website, the first festival was held in 2005 at The Brooklyn Academy of Music. "We started...with a notion that it's not that safe for punk rock black kids to go to shows," said Morgan. A decade later and AFROPUNK has an international name and presence, with an inclusive identity for anyone who is "other". This year marks the first year that the festival isn't free, festival-goers can either pay or do community service, such as feeding the homeless, for admission.
"We were going to end up in the poorhouse [for] this thing that we built that people love, so we decided to ask people the ultimate question: are you able to put your hand in your pocket to support this black business that you love that has helped you identify who you are?" Morgan said. While some say punk isn't really punk anymore, Morgan disagrees, saying "AFROPUNK is a mindset…it's not a musical genre."
By Devon Pyne for RAPstation.com
