the movement

When Matthew Morgan and James Spooner joined forces in 2002, their focus was giving a voice to thousands of multi-cultural kids fiercely identifying with a lifestyle path-less-traveled. Morgan, a visionary with 15 years in the music industry, instinctively understood that the indie rock/punk/hardcore scene had powerful appeal beyond the predictable Caucasian audience; the passion evident in writer-director Spooners hours of riveting hand-shot footage was the indisputable proof. The result: 2003s Afro-Punk, the seminal cult classic film spotlighting Black Punks in America.

Afro-Punk became a touchstone of a cultural movement strongly reminiscent of the early days of Hip-Hop. Alternative urban kids across the nation (and across the globe) who felt like outsiders discovered they were actually the core of a boldly innovative, fast-growing community. The online members have been the driving force behind the exploding Afro-Punk (AP) culture, creating an authentic virtual home in www.afropunk.com, and nurturing the musics best and brightest via expansion of the Liberation Sessions, a live performance series hosted by Spooner.

As the AP movement continued to gain momentum and influence, everyone began to notice. The Liberation Sessions went front-and-center at CMJ and SXSW, press coverage ranged from Pitchfork, URB, Vibe, and Nylon to The New York Times, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, and The Los Angeles Times.

In 2005, the very first annual Afro-Punk Festival debuted to wildly enthusiastic crowds at the iconic Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Co-curated by Morgan and Spooner, the festival celebrated and unified the cultural cornerstones of Afro-Punk: music, film, skate, and most importantly, the fiercely independent and influential individuals that are the lifeblood of the AP community.