We are pleased to announce the BATTLE OF THE BANDS finalists! These top 20 bands will BATTLE IT OUT at Freecandy in Brooklyn, NY June 3-6 for a chance to play the final 4 and win a slot at AFROPUNK FEST 2013! We would like to publicly congratulate these bands on their hard work and integrity throughout the voting process, and look forward to the hard-hitting show to follow. Best of luck to all…

R&B and soul took a dark turn when synths got good enough to almost realistically replicate the sound of a full orchestra in the late 80's. A sound more or less defined by raw human emotion and lush (AKA expensive) arrangements traded a big chunk of it's human element in exchange for “sure that sounds enough like a violin and just saved us a few hundred bucks in session fees!” So it's encouraging to see the triumphant return of the orchestra in R&B. The latest in this…

What's new? How do I feel? How I feel? This means more to me than I have ever let you know or will ever say because words can never describe. There is no beat that's raw enough, No flow that’s Pure enough, no mic that's clear enough to effectively express what I’m doing. "It’s not about drums, drugs, and hospital drips, oh no. There's more there than that, my friend. We all like a bit of the good life - some the money, some the drugs, others the sex game, the glamour, or the fame" But this…

Dope movie 'An Oversimplification of her Beauty' is opening around the US. Don't miss it guys!



Started 4/26 – New York, NY

- Cinema Village

Showtimes: 1:05p 2:45p 4:25p 6:05p 7:50p 9:30p

Q&A with Terence Nance hosted by Tambay Obenson, Sat 4/27 at 7:50pm.

- Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Lincoln Center

Showtimes: Varied. See …

Watch Watch K-OS perform "Try Again" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon is one of the best late night shows out there with young and interesting guest, THE ROOTS Crew is the house band, and they always have the best musical guests. Toronto multi-talent K-OS…

Give it up for the OGs! It's getting jazzy, funky and bluesy in here with 'Back To The Dark Side Of The Moon: A 40th Anniversary Tribute' to Pink Floyd's seminal album, a project directed by Melvin Gibbs - founding member of the Black Rock Coalition, Punk Funk All-Stars, etc. It features dope vocalists & musicians such as Nona Hendryx, Bernard Fowler (who's worked with The Rolling Stones for over 25 years), Corey Glover (Living Colour), and more. Check out some intense…

AFROPUNK Fam! 'Let Fury Have the Hour' is a dope film about creative counter-culture featuring Chuck D of Public Enemy, Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Boots Riley of The Coup, Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat, Wayne Kramer of MC5, among others.

Sharing "powerful tales of how they transformed anger and angst into provocative art and ideas". Music, activism, skate, art, education and more.

The movie is…

The term “feminism,” in our society, is one that is often misinterpreted, understood only by way of pop cultural references that serve to mock and berate the movement and its ideologies. When many people hear “feminism,” they think of overzealous, hyper-aggressive women that despise all men. When many people hear “feminism,” they often imagine said women as…

If growing up a Black kid listening to "white" post-hardcore and screamo music in suburban northern Virginia didn’t make me feel odd enough, I too had to cope with the social consequences of my sexuality and effeminacy. Constantly bombarded with remarks on my mannerisms, the feminine inflections in my voice and the way I ran in gym class, I realized that something about me was contradictory to preconceived notions of what a Black male “should” be. When I came to college I…

Think you've got what it takes to play the big stage at AFROPUNK FEST '13! Here's your shot!

AFROPUNK is hosting BATTLE OF THE BANDS. The 16 bands with the most votes will get to battle it out in Brooklyn.

It's simple:…

During last night’s Oscars ceremony, satirical publication The Onion called 9-year old actress and nominee, Quvenzhané Wallis, a “cunt” via its Twitter page.

By: Justin Allen, AFROPUNK Contributor

As a Black…

NEW LURK CITY - NEVER NOT LURKIN' HOUSE OF VANS LIVE (MIXTAPE)…

It's Black History Month! Join The Peculiar Kind onTumblr every Monday as we show love and honor black owned businesses, entrepreneurs, creatives, legends and leaders in our community.

Until then, check out the season no. 2 teaser... (We're Baaa-aack with new faces & new voices on February 28th 2013 9PM EST.)…

Our Friends over at Vans invited New Lurk’s City own Migs Migster and Skip Rage down to tear the house down for their First “House Of Vans OM” Event. There was penty of free beer, free pizza, and ALOT of moshing and raging! Along side on the Mic with King Abs and…

By Frantz Cayo



Beasts of the Southern Wild was nominated in multiple categories for the 2013 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and the youngest Best Actress nominee of all time, Quvenzhane Wallis. As an independent film, many people have still not seen this film ($11 million total revenue in the United States) and I am telling you need to go to iTunes (or however you download films) and check it out. I am not going to get into the whole plot summary…

It's been a happy New Year so far, but an even happier YEAR OF THE AFRO! Like all January's, many of you have taken this year as an opportunity to begin anew. Whether that be in mind, body, spirit or HAIR the new year represents a fresh start! We're on the same journey, and we're gonna start from the head down. In our history, its revolutionary to wear ones hair naturally-- wearing hair how it grows out of ones head, is an act of rebellion. So be it! If the start of the year means a…

We came across this article on GLAAD.org so we had to share it with you.

REMEMBERING HOMELESS YOUTH DURING THE HOLIDAYS

As families across the country gather to celebrate the holidays, it’s important to remember the many people, particularly LGBTQ-identified youth, who are without a permanent home or family simply because of who they are and love.

In fact, a census conducted by the Empire State Coalition and released by the New York City Council in 2008, found…

Download the latest album from NY rocker, Millsted "An Ocean of Storms"