Last week, a woman named Akua found this site. Her question was simple:
A question for you: do you have any suggestions for finding people who are into black rock to talk to and hang out with or bands to go see? I’m in the Boston area.
So what follows is an expansion on the suggestions I gave her. Here goes:
BLACK ROCK SOCIAL NETWORKS
Afropunk. This is a well-known destinatoin thanks to James Spooner’s film and the festival that was inspired by it.
URB Alt. This social network just launched a few weeks ago, but is an outgrowth of the festival of the same name. It’s been in NY for the last three years, and is expanding to LA in October.
MYSPACE DESTINATIONS
Afropick. A vibrant community in Philly that also does offline events.
Unofficially Afropunk. Based out of Alabama, this seems to be an active online community based on comments to the blog posts.
WEB SITES
- The Black Rock Coalition. Heading into its 25th year in 2010, the BRC is a mainstay. Period. They’re on MySpace, as well as a recently launched Web 2.0 site called SlaveToTheIsm. BRC also does a weekly newsletter that advances shows nationally and internationally, which you can sign up for by sending the BRC an email. Also, start checking out the artists who are their friends and I’m sure you’ll find some you like.
- Soul Patrol. Bob Davis has been supporting the full spectrum of Black music for more than a minute.
- Primordial Punk. Reclaiming culture, pure and simple.
- Ghetto Metal. Where the hip hop community rocks out, thanks to the support of Bazaar Royale, M-1 of Dead Prez, and rapper DMX.
BLOGS
- AllAboutGeorge. For a while George maintained the blog blipster.info, but has since folded everything into his personal blog.
- Audiologo. Fellow traveler audiologo thoughtfully covers a wide range of Black alt culture here, including music, literature and visual art.
- The Couch Sessions. Founders Stone and Rome focus on the DC music scene and focus more on underground hip hop and R&B, but also embrace rock and alternative music. They’re good brothas who know and love a lot of music, and they’re not afraid to share it with their readers.
- The Electronic Mayhem of Jack Davey. The irrepressible Miss Jack Davey blogs here.
- Riffs & Revolutions. Michael Gonzales shares his all-abiding love
for a broad range of Black music here on this site that’s part of
Uptown Magazine. - Stuff Educated Black People Talk About. I recently learned that a number of this site’s readers are interested in Black rock. And I dig their tagline:" Having our assumptions challenged is how we grow intellectually." Amen.
- Writing is Fighting. Laina Dawes covers rock and metal Toronto.
MAGAZINES
These publications focus on emerging/underground/left of center/hipster artists, and you can occasionally find articles on brothas and sistas who are defying convention.
Chances are, if you’re open, you’ll find a lot of artists that you’ll want to follow. Send ‘em friend requests on Facebook or MySpace. Better yet—particularly for the artists who aren’t based in your area—you can set up a free account on Tourfilter. That way, you’ll get email alerts when you they hit clubs in your area.
Now, I’m sure I’ve left out some great resources. First, my apologies. Second, chime in below in the comments section and let us know what they are.
Beyond that, it’s up to you to be adventurous. The community is here and there are a lot of places for anyone to join in.
