Musical
Futures

Since the advent of Sun Ra’s cosmic-inspired jazz in the mid-1950s, music has served as an essential mouthpiece of Afrofuturism. With music, Afrofuturism and its central themes of innovation and liberation reach a global audience, providing a sonic platform for futurist ideas. Along with the creation of otherworldly sounds in popular music, musicians have adapted and utilized new musical technologies such as keyboards, recording equipment, synthesizers, and effects pedals to create new musical languages—liberating music from traditional forms and freeing artists to explore a wider range of sounds—and thematic meanings—in their music.