In 2013, I published this essay on IndieWire/Shadow and Act and it was later republished in This Is Africa as " "Art Criticism: is the prefix ‘Afro-’ (as in “Afro-futurism”) arresting our imagination and manifesto salesmanship?" The essay proposed that the "Afro-" prefix functioned as a marketing tool that tethered the African imagination to Western manifestos rather than allowing for a sovereign identity. The essay prompted a variety of responses from movement leaders, including Rasheedah Phillips (The Afrofuturist Affair) and Sherese Francis , and has since been cited in academic research: D. Scot Miller (October 04, 2016): In his essay "Afrosurreal: The Marvelous And The Invisible," the author of The Afrosurreal Manifesto identified my work as the "prime example" of the critique against the "Afro-" prefix. Rasheedah Phillips & Sherese Francis (2014): In direct response to the essay, Phillips (The Afrofuturist Affair)...
My Interview with Boots Riley Originally Published: 23 May 2019 Additional Edits: 30 January 2026 Hey guys. I recently watched Sorry to Bother You , and it bothered me so much that I had to process it creatively. I decided to do an interview with the director, Mr. Boots Riley. Read it if it's your thing. Also, watch the movie—it's worth the discussion. (Note: This is a fake interview for fun and satirical purposes. I mean no harm by it; I’m just exploring the outsider views & themes.) Me: I am here with Boots Riley, the director of the anti-capitalist movie Sorry to Bother You . Thanks, Boots, for joining me. Boots: Yeah, yeah, let's get this done with. Me: First question. What I found interesting in your movie is that there are no robots in it! It feels somewhat weird to have a movie critiquing capitalism in 2018 with no robots, while in real life, people are losing jobs to automation. I’ve even received telemarketing calls from machines... they replaced workers ...