American rapper, actor, writer, philanthropist, and activist Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn better known by his stage name Common (formerly Common Sense) poses during a photo session in Paris, on 14 September 2019. Image:
Joel Saget / AFP
Planet Afropunk Festival 2020: It’s global, it’s massive and it’s going virtual
Planet Afropunk 2020 aims for the history books with its first virtual event and a massive line-up of global music talent and speakers.
American rapper, actor, writer, philanthropist, and activist Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn better known by his stage name Common (formerly Common Sense) poses during a photo session in Paris, on 14 September 2019. Image:
Joel Saget / AFP
Planet Afropunk 2020 will kick off it’s first three-day festival virtually for the first time in its 15-year history on Friday 23 October and it promises to be one of the greatest editions of the annual event yet.
Early indications of this emerged from a surprise announcement of an extension to the lineup – which came hot on the heels of the very first announcement of the 2020 installment of the event.
Topping the list of additional artists which will now also be performing in live streams – which will be free in several countries – is Chicago rapper Common.
New additions to the line-up
Common, Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade, and Sudanese-American musician Dua Saleh are some of the most notable artists to have been included in the expanded list of performers..
Other new additions include genre-fluid band ASIATICA, North Carolina experimental group BLACK HAÜS, underground and conscious Kenyan hip-hop artist MC Yallah and Soweto punk rockers TCYIF.
These artists will join previously announced acts, Ari Lennox, Tiwa Savage, Moses Sumney, and Muneyi, to mention just a few.
Nomzamo Mbatha among star hosts for Planet Afropunk
Nomzamo Mbatha, who was recently named as host for the Miss South Africa 2020 pageant, has also secured a slot as host for the music event.
The actress and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (NHCR) Ambassador will serve as a co-host alongside Bahia (The Cool Hunter), entrepreneur Loo Nascimento, and resident in the Afropunk kingdom, Gitoo.
Top speakers included in line-up
Apart from combining the hottest stars to stream performances globally, Afropunk announced that it would feature a list of premium speakers.
These include The Daily Show correspondent Dulcé Sloan, activist Jesse Williams, comedian and actress Amanda Seales, and multimedia journalist Ivie Anie.
Also joining the line-up is American activist Tamika D Mallory, model and singer-songwriter Dawn Richard, and media personality Ashlee Marie Preston.
Planet Afropunk goes beyond music and speakers
The event is expected to deliver far more than music and speakers with extra “digital destinations” to be available to participants. These include “Arts and Times”, which will showcase South African artwork, and a “Hair and Beauty” segment towards exploring black hair through the eyes of industry professionals.
As people rally across the world for black liberation, we’re using technology this year to bring together the largest virtual gathering of the worldwide black creative community in one, curated online space for the first time in our 15-year history.
What Afropunk Said About the 2020 Festival
“Connecting artists and fans together worldwide, Planet Afropunk 2020 will be unlike anything you’ve seen from the festival yet, with performances streaming everywhere from Atlanta, South Africa, Los Angeles, Nigeria, the United Kingdom (UK), and Botswana just to name a few.”
“Following the events of this year, Planet Afropunk has been designed to encourage the continued live interaction, activism and debate on racial justice normally associated with its physical festival. There will be space curated to explore everything from politics and social justice, meditation and Black self-care, through to the trend-setting cultural hot-takes emanating within the Black community.”
You can RSVP on www.planetafropunk.com to live stream the festival with exclusive content on Facebook Live from 23 to 25 October 2020.
