Every year, I celebrate cool things I found throughout the year that might have flown under the radar. Now that I’m writing for Black With No Chaser again, I decided to pivot to a Black-centric view on pop culture and things that could expand horizons into things we wouldn’t typically look for. This year’s categories range are Coolest Black Sci-Fi Stuff, Hardest Black Musicians Taking Rock Back, Most Fashionable Black Designers, and Best Album From A Weird Rapper That Sounded Nothing Like The Rest Of Their Discography.
COOLEST BLACK SCI-FI STUFF
Black science fiction has been experiencing a renaissance in recent years, buoyed by the Afrofuturist aesthetics of Black Panther and the Afrosurrealist themes of Sorry To Bother You in 2018 and pushed even further by Jordan Peele’s Nope in 2022. 2023 was a banner year for Black science fiction, as Black creators took bigger creative swings and led some of science fiction’s most intriguing properties.
They Cloned Tyrone
A genre-bending, time-shifting paradox of a movie, They Cloned Tyrone is the directorial debut of Juel Taylor. After writing sequels for established movie brands in Creed II and Space Jam: A New Legacy, Taylor fully explored his creativity alongside Tony Rettenmaier.
There’s a lot about this movie that shouldn’t necessarily work. A blaxploitation movie played straight in 2023 is already a tough sell, but adding a soft sci-fi twist and setting the foundation of the movie in social criticism and racial discussion makes this even more surprising.
Jamie Foxx continues his run of being the character with the most character in his movies, playing a pimp named Slick Charles with the sleazy earnestness of a neighborhood fixture who knows he’s past his prime. He bounces off the misplaced menace as John Boyega’s drug-dealing hustler Fontaine very well, acting as a comedic foil to Boyega’s stoicism. Teyonah Parris rounds out the cast perfectly as Yo-Yo, a former sex worker who believes she is supposed to do more in their home of The Glen.
They Cloned Tyrone is one of those movies that seems destined to be a cult classic. No wide release, simply a few Black film festivals, a limited run, and a spot on Netflix. The independence shines through this film, informing both its style in the blaxploitation aesthetic and the substance in the social message against cultural assimilation. It’s well worth a watch, especially if you’re feeling fatigued by the expected.
Cyberpunk 2077
On the surface, Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t seem like it’s any special when it comes to Black representation in video games. Outside of Dexter DeShawn and the Voodoo Boys, there isn’t as much Black culture in the game compared to Japanese and Mexican cultures.
That all changed with the Phantom Liberty expansion. Bolstered by the performances of Idris Elba and Yvonne Senat Jones as Solomon Reed and Alena Xenakis respectively, Phantom Liberty builds an even larger world with more Black main characters.
CD Projekt Red may be a Polish developer but Cyberpunk is uniquely Black. Creator Mike Pondsmith created his first tabletop role-playing game way back in 1984 but the game 2077 is based on debuted in 1988. He was a producer with Microsoft on the original Xbox in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He’s an absolute legend of the industry and the fact a behemoth like CD Projekt Red was willing to adapt his art into a AAA game franchise is a huge encouragement for Black gamers.
I might be biased because Cyberpunk 2077 is one of my favorite games but this game felt like a breath of fresh air. The world is complicated and connected, with simple choices having consequences that are anything but. Although the original release had far more than its fair share of problems on release, it’s slick and polished and one of the best games on the market.
HARDEST BLACK MUSICIANS TAKING ROCK BACK
Rock bands aren’t as big as they have been in past eras but the independence from the mainstream scene has resulted in a lot of experimentation and growth. As the internet democratizes music tastes even further, Black artists have taken a larger role in rock and its subgenres with fresh views influenced by hip-hop and R&B.
UnityTX
UnityTX is so new, they don’t even have a Wikipedia page. Their sound is a fusion of Hardcore punk, Metal, and Horrorcore rap that’s dirty, violent, and energetic.
The Dallas-based band is split down the middle with Black and Latino musicians with a unique sound all their own. Their recent release Ferality takes the pent-up energy of COVID and releases it with a vicious ferocity. Signed to the same label as alternative legends Hawthorne Heights and Less Than Jake, they look primed to be a force in the rock genre for years to come.
UnityTX isn’t for everyone but if you’re missing some edge in your music or if you want to branch out a little further from hip-hop and R&B, UnityTX is a great start. They’re still on their way so if you want a band you can brag to your friends about, this is the band. They’re easy to find on any streaming app, so go ahead and give them a listen.
Jesus Piece
Jesus Piece is back. After five years away from music, frontman Aaron Heard is back dropkicking off stages and butterfly-kicking in pits with the hardest metal out. Drummer Luis Aponte spent the last five years experimenting with pop and electronic music and that sound is put to the test on …So Unknown. There’s a sense of introspection compared to their debut and as metal becomes more and more mainstream, there’s a chance Jesus Piece could carry the torch into a new era.
This is the most Philadelphia band I’ve ever seen. It’s the same energy that throws batteries at Santa Claus or throws a hundred folding chairs at Mick Foley. Any video on hate5six will show you Flyers jerseys, grimy warehouses, and the craziest mosh pits I’ve ever seen. If you listen to Only Self, you’ll hear a mixture of rock genres created after pop punk’s heyday but the growth on …So Unknown is evident. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait another five years.
MOST FASHIONABLE BLACK DESIGNERS
Fashion is nothing new to us, but the rest of the world is finally taking notice. How you dress says a lot about you without saying a word and these designers are creating fashions that are louder and prouder than ever before, with the biggest audience possible.
Pharrell Williams
The greatest multi-hyphenate of all time is back, helming Louis Vuitton as its creative director after inheriting the role from Virgil Abloh. This is an impossible task but Pharrell seems up to the task. He recently showed off his newest collection at Paris Fashion Week with a unique Wild West flair. A Black man from Virginia creating western wear on behalf of a French fashion house is something that pushes fashion forward, both in a Eurocentric way and at home with handbags and cowboy hats living in harmony.
Virgil Abloh transitioned far too soon and I appreciate Louis Vuitton tapping a Black creator to continue his legacy. It’s easy to say Pharrell has big shoes to fill, but he’s again blazing his own trail. This isn’t BAPE, this isn’t Billionaire Boys Club, this isn’t Icecream, it’s another reinvention done by the king of reinvention. Fashion is constantly evolving and even if you don’t like luxury brands, it’s cool to see us influencing at this high of a level.
Tremaine Emory
Right off rip, let’s say it. Tremaine Emory didn’t fit Supreme. Supreme hasn’t pushed the limits in a long time and even though they tried to make a splashy move by hiring Emory, it was destined to end less than amicably. Supreme isn’t the same gritty New York skate shop as it was in the 90s, it’s a global brand owned by the same private equity firm that owns Jansport, Dickies, and Vans.
This flies in the face of a designer who wants to explore America’s complicated history with slavery and heritage. Denim Tears is one of the coolest brands I’ve seen in a long time. Emory takes Americana and brings so much character and swagger to what’s become normal in American fashion. The twists on Polo Ralph Lauren and Levi’s are complemented by pants and jackets influenced by British 70s punk.
The cotton design on the hats and shorts has become a staple at NBA games which is interesting because it puts America’s interest in its Black populace right in our face. There’s a button-down shirt depicting a cotton field with the words “LATE CAPITALISM” emblazoned across the chest which perfectly explains his stance on modern fashion.
BEST ALBUM FROM A WEIRD RAPPER THAT I LIKE THAT WAS NOTHING LIKE THE REST OF THEIR DISCOGRAPHY
Danny Brown
Danny Brown brought so much energy in his prior releases that when Quaranta was released, it was a whiplash to a different vibe than anyone had expected. We were so used to the chaotic ALLCAPSNOSPACES style of hip-hop Danny Brown had been making, that we’d missed the point of songs we knew the point of. Read the lyrics of his hit song “Ain’t It Funny” and compare the lyrics to the titular song “Quaranta” and you can see how far he’s come. Better yet, Listen to his breakout album XXX and compare it to this year’s sequel album and you can hear how the rock star life has worn heavy on him.
Unlike Jay-Z, who was the first time we watched a rapper get old, Danny Brown is an interesting case of how a rapper stays old. His professional peers like A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar are nearly a decade younger than him. Even now with collaborator JPEGMAFIA, who is also significantly older than many of his professional contemporaries, he feels like the big brother who pushed how far he could go. To hear Danny redirect his intensity and energy inward was special and set the stage for other energetic vibe rappers.
André 3000
The Greatest Rapper Of All Time returned to solo music for the first time since his 2018 SoundCloud EP to release an album that was so leftfield, that it essentially put the music world on pause. No rap, not a word of lyrics to be heard, just ninety minutes of new-age jazz with the most enigmatic titles you’ve ever seen. We’ve never seen anything like this with a mainstream musician. Yes, artists experiment. But this was so far from anything that he’d made before, it was almost jarring. He wasn’t an R&B singer like on The Love Below, it was like he was a new person.
To me, that’s where the beauty was. All the years we wanted Andre to come back and rap, to reform OutKast, to work with the sons of his style and instead he made the music he wanted. He didn’t feel he could rap. So he didn’t rap. He opened an entire fan base to a new sound and a new genre of music. In a career spent inspiring people to think differently, Andre gave us the blueprint to do just that. By aging gracefully on his terms, Andre 3000 taught us to reach for things we didn’t even know were out there.
In 2014, Childish Gambino declared we were on the cusp of a New Black Renaissance. Nearly ten years later, it feels like we’re getting closer and closer to that movement fully maturing. Black creativity is breaking out from being niche to being widely recognized as what pushes culture forward.