The Manhattan Beat: Afropunk Festival 2018 at Commodore Barry Park, Day Two

The 2018 Afropunk Festival continued its legacy of recent years in creating a weekend-long event that celebrated alternative trends in Black-centric music, the arts, fashion, political activism and culture. The main attractions were the concert performances by Kaytranada, Miguel, Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae, Tyler the Creator, the Internet, and nearly 40 more performing artists, dance music sets by 25 disc jockeys, kiosks hosted by grassroots community activists, installations by artists, and food and merchandise sold by local entrepreneurs. The biggest draw, however, might have been the audience itself; it seemed like 60,000 people carefully planned their look for Afropunk 2018.

The Afropunk Festival debuted in 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where non-mainstream punk and rock bands featuring musicians of color showcased their music as an alternative to the largely white punk and rock scene. To attract a wider audience, the festival shifted increasingly to include hip hop, neo-soul , blues and other genres, expanding its initial cause along with its target demographic, and moved outdoors to Commodore Barry Park. Musical performers now represent a much wider variety of tastes, yet still primarily reflect breaking African-American artists.

This year, the festival hosted the bulk of its acts on the two larger stages, with a few additional artists on three other stages. One of these side stages was mostly devoted to disc jockeys and another was a block away from the main stages and featured punk bands and a skateboard competition. One section of the park was dedicated to visual arts, another to vendors of fashion and beauty aids, and yet another to community activists.

This year's event was not without its controversies, however. Some people questioned the booking of Tyler the Creator, a rapper reported to have a history of homophobia and lyrics normalizing rape. Also, three attendees were removed from the festival because one wore a t-shirt featuring a handwritten message critical of the event.

Day Two Headlines

Angela Davis, a long-time political activist and one-time member of the Black Panthers Party, read social commentary prose to music during Toshi Reagon and Nona Hendryx's PowerJam set.
Los Angeles-based hardcore band Trash Talk performed a late afternoon set. The band's vocalist, Lee Spielman, left the stage during the first song and sang most of the set from the center of the circle pit on the basketball court. Unlike a previous Afropunk gig, this year he did not climb high up the stage rigging.
Janelle Monáe's set was high on the visuals. She began her set sitting on a throne like a queen with dancers appearing like servants. Throughout the evening, she signaled thematic shifts via wardrobe and hat changes, including vagina pants which she and her dancers wore during “Pynk.”
Outrageous fashion was everywhere at Afropunk, but no one outdid Erykah Badu, who came on stage wearing a wide-brimmed hat with long fringes, making her look like a lamp and lampshade.
Afropunk 2018 ended with Erykah Badu and Janelle Monáe singing together in the audience.