Oluwatoyin Tella : So Black I'm Bright #DopeAF - Artist Talk

"I am using one of the elements of Hip Hop to pay homage to the lyrical

geniuses who have carried the torch of the pan-African.  I am choosing

to use visual representation of the ‘dopest’ lyrical snippets I’ve come

across, but by no means exhausted, as titles. In simple terms, real hip

hop was and is an homage to Blackness. Where commercial rap has

been devalued to the pointless bravado of oversexualized deviants, Hip

Hop is a continuation of the lineage of African liberation. The lyrics are

unabashedly blunt and Black; no pausing, no hesitation, just straight up

bold Black reverence.  As Black people were relegated to being the

untouchables in the global caste system, Hip Hop lyricist boldly defied

the narrative of Black as inferior. They wholeheartedly proclaimed its

beauty, strength and otherworldliness thru their artform.

Growing up in the golden era of hip hop straight from the countryside

of Nigeria to New York, I was enamored by and connected to Hip Hop

instantly. Hip hop is the need of modern griots to spread the word of

Black excellence. Even with some noteworthy artist that are holding

the space of traditional hip hop as Black empowerment, it has been

high-jacked for capitalistic gain and the ‘Blackity” blackness of hip hop

has largely been ignored, until now."- Oluwatoyin Tella

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