The World According
to Black Music

June 22, 2021

Inspired by the work of Black cultural critic and scholar Paul Gilroy, The World According to Black Music centered the voices of three Black DC-area musicians, Yaya Bey, Brent Birckhead, and Lorenzo "Zo!" Ferguson. The conversation featured the artists reflecting on how they understand Black music as a space of refuge and transformation, and the lineages/traditions they feel connected to and in conversation with. The World According to Black Music considered Bey, Birckhead, and Ferguson's respective work and the ways they pivot toward joy, and the spirit of resistance and its importance to approaches to their craft. The conversation was conceived and moderated by New York-based curator and multidisciplinary artist Niama Safia Sandy.

Speakers

Niama Safia Sandy: Niama Safia Sandy is a New York-based cultural anthropologist, curator, producer, multidisciplinary artist, and educator. Niama’s work delves into the human story, often with stories of the Global Black diaspora at its center.

She currently hosts and produces a weekly conversation series FOR/FOUR, featuring Black women and non-binary persons in the arts and culture. Niama recently helped found The Blacksmiths, a new coalition of culture workers standing together to forge support for Black liberation against anti-Black racism in the academy and at presenting institutions. Through her work with The Blacksmiths, Niama has produced resources and public events engaging communities, activists, artists across disciplines, and more to close the gaps in appropriate opportunities for Black artists, curators, and administrators on the global stage.

Additionally, Niama is a member of the Resistance Revival Chorus, a group of women and non-binary artists who bring song to life in the spirit of activism, collective joy, and resistance. She has presented work, and convened panels at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Creative Time Summit, Harvard University, Oberlin College, Rhode Island School of Design, Prizm Art Fair, UNTITLED & more. She has written for Artsy, Active Cultures LA, MFON: Women Photographers of the Black Diaspora, NAD NOW, and many other outlets. Niama is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute.

Yaya Bey: The Things I Can’t Take With Me is the newest release from multidisciplinary artist and singer-songwriter Yaya Bey. The self-produced, six-track EP follows her last album, 2020’s intimate and political Madison Tapes, which received critical praise from Pitchfork (7.7), FADER, Afropunk, Noisey, and more. Following the same spirit of her previous projects, The Things I Can’t Take With Me searches the deeply personal and refreshingly honest truths of Black womanhood and love. The project’s first single fxck it then radiates as an affirmative anthem for rediscovering your shine, reminding everyone that Yaya Bey “ain’t average.” It’s accompanied by new collage work created by Yaya herself, and a music video directed by Morgan B. Powell. “The video was a true labor of love,” Bey said, describing the visuals as “an ode to hood joints.” The nostalgic super 8 film aesthetic features styling by Alexea Brown and glimpses into Bey’s polaroid photography. On the upcoming EP, Bey works her way through a breakup that triggered the deepest of wounds: the childhood trauma that resurfaces in our relationships.

Brent Birckhead: Saxophonist Brent Birckhead is an award-winning artist, whose aesthetic is an intersectional amalgam of traditional and popular styles. Unbound by genre, Birckhead’s approach to woodwind artistry is driven by his compulsion for creative risk and deep respect for legacy. His place in the continuum of a storied lineage begins with his surname, Birckhead, and extends to his extensive musical education and work ethic as a visionary approach to life as a rising leader.

Educated at Howard University (BME, MM), Birckhead was named best blues/pop/rock soloist and outstanding instrumental jazz soloist by Downbeat Magazine as part of the annual Student Music Awards. In 2011 Brent was named "Best Alto Saxophonist" by the Washington City Paper.

The Baltimore native's talent earned him the honor of performing and touring with legendary artists including Lauryn Hill, Nas, Wale, Eric Benet, Larry Graham, George Duke and many more. Birckhead is a professor of saxophone at Morgan State University. On February 22nd Birckhead released his self titled debut album on Revive Music. He currently resides in New York City.

Lorenzo "Zo!" Ferguson: Zo! is a multi-instrumentalist/producer Detroit-area born and raised, currently based in Silver Spring, MD. Influenced by a wide range of music genres introduced to him at an early age, Zo! utilizes multiple layers of thick instrumentation to shape his compositions, as demonstrated on his solo albums. While touring his own material regularly, Zo! can also be seen on stage as the keyboardist and Musical Director for GRAMMY-nominated duo, The Foreign Exchange. In 2014, he completed music work for the Adult Swim animated series, Black Dynamite. Zo! co-produced The Foreign Exchange’s 2015 release, Tales From The Land Of Milk and Honey. His SkyBreak album was released in 2016 along with its accompanying behind-the-scenes, two-time award-winning documentary, Making SkyBreak (2017).

Zo! then began expanding his musical repertoire to include film scoring, completing full scores for two documentaries: Black, White & Blue (2018) and the Northwestern University commissioned, The Takeover (2018). Along with production partner, Phonte (of The Foreign Exchange/Little Brother) Zo! helped to compose music for the IFC sketch-comedy series, Sherman’s Showcase (2019). In 2019, Zo! released FourFront his fourth compilation-style album on the +FE Music imprint. Most recently, he has completed the music for season two of Sherman’s Showcase (2022) with Phonte and has joined forces with powerhouse producer Tall Black Guy on their 2021 release, Abstractions. Zo! continues to emphasize the usage of live instrumentation and raw emotion as the blueprint for his music while continuing to delve into sound expansion with each album release.