Rhythm Tech

Poet Amiri Baraka’s story “Rhythm Travel” declares the power of music, as he describes a fictional device that would allow one to transport to where any song ever made has been or ever will be played. Black music’s beat and expression is one of our most powerful tools for justice and liberation. That’s probably why John Akomfrah’s “Data Thief” called the blues a “black technology” in his 1995 film The Last Angel of History . He knew the key to the future was to understand its music. Black music resonates from some other world. It takes you places you have never imagined. Black music unifies, heals, and mobilizes the spirit when it is necessary.