the lineup for 2020 virtual festival planet afropunk is here!

As people rally across the world for Black liberation, we’re using technology this year to bring together the largest virtual gathering of the worldwide Black creative community in one, curated online space for the first time in our 15-year history. Today, we’re proud to announce our exciting  PLANET AFROPUNK lineup.

Connecting artists and fans together worldwide, PLANET AFROPUNK 2020 will be unlike anything you’ve seen from the festival yet, with performances streaming everywhere from Atlanta, South Africa, Los Angeles, Nigeria, the UK, and Botswana just to name a few. Headliners include R&B songstress Ari Lennox, Afrobeats singer Tiwa Savage and Houston rapper Tobe Nwigwe who recently went viral for his powerful song “TRY JESUS.”

The lineup also features Sampa The Great, South Africa’s “Queen of Gqom” Moonchild Sanelly, Smino, Masego, and Serpentwithfeet who will all be streaming live from Los Angeles. Bahia, Brazil will also be on full display, with Larissa Luz, ÀTTØØXXÁ, Afrocidade, and more taking to the digital stage. Black led UK organization Jazz:refreshed will present Balimaya, Tawiah and Theon Cross, representing the UK Jazz revolution.

PLANET AFROPUNK will also feature a premiere list of speakers including comedian and actress Amanda Seales, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah correspondent Dulcé Sloan, and multimedia journalist Ivie Anie. Also joining the lineup is media personality Ashlee Marie Preston, singer-songwriter and model Dawn Richard, and activist Tamika Mallory. See full lineup details below:

As a result of our unique partnerships, PLANET AFROPUNK will be a completely free virtual experience for our global audience, made solely possible by our brand partners. Festival-goers will be given an option to donate money to organizations including Black Futures Lab, Color of Change, Movement for Black Lives, Equal Justice Initiative, Fair Count, and The Bail Project among others. By enabling Black culture to be surfaced in new ways through technology, AFROPUNK is opening up a unique space to create the most polarizing conversations that are needed in pop culture.

As the engine room of the Black experience, PLANET AFROPUNK is a fluid, digital space designed to embrace the plurality of Black stories and individualities that are experienced through Black music, art, conversation and activism, across borders and continents.

PLANET AFROPUNK will create new ways to experience the next generation of Black creativity, music and culture through the support of this year’s many partners, who will power AFROPUNK’s iconic digital destinations, alongside VERIZON, who is helping to charge our incredible artist lineup for AFROPUNK’S festival on the World Stage, and BOSE, who is supporting the audience’s musical discovery journey through a special set from Masego, Serpentwithfeet and Jonah Mutono also on the World stage. This year’s digital destinations include:

• Ideaville, powered by Target, will be one of the most exciting and anticipated destinations at PLANET AFROPUNK. With keynote speakers, AFROPUNK Solution Sessions and luminary interviews, Ideaville will empower connections between people, ideas and solutions. With AFROPUNK, Target will spotlight Black voices and stories, while creating a safe space for all of AFROPUNK’s communities, featuring a Black Queer Town Hall and community soap box.
• Bites&Beats will return this year delivered by Grubhub, which will be offering virtual festival-goers access to exclusive experiences and Perks from restaurants across North America.
• Art & Times will create an immersive gallery experience, celebrating hand-picked work from South African artists in collaboration with Esprit, showcasing how unusual and original combinations create something truly unique.
• Hair & Beauty Village will explore all of the facets of Black hair through the eyes of creators, innovators, visionaries and artists to manifest conversations, creativity and community. Hair plays a central role in the identity, self-concept and political consciousness of Black people, and Maui Moisture will be powering important conversations on-platform for festival-goers.
• Activism Row will generate discussions on criminal justice reform, the failings of the criminal legal system and the systemic racism and segregation plaguing the public school system. Ben & Jerry’s will highlight how partner organizations like The Advancement Project National Office, Close the Workhouse Coalition, and Power U work to eliminate injustices in Black communities nation-wide. Non-profit organization AARP will also be celebrating Black roots and activism through a video tribute and encouraging voter engagement.
• Spinthrift Market will feature a curated selection of Black owned vendors from around the world. Guests will discover makers and creators across many different product areas including beauty, fashion, wellness, gifts, services and more.

Nichelle Sanders, Strategic Advisor at AFROPUNK, said: “Being Black on planet earth is like science fiction. With the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many others, we have seen the pain and trauma of the past resurrected, and all while suffering through a global pandemic. But, as Black people, our unity and creativity are our greatest weapon against oppression and adversity. To convene a global family reunion at this moment in time is therefore essential.

“Now more than ever we need the resilience and creativity of our community to keep our culture alive and thriving. In creating PLANET AFROPUNK we’ve designed a safe space for our community to celebrate and inspire, cry and shout, and to heal and motivate one another. AFROPUNK’s approach to activism and fighting oppression has always been to celebrate Black music, art and culture – and ultimately Black joy. The AFROPUNK community is global, and we’ve built this planet to connect seamlessly. All across the world we are connecting in sameness and in difference to discover the joy in our Blackness, but also in the visual and musical artists and authors. And this is what AFROPUNK enables.

“We can’t wait to see the faces, hear the voices and connect the AFROPUNK community – as unique, expressive and unapologetic as it is – to each other. Welcome to PLANET AFROPUNK!”

For AFROPUNK, music, art, supporting Black-owned businesses and in-depth conversations will be the foundation of this global community’s three-day virtual reunion. There will also be opportunities to circulate the Black dollar at this year’s all-digital Spinthrift Market with AFROPUNK’s community of small businesses, artisans and restaurants, as well as a chance to focus on mindfulness and restoration at AFROPUNK’s first-ever Radical Self-Care destination.

You can RSVP on www.planetafropunk.com to live stream the festival with exclusive content on Facebook Live from October 23 to October 25.