Afrofuturism and post-soul possibility in black popular music

African American Review, Winter, 2007 by Marlo David

With that in mind, Badu's first single "On&On," released in 1997, offers the possibility of a speculative, futuristic reading of a neo-soul articulation. While her song is typically read in the context of the teachings of the Five Percent Nation, a Nation of Islam offshoot group established in the 1960s, I would like to re-imagine the lyrics for this song, her most popular and successful single to date, as an embedded Afrofuturist text. Bringing these two readings into alignment is not difficult, considering that the basic tenets of Five Percenters, who refer to themselves as "scientists," employ scientific and mathematical theological symbolism. (10) Reading the lyrics of this Badu song within the context of sci-fi projection relies on Eshun's theoretical work, which posits alienation as a fundamental inevitability of Afrodiasporic modernity ("Further" 297). If slavery is envisioned as alien abduction, as Toni Morrison also suggests, then Black Atlantic identity and cultural production necessarily situates itself with respect to this original site of fracture, this break with one's sense of origin. There are, I think, visionary texts that circulate commonly within contemporary black cultural production, particularly in mainstream R&B music, that belie their futurist sensibilities; Badu's "On&On" is one of them. There may be new ways of envisioning what futurist texts look and sound like, thereby complicating prevailing theories of the post-human and infusing those theories with an African diaspora sensibility.

The very notion of "on and on" insinuates futurity in this song, the cryptic lyrics of which have both enticed and baffled listeners. Nevertheless, the perpetuity of the phrase "on and on" does suggest a message of endurance and soul survival. Badu sings throughout the song "On&On, On&On / My cipher keeps moving like a rolling stone." The image of the cipher, a circular, interconnected loop connects to the circular, revolving motion of a rolling stone. This rolling motion is the symbolic expression of progress and futurity. So, it becomes clear that Badu situates her vision for blackfolks in a futurist projection. It is a future, however, that refutes post-human articulations that suggest racially, historically neutral identities. Badu's future as expressed in this song is one that allows for the embodied signal of difference provided by blackness. Badu touches on the soul of black folk when she sings, "We were made in his image / then call us by our names." The phrase "his image" suggests a connection to a higher spiritual power. Whether this connection encompasses a formal dedication to Jesus and Christianity or a secular-spiritual version of the "most high," Badu makes the important link between spirituality and black culture; "soul" remains a defining aspect of blackness. Therefore, for Badu to assert that "we" were made in "his image" is for her to describe a "soul" aesthetic. Camouflaged within this song is her very determined effort to ground her progressive futurist project within a historically contingent, "soulful," and humanist view of blackness.