Ghost Cult is honored to team up with incredible Hardcore Afro-Punk genre hoppers MAAFA to stream their debut full-length album today, before it releases this Juneteenth, on June 19th, via Fuzz Therapy Records. 2023. Like a clarion call to listeners, MAAFA is a band so needed in this time lacking in the intelligentsia, empathy, and a real understanding of the issues plaguing society. This will be one of the most important musical and lyrical releases of 2023, so jam it out right now!
The band comments:
MAAFA’s first full length studio album titled “Because we are” inspired by the African philosophy of “Ubuntu: I am, Because we are,” meets the listener at the intersection of Hardcore, Punk and the African Diaspora. Created in 2017 as the brain child of Afro-Brazilian Bassist, Flora Lucini (Composer/Arranger/Vocalist) sought out to create the “hardcore she wished existed” that blended all of her influences into one work of art. “MAAFA” infuses their brand of Hardcore with various African rhythms and instruments such as the Djembe and Atabaque to take the listener on a Journey from NYHC to Brazil, to Cuba to Mali and Back to D.C. All while unpacking Class inequality, White supremacy, Queer Black Feminism, Mental Health and more. “Because we are” is the first installment in establishing what Flora calls “Afro-Progressive Hardcore” with the hopes to not only inspire action & creativity in others but to help expand the possibilities of sound and community that Hardcore can reach. As Flora sums up: “This album is dedicated to my Hardcore scene, my ancestors, my family, my people and my fellow musicians, it is part love letter, part call to action. I AM, only because WE ARE.”
Because We Are Track Listing:
- Origém (Intro)
- Welfare
- Deficit
- Libation
- A Luta Continua (Interlude)
- Filha Da Luta
- Not Your Exotic
- For The Culture (ft. Christylez Bacon)
- Dichotomy
- Blindspot
Bio:
The word ‘Maafa,’ Swahili for “disaster” or “catastrophe,” has been used by scholars and activists for decades to refer to the transatlantic slave trade and its resulting impact on the African diaspora. Hardcore punk outfit MAAFA adopted the moniker to both acknowledge the impact of that era, and also reshape it, to make it a signpost for the subversive message and sonic onslaught the band has become known for.
Based in Brooklyn, its roots in Washington, D.C., MAAFA is expanding the limits of the hardcore punk genre across all state lines with their masterful infusion of traditional African instrumentation. The results are fierce and raw: captivating rhythms underscore sophisticated, layered strings with the trademark abrasiveness of D.C. and N.Y. Hardcore. Guiding these arrangements are band leader and vocalist Flora Lucini’s poignant lyrics. Moving from Brazil to Washington, D.C., and eventually settling in New York, Flora’s trajectory in life carried her across political and geographical boundaries. Throughout these different environments, a few things remained shined through in their importance: the power of pedagogy, music, and resistance.
Through their fiery blend of sophisticated musical arrangement, heaviness of hardcore, and defiant lyricism, MAAFA has amassed a devoted following. Their growing fanbase is captivated by their unique blend of genres and uncompromising artistry. With an incendiary stage presence, their performances leave audiences spellbound and yearning for more; with their message, their platform inspires audiences to act.
MAAFA Online: