the khamisi project

(ka-mee-see) - traditional Swahili boy's name meaning "born on Thursday"

Firefly_A well-worn 1960s album cover in deep space, featuring faint distant planets and UFOs 11625 (1)

Firefly_In this surreal album art, African American warlocks and witches with afros sit in a 396103 (1)

Firefly_In this surreal album art, African American warlocks and witches with afros sit in a 979614

Firefly_A silhouette of an African American wearing vibrant Victorian clothes with an afro, w 135337

Firefly_A silhouette of an African American with an afro and Victorian clothes walks in front 519100 (1)

Firefly_create a scene set in deep space, use uploaded photo 213553 (2)

Firefly_Retro 1960s-style well worn album art, deep space, distant planets looming in the bac 376622 (2)

Firefly_An African American DJ with an afro plays music on a distant planet, in a galaxy far 647179

Firefly_Retro 1960s-style well worn album art, deep space, distant planets looming in the bac 386108 (1)

Firefly_In this surreal album art, African American warlocks and witches with afros sit in a 824390

Firefly_create a scene set in deep space, use uploaded photo 389490 (1)

Firefly_Detailed silhouette of African American women and men in vibrant Victorian attire wit 997394 (2)

Firefly_Worn, faded, 1960s retro album art featuring silhouettes of African American men and 823619 (2)

Firefly_An African American DJ with an afro plays music on a distant planet, in a galaxy far 729786 (2)

Firefly_Retro 1960s-style well worn album art, deep space, distant planets looming in the bac 84161

the music...

The musical direction of The Khamisi Project has a bit of a backstory...

In the late 80s/early 90's, even though I was a solid Hip-Hop fanatic (still am), I'd also - simultaneously - turned into a raging "Househead", as well, so - naturally - when I moved to NYC in 2005, I turned my full attention to a music community that was familiar to me - the House community. However, I soon discovered that the vibe that I enjoyed in the 90s was pretty much gone from the community. I went from partying around awesome energy to drowning in a sea of human plastic.

After backing myself into this creative corner, then spending the next decade plus spinning my wheels (no pun intended), I chose to take a step back in order to regroup and figure out my "why".

Fast forward to now and, in direct opposition to well-established industry convention - I'm no longer "playing to the crowd". My musical direction embraces diverse genres, my musical aesthetic is making what tf I want, when I want, without rhyme, reason, rules, or regrets, and my preferred music genre is whatever tf I want it to be that day.

You will either deal or get tf ON.

okay, so the artwork...

The art direction of The Khamisi Project also has a bit of a backstory...

There's a show that I love called "Ancient Aliens", that deals with the primary premise that civilizations from other planets have had decisive influence on human civilization - as well as the planet itself - from structure building and religious beliefs to the evolution of humanity itself.

I strongly believe that there is truth to these claims, which led me to something that the late, great historian Runoko Rashidi posted on his page 4 months before his passing in Egypt,

He posted a meme with a quote from Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson that read, "Just because you can't figure out how ancient civilizations built stuff, doesn't mean they got help from aliens.", to which I replied,

"Everything isn't about erasing Blackness. Though history is rife with theories and revisions rooted in anti-Blackness, let's not discount that there is a very real possibility that more advanced, more intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms have not only visited this planet, but have strongly influenced (if not started) the trajectory of humanity. And who's to say that these alleged beings weren't Black? That would explain our extraordinary abilities in - well, nearly everything!

We talk about "pride" and being "kings" and "queens" but it's disappointing that we didn't think highly enough of ourselves to even consider this. The fact that our default in terms of this subject was to throw the baby out with the bathwater is disturbing. Oh - and no matter what color they actually were, it still doesn't solve the conundrum of HOW they did then what we still find impossible to do today. my $0.02"

He never answered, but that exchange stuck with me, and - about 4 years later - heavily influenced the artwork behind the musical offerings from The Khamisi Project. Imagine - before the birth of anything we know, in a time before time, were Black masculine and feminine forms practicing science so advanced that we would compulsively call it "magic" or "miracles". Beings so unfathomably advanced and powerful, we would later have no choice but to anthropomorphize what we've seen as "God" and codify what we've witnessed as "religion". This artwork is inspired by the Irúnmọlẹ̀, the Òrìṣà, the daughters of Oosanla, the Maasai, the Zulu, the Dogon, the Hausa, and more ancient tribes as well as Black deities from Yoruba cosmology.

My imagination didn't stop there, though. I went a bit further to imagine that not only could life here on Earth have been predated by insanely advanced beings that closely resemble us, but also that - in billions of other solar systems in billions of other galaxies and dimensions - there are untold numbers of beings very similar to us gazing out towards the same stars right now. Imagine that there are countless alternate realities and dimensions. My artwork illustrates these perspectives, which are no more or less fantastic as any we currently hold in high regard.

I've imagined all this and found that, when plugged into a decent Ai engine, and combined with my design skills, I was able to bring everything I've imagined to life! Aesthetically, my new artwork is reminiscent of classic sci-fi shows such as Star Trek, In Search Of, or Outer Limits, but of course, I'm not limiting myself to this - it's just what I'm on right now. A running theme throughout this artwork is that it is generally black as hell, and often mixed with a liberal dose of blaxploitation. If everyone else gets to believe what they believe in their likeness, I'm gonna believe what I believe in MINE.

I started with the artwork because visuals help me connect with my sound rather than the other way around. With the help of Ai, I have been able to realize these visions and shave countless hours off my graphics production time, which gives me more time to create!

The Khamisi Project is not a person or a group of people - it's a creative aesthetic centered exclusively on ME. It's my highest potential. It's a never ending cycle of birth, death, and rebirth...an individual's deep, courageous dive into the frightening world of true authenticity while in the midst of a sea of unrecyclable social plastic.

It's a new beginning - and something this huge MUST have it's own soundtrack...

- The Khamisi Project

okay, so let's talk about the writing...

...soooooo...whatcha doing on Substack?

Because I’m a damn good writer - that’s why, and I felt an overwhelming urge to not only explore this, but to give it the position it’s been begging to be in for years - in the front. I’ve always used this ability in a utilitarian manner - and I suppose there’s a great deal of creativity in that - but I’ve yet to let this skill really breath creatively, and Substack simply seems like the perfect platform to explore and nurture this “seed”.

On the Substack forum, The Khamisi Project will broadly serve as a vehicle to write about music, my opinions, and maybe (almost certainly) ruffle a few feathers, but the highlight of this Substack will be the regularly occurring stories about my life in different timelines, dimensions, and galaxies with the help of Ai images I’ve generated, in concert with my own advanced design skillset. My writing is an expansive blend of Afrofuturism, historical fiction, and science fiction. In many cases these stories will tie in heavily with the music I create, so be on the lookout for that!

The point is this: No matter what I write about on SubStack - music, politics, astrology, alternate realities, aliens, whatever - the one subject I’m always ultimately writing about is ME. My primary goal isn't to sell stories or music, get popular, or convince anyone about anything. Those things will be nice when they happen (and they will), but they’re NOT the motivation or the goal.

My motivation is authenticity.

My goal is to attract my tribe.

- The Khamisi Project