Tamar-kali: A Punk Artist with Soul
Tamar-kali hide caption
Tamar-kali
Two from Tamar-kali
Note: Lyrics include graphic references.
'Boot'
'Your Girl'
Brooklyn native Tamar-kali heads her own rock band. It's part of New York's small but strong black punk and hardcore music scene — captured in the recent film Afro Punk.
In her lyrics and her own personal style, she blends feminist politics and afrocentricity in a way that gives her hard rock sound a soulful edge. Her latest CD is 5ive Piece.
A veteran frontwoman for bands Funkface and Song of Seven, she has toured Europe recently, and spoke to Cheryl Corley from London.
Among the topics of conversation: How did a black woman from Brooklyn — who grew up listening to a lot of hip-hop — come to head her own rock band in New York? And what does the punk look, with its Mohawks, piercings and such, compare to images of life in Africa?