Wisely Toni Morrison advised, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” With these words, Morrison, a guiding force in my artistic practice, inspired me to meet the challenge by creating the events I struggled to find but wanted to see. In 2001, San Francisco was experiencing the cultural impact of gentrification and the world was continuing its struggle to see Black women artists acknowledged as cultural producers. I responded by creating a weekly event called "WildSeed Wednesdays." The title was inspired by Octavia Butler's Wild Seed book from the Patternist series. One important theme I saw in Butler's work and in the work of other Black Sci-Fi writers was having the ability to design and produce what we've decided to reimagine--the value of our lives on planet earth. Not asking for freedom, creating it. This concept resonated to the point of inspiration. Each week I collaborated with artists from across the Bay Area who shared their work as singers, producers, and DJs with a crowd longing to see themselves take root in public spaces. Together, the women and I created one of the most popular social events of the year. Upon moving to New York City in 2005, I formalized my event-planning prowess and launched WildSeed Cultural Group. I founded WildSeed Cultural Group with the mission to provide “entertainment with a thesis,” a mission driven by a desire to incorporate the nontraditional elements of literature, cultural criticism and ethnomusicology into the New York City music scene. For the past ten years, WildSeed Cultural Group has expanded to produce events on a local, national and international level.
