A handful of animation and hip-hop fans watched the culture-bending animation Afro Samurai at the Museum of Civilization Sept. 24 for the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Afro Samurai was one of several animations screened for the panel on animation in hip-hop culture.
An African-American samurai, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, battled an arrow-slinging foe to an energetic hip-hop score. The film may not be your typical Saturday morning cartoon, but the link between animation and hip-hop culture is much more common than expected, said the festival's technical director Matt Rosen, who curated the festival’s “Don’t Stop: Hip Hop in Animation” program.
“I grew up with hip-hop music,” said Rosen during his introduction to the panel. “And I’ve always been fascinated by the way that the culture of hip hop pulls elements from cultures of all kinds.”
Animation and comic books have helped to create hip-hop culture, he said.
This blend of lively visuals and hip hop has found a place in the imaginations of many animators, including the panelists who gathered to talk about their experiences making videos.
Music video directors Ken Wong (also known as Monkmus) and James Reitano, and writer- producer Eric Calderon, who brought Afro Samurai to North American audiences, formed the panel moderated by hip-hop artist Jesse “Dangerously” McDonald.
Selected works from the three panelists were screened while McDonald provoked discussion amongst the group. A screening of “All Caps,” a music video Reitano animated, opened up the discussion of the link between comic books and hip hop. Reitano described the video as a “love letter to Marvel Comics.”
“Comic books are deep,” McDonald said.
A comic book collector must hunt through the stacks to find the issues that will complete the story, he said.
“It’s a completist culture,” Reitano said. “A lot of comic book guys got into hip hop and record-digging because it’s the exact same mentality.”
McDonald elaborated and said rap producers, for example, read liner notes to find a good sample. Many who attended the event were aspiring animators and hip-hop artists.
The brief question and answer period provided an opportunity for fans to ask how to successfully combine animation and hip-hop music and break into the industry, to which Calderon advised people to meet more people in the community.
The event concluded with a discussion of the future of Afro Samurai. Calderon said he believes the story would make a great stage play, combining costumes, acrobatics, dancing and hip hop.
“I think you could bring an entire new audience to the theatre,” he said.
