Preventing ‘Legacy Loss’: The Afrofuturist Vision of pgLang
The Overview
Afrofuturism is a genre that re-imagines the lives of Black people as unfettered by oppression, technologically advanced and highly developed… The potential for an alternative reality is that individuals and, importantly, whole communities can also assert alternative world views. — Ms. Magazine
pgLang was founded in 2020 by Kendrick Lamar and his business partner Dave Free. The name pgLang is a stylized acronym of Program Language and it represents an independent multidisciplinary creative communications company that specializes in music and visual media production. Lamar (aka K-Dot) used the Super Bowl LIX halftime show as a vehicle to promote the company as evidenced by the tilted “a” pendant displayed prominently on the rapper’s chain and chest, as well as other references sprinkled throughout the show.
It’s as much avant-garde performance art as concert. The aesthetic is minimalist. Gone, the hype man. Gone, the elevated D.J. Gone, an entourage serving as backdrop. Gone, the rapper habit of swaggering side to side, pulling people from the audience onto the stage. — Mitchell S. Jackson
Lamar’s business move is part of a long tradition of Black American music enterprise, beginning with companies such as Black Swan Records and the The Lincoln Motion Picture Company. The Foster Film Company produced films with ‘in’ jokes for Black audiences who watched their films and recognized certain figures. We can see the same thing happening with pgLang, from the “a” pendant to K-Dot’s performances.
Black history is so many times lost, forgotten, thrown away,” said Sergio Mims, a film critic and co-founder of the Black Harvest Film Festival. “[Black silent films were] not preserved, and so, no, we don’t know a lot about William Foster or the other filmmakers. — Arionne Nettles
An unfortunate aspect of early Black media technology and innovation is the loss of legacy, meaning the fading or destruction of a person or group’s reputation, impact, or lasting influence, essentially when the memories, values, or achievements people were known for are no longer actively remembered, preserved, or carried forward by others. This can happen due to neglect, lack of documentation, societal changes, or even deliberate attempts to erase peoples’ histories. Some of the ways to prevent this from happening is through education and sharing knowledge, specifically by actively teaching others about the important aspects of notable peoples’ lives and accomplishments.
“Family Ties” is more lyric than narrative, moving from image to stunning image, using overlapping frames and VFX. The religious symbolism, the imagery of home, the technical innovation — all are signature aspects of the pgLang ethos.
In an Apple Music pre-game/halftime interview Lamar praises his pgLang team and asks the audience to clap for them. Seeing all of the pgLang gear and set pieces during the halftime performance intrigued me and led to me going further down the rabbit hole. I was reminded of Dapper Dan, a hip-hop fashion designerwho merged luxury brand logos with designs based on African textiles such as Kuba and Kente. Dapper Dan not only noticed a lack of Black representation in the fashion world, but he also saw a lack of accessibility to the types of styles his community wanted to wear. He used fashion design to ‘vision map’ and curate hip-hop culture. Dapper Dan was a fashion outlaw, so it would make sense that rap outlaw Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free (pgLang) would want to hang out with him.
Vision Mapping & Afrofuturism
Putting round pegs through square holes is not a process, but we embrace the idea of anarchy and challenges that make us stronger. PGLang is focused on using our experiences, and nurturing our many collaborators, to build stories that are equally accessible and engaging then fitting them within the best media.
Vision mapping is the process of visualizing your goals and breaking them down into manageable steps. It’s about creating a clear picture of what you want to achieve and then mapping out the path to get there. The ‘vision’ in vision mapping refers to worldbuilding and narrative design. Leveraging narrative as a tool for design can help drive emotional connection and the sense of a shared experience. These methods can be found in the pgLang ethos, especially through Afrofuturism, a practice that navigates the past, present and future. This expression/practice often involves navigation or ascertaining one’s position and planning and following a specific route.
The feel of it is Black America, Free said of Lamar’s show. What does Black America look like, and how to control that narrative of what it means to be Black in America versus the world’s perspective of that is. — Dave Free (WSJ.com)
In 2020, the company released a visual mission statement (video) titled “Welcome to pgLang” that features actress Yara Shahidi and Kendrick Lamar among other performers. One image that stayed with me was from a scene with a white box that has three portals labeled PAST, NOW, FUTURE.
In the video Shahidi approaches and looks into the center “NOW” portal and is transported to another world or reality. Different images appear in the “PAST” and “FUTURE” portals, including a plastic bag in the wind that points to the ‘awareness of an interconnection and interdependence between humans and the world’. In the film American Beauty the plastic bag symbolizes the search for beauty and meaning in everyday life.
Portals of Possibility
I see that what I call aesthetics has a heft and power to it that allows us to imagine new futures, to build utopias and to usher in a new world…
Afrofuturism allows us to see a world where Black people may have their needs and desires met or dashed, but it holds us in focus, us in the center, us as important, loved, cherished. — Olu Niyi-Awosusi
The tilted “a” in the pgLang logo is mysterious, its meaning is a secret but the company has provided breadcrumbs such as the logo that shows two children standing on their tippy toes and pointing upwards toward’s the “a” (see above). The letter “A” is often one of the first letters taught to children. In numerology, the letter “A” is said to represent the number one. The pgLang clothing label (see top image) shows all of the letters of the English alphabet (language), including the tilted “a”.
The pgLang “a” could mean any or all of these things, including Afrofuturism which a lens through which creators imagine or speculate about new ideas. The pgLang campaign is about worldbuilding and about leveraging narrative as tools for supporting hip hop culture. Kendrick Lamar often talks about his need and desire to maintain and support “the culture.” Thus, pgLang is a vehicle to achieve a vision. I see the “a” in the pgLang logo as a portal of possibility.
The notion of a ‘portal of possibility’ creates space for representation and creativity that leads to innovation. At a basic level (of worldbuilding and narrative design), you should be able to answer three basic questions:
- (Past) Who made this place? (Why? How will the player know?)
- (Present) Who lives here now? (Why? How will the player know?)
- (Future) How can the player affect this place? (Why? How will the player know what happened? How will the inhabitants react?)
Using Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance we can address these questions directly. The setting was a PlayStation game controller (we saw the buttons) and pgLang placed Black people on that gaming interface. We are now experiencing and seeing the impact of the show on hip hop culture and mass media.
Kendrick Lamar used rap as a vehicle for launching bigger projects. He and Dave Free are now in a space/place where there is a possibility for preventing legacy loss (see early 1900’s Black-owed film studios).
- Documenting achievements: Keeping detailed records of the work, projects, and significant contributions to provide concrete evidence of the impact.
- Sharing knowledge: Actively transferring expertise and insights to others to ensure continuity and prevent knowledge gaps.
- Building relationships: Establishing strong connections with colleagues, collaborators, and stakeholders to maintain a network that can speak to the accomplishments.
- Public engagement: Participating in relevant events to increase visibility and showcase the work to a wider audience.
- Mentoring others: Guiding and supporting the development of others, which not only creates a positive impact but also strengthens the legacy through their successes.
The Super Bowl LIX halftime show is the most visible of pgLang’s productions but there are others and the company is just five years old. If the company keeps this up they can take control of their legacy and ensure that their hard-earned assets are preserved for generations to come.