Black music has bridged the gap between the past, present, and future for millennia. Artists such as Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Sun Ra albeit through contrasting time frames have shaped our vision of afrofuturism. They walked the thin line between dystopian reality, and utopian dream scapes through sound. With that came the manipulation of conventional sonic textures into cavernous displays of reverb and delay. In today’s context of music’s relationship with society these forms are present and readily available. It presents its self experimentally, and in conventional forms. Pauline Oliveros and Herbie Hancock envisioned this through performance and recording. Beat makers, and composers can now create their own epithets from the foundation set in stone by their contemporaries. The collective consciousness of black music is forever more fluid at this moment in time than ever before.

The profound work of JoVia Armstrong is a galvanized force for black culture, black love, and black societies. Through the logical influences of dub reggae, reverb, and drones she creates a sonically woven tapestry of space and rhythm. It is a clear progression from her previous work on the 2009 album Fuzzy Blue Robe Chronicles (self released July 17, 2009) which explored immortality, black nerd consciousness, and black autonomy. She is able to create space within the intricate details of her sound palette. As a musician, composer, educator, and afrofuturist she finds common ground with her influences conveying acoustical textures blanketed by drones, reverb, and space. The latter of which beckons the counterparts, and sets a fundamental foundation. Her sound vision encapsulates all genres simultaneously. The sense of time integration is uniquely present in her work. Past, present, and future sound acoustics congeal into glorious harmony and rhythm. Furthering the dreamscape she composes to be a beacon of hope and inspiration for the black community.

With her latest effort “The Antidote Suite” (Black Earth Music June,2022) the self taught composer from Detroit generously offers healing through sound, pathways to unconventional societies, and the forbearance to deal with black trauma. It is a grand soundscape not limited to the banality of our present, but a centripetal force to the future and beyond. There are echoes of egalitarian acceptance which mightily translates with her social forum Eunoia Society. “I’m discovering through technology my own digital blackness” she opined with regard to completing this project. It is a formidable statement that lends itself to the polarities in the black community. As a technologist she marries antiquity with the fervor, and resilience of the past few generations. In essence she forms her own soundscape that readily translates to the other musicians and engineers on this album. The music breathes life into what has been discarded for generations regarding black people. Liberation.


The Antidote Suite is a collaborative effort with curator Bridget Cooks for The Black Index exhibition. It is both meditative and reactive. With a goal of emphasizing the altruistic nature of black culture. Yet still bringing the listener to understand the relationship of cultural pain and joy. Drones, repetition, and time based reflection are a consistent motif throughout the album. There are sonic disassociations, and acoustics of pure harmony. Time becomes a tool with her recreating cavernous effects with reverb and delay. At the core it is spiritual music that lends itself to grooves and rhythm. This comes through fantastically on the track “Zebra” with exceptional vocals from rapper Teh’Ray Hale. Also featured on the album are Leslie DeShazor (violin), Isaiah Sharkey (bass), Jeff Parker (guitar), Yaw Agyeman (vocals), Teh’Ray Hale (rapper), Nicole Mitchell (flute), and Amr Fahmy (piano).

There are many timeless themes explored on The Antidote Suite within the context of black culture. Deep listening is an encouraging one coming from her influence from Pauline Oliveros. One can for a moment see the textures created by the track “Shades and Shapes” which envelops the listener in drone space, and minimalism. The opening of the album with the song “Breathe” sets a lush, organic marriage of dystopian frailties with egalitarian magic composed by a black woman who’s sound mind spans the globe. On “Beautifully Black” we are introduced to a primary vocal sample that establishes an atmosphere of nature, flight, and flowing rain water with birds. It is such a fluid representation of all the components she brings with her, and with the listener on this journey. It’s ritualistic yet formidable. Meditative in the actual pursuit of repetition. It is spiritual music with a groove that cements groundbreaking liberation for black people.


The music conditions the balance of deep listening, feeling, and movement. She can create her own autonomous zone with her technological acumen. In an instant her instrumentation and composition are personified. Pianos awaken. Djembes pierce the air. The bass comes in waves like dub from the earth. Vocals become mantras. Repetitive nature becomes liberation. And the complexities of the black community become even more transparent. With feelings coming out of the opaque reality of our present form. The core becomes magnetic, experimental, textured, and contrasting. The final act distorts time and space. Building an impenetrable bridge within black consciousness.

With her tactful delivery through a sonic life, JoVia Armstrong is a formidable superhero of black culture. Her “black nerd” aesthetic is a welcoming gift in polarity with what society dictates for black people. Her humble beginnings in Detroit, and parents that set a strong musical foundation albeit without secularized influences, she has broken through the patriarchal trappings of colonialism and its byproduct racism. Upon joining the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) she explored her role within the black community. And through this she has been able to create her own societies. Eunoia being one of her most concerted efforts. It is an effort in which she can tell her own story and create her own narratives. She becomes through her vision master of her own universe. As she so eloquently opines, “I’ve been on a journey of self discovery to understand my identity, which automatically welcomes liberation. I can now embrace this super power as a way to help change society.”

Jason McDaniel