Vernon Reid’s “Artificial Afrika” Project

by D. Young

Guitar legend, Vernon Reid, of black rock group, Living Colour discusses his work as a multimedia artist with Producer, Derin Young. Reid now combines and expands his work as a musician and photographer into multimedia performance experiences with the introduction of his ever evolving, Artificial Afrika project …

One of contemporary music’s most prolific guitarists, Reid has been featured in the Martin Scorsese’s documentary, “The Blues” and was included on the list of Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists. Mistaken Identity is an example of Reid’s experimental and solo work that explores themes of ethnicity and cultural ipseity. Reid recently featured portions of “Artificial Afrika” in Miami’s Design District and participated in discussion and performance programming during the closing weekend of crystal bridges’ Soul Of A Nation exhibition.

Artist, Composer, Musician and Producer, Vernon Reid is the founder of the rock band Living Colour, which was formed in New York City in 1984.  Living Colour won two Grammy Awards in 1990 and 1991 for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band’s most recent and sixth studio album, Shade, was released in 2017. Reid’s career spans several decades and includes work with such artists as Defunct, Bill Frisell, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Mick Jagger, Arto Lindsay, James Blood Ulmer and John Zorn among many others.