Experimental indie band Xiu Xiu have taken to Instagram to expose African Imperial Wizard, an industrial/hip hop DJ, of disguising his true identity as a white man, which they called a form of "extreme black face and a profound level of racist appropriation."
The artist is known for an elaborate backstory stating that he is from Angola, and imbues his music with African music samples and calls for Pan-African unity, even going as far as wearing a KKK costume with African "tribal" prints adorning it.
Allegedly, they recently played a show with African Imperial Wizard, and following his performance, he took his mask off, revealing his status as a middle-aged white man. This surprise, especially juxtaposed with his overall imagery and themes, prompted them to make a post talking about it.
Xiu Xiu's full statement:
"African Imperial Wizard is a middle aged white man. We had the extreme displeasure of playing with him last night not knowing who he was until he came back stage and, to our shock, took off his hood. The Imperial Wizard (which is a term for a “Ku Klux Klan” leader) obscures his white identity to the extent that he even wears gloves to cover his hands all while projecting a pastiche of black African “tribal” imagery on screen. He also claims to be part of an imagined pan African armed struggle and calls for his African brothers to join together to play on his records. These records are actually just made with Ableton samples. In the great and horrible tradition of western music, he is taking the art and lives of black people and crazily perverting them for his own bizarre edification and profit. This is extreme black face and a profound level of racist appropriation. Would you see, book or listen to a band of white men called Asian Gestapo?"
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