
In celebration of the opening of william cordova now’s the time: narratives of southern alchemy on the evening of April 26, we asked the artist to create a 10-song playlist and outline why these songs are inspired or connected to the exhibition and artist.
Blank Project – Neneh Cherry
Umbabarauma – Jorge Ben
Amampondo – Miriam Makeba
Look at us – John Trudell
Toro Mata – Lucila Campos
Cop killer – Body Count
All wild DJ’s he will tame – Vicious Bass
Si’m fe ou Bagay – Althiery Dorival
America Latina – Nicomedes Santa Cruz
Tribute to Obabi (Ogun) – The Last Poets
cordova explained:
The idea of selecting 10 songs that inspired or that are connected to the artist/exhibition is difficult to assess because the process of developing can only occur with critical discourse and constant analysis of the internal/external environment. Music, cinema, literature, memory history, and the quotidian. These are essential tools that most people embrace early in their lives as a way of forming identity but in the process sometimes lose or forget those magical moments that enchanted us in the first place.

I can think of an infinite amount of audio compositions indirectly/directly related to the exhibition or my practice. On August 22, 1992, Hurricane Andrew was 24 hours away from South Florida while I was at the Lollapalooza Festival at the old Bicentennial Park, standing in the exact location where Pérez Art Museum Miami now sits, watching Body Count perform Cop Killer. The previous August, 1991, I had the fortune to get a sneak audio preview of All wild DJ’s he will tame from MC Madness (AKA Damion Thurston) my best friend Kasha’s older brother. MC Madness along with DJ Lace (Jorge M. Jaramillo) made up Vicious Bass. They helped pioneer Miami’s/Booty Bass genre and were the first to cross over to into Freestyle music with Shake that Thang in 1988.
Growing up and listening to Lucha Reyes, Lucila Campos, Victoria Santa Cruz, Jorge Ben, and Nicomedes Santa Cruz and then being introduced to John Trudell and The Last Poet’s enhanced my appreciation for words, reading, literature, etc. All of those compositions and words still invoke past moments and maintain an esprit de corps.
william cordova now’s the time: narratives of southern alchemy is on view through October 7, 2018.