photos by Gretchen Robinette

Lauryn Hill / Death Grips / Suicidal Tendencies @ Afropunk Fest 8/22/2015













Death Grips, on a smaller stage right after Ms. Hill's set, played with a similarly uninterrupted, flow-through feeling, though way more explosive and less legible, and with zero sentimentality. Through five years of confounding moves against record companies and its own listeners (the band announced last year that it would break up, but who knows?), its sound has held steady: A punk-noise-rap hybrid with Zach Hill's assaultive live drums, MC Ride's bellowing warnings and a general air of police-state dread and negativity. But the good feeling of the festival accommodated them too: hundreds of fans near the stage jumped in coordination to the jagged beats; behind that front flank, there was more general pleasure in the audience than I've seen at their shows in the past. - [NY Times]

Following Friday's Grace Jones-headlined Fancy Dress Ball, the 2015 Afropunk Fest got underway proper on Saturday (8/22) with performances from Lauryn Hill, Death Grips (who did in fact both show up and play), Kelis, Danny Brown, Suicidal Tendencies, Candiria and more. Our photographer was there mainly to shoot the concertgoers and scene, but did get a few shots of Lauryn Hill (who started 40 minutes late and had her set cut short because of it), Death Grips and Suicidal Tendencies. Pics from those acts, plus lots of the 30,000+ crowd continue below...



---

Suicidal Tendencies

Lauryn Hill

Death Grips