MIDAS
Task
How do you tell the story of American-born Africans without acting as a bridge between two cultures? Rather, by creating an entirely new space of its own? MIDAS set out to confront the tension, beauty, and contradictions of growing up African-influenced and American-shaped, translating that lived duality into sound and image.
Strategy
Develop a cohesive afrofusion project that blended African musical lineage with contemporary American storytelling focusing on sonic depth, and experimentation. Collaboration with first-generation African creatives ensured authenticity, while a self-taught, iterative process preserved rawness and emotional honesty.
Execution
MIDAS came to life as a 9-track album paired with 9 short-form visualizers, each designed to function independently while contributing to a unified narrative. Sonically, the project fused gritty 808s, highlife harmonies, Jama-inspired call-and-response, and cinematic textures. Visually, the content leaned into mood, movement, and minimalism rather than spectacle prioritizing feeling over polish. The project culminated in an intimate live event, creating a physical space for community and conversation around identity, culture, and self-expression.
Impact
The project resulted in an album amassing 25k+ streams, an in-person release event with 50+ attendees, and 9 visualizer videos that generated 50k+ engagements across platforms. Beyond metrics, MIDAS sparked dialogue around diasporic identity and positioned the work as a culturally resonant, multidimensional creative statement.