IFE

Otura Mun (pronounced Oh-too-rah Moon), a Bàbálawo, or high priest, initiated into Ifá in Cuba, sees his ongoing ÌFÉ project as an extension of his spiritual life, the Ifá and Orisha religious practices being the lens through which the music is conceptualized. ÌFÉ is also an extension of Mun’s lifelong study of African diasporic percussion, a pursuit that has taken him from collegiate drumlines through the same Dallas jazz and soul scene that birthed Erykah Badu to Puerto Rico, where, for 20 years, Mun studied under master drummers tied to the island’s rich Afro-Latin musical traditions. While living in Puerto Rico, Mun built up an extensive discography producing tracks and albums for singers and MC’s drawn from the island’s underground hip-hop and indie scenes. Out of this hyper-creative environment and cultural work, the concept and direction for ÌFÉ was born in Mun’s San Juan studio in 2015.

In 2020 ÌFÉ moved to New Orleans, a change meant as a creative catalyst and for undertaking further musical study, but equally as a political decision, the African-American artist deliberately seeking to engage with a city rooted in Black American culture, community and history. 0000+0000, which began as early sketches in San Juan, was fully realized in New Orleans, becoming a necessary bridge for Mun between his past experiences and a new era, while still acting as a continuation of his efforts to connect dots within the African diaspora in the Western hemisphere.