Rewound In Black: An Alphabet of Sound & Soul

Rewound In Black is a visual archive—part homage, part time machine—using the familiar language of cassette tapes to honor Black music, performance, and storytelling across generations. Each letter of the alphabet is dedicated to a Black cultural figure whose voice, sound, or presence reshaped the emotional and political landscape of their era.

The cassette tape functions as both object and metaphor: a vessel for memory, repetition, and joy. Once a primary tool for sharing music hand-to-hand, taping radio favorites, and preserving voices that mainstream systems often overlooked, the cassette becomes a symbol of how Black creativity has always found ways to be recorded, replayed, and passed down—regardless of format or gatekeeper.

Each piece references the physical scale of an actual cassette tape and its protective case, grounding these icons in an intimate, tactile dimension. These are not untouchable monuments, but voices you could have held in your palm, rewound late at night, or played until the tape wore thin.

A — Aaliyah
B — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
C — Curtis Mayfield
D — D’Angelo
E — Erykah Badu
F — Frankie Beverly
G — Gladys Knight
H — Hattie McDaniel
I — Isaac Hayes
J — James Brown
K — Kendrick Lamar
L — Lena Horne
M — Marvin Gaye
N — Nina Simone
O — Otis Redding
P — Prince
Q — Quincy Jones
R — Roberta Flack
S — Stevie Wonder
T — Teddy Pendergrass
U — Usher
V — Vesta
W — Whitney Houston
X — Xscape (R&B group)
Y — Yolanda Adams
Z — Zora Neale Hurston