Jimi Hendrix Dethrones a British Rock God in New Episode of Animated ‘Afrofuturism’ Series

Jimi Hendrix, like anyone living in his purple afterglow (George Clinton, Prince, Stevie Ray Vaughan and well beyond) tends to be the subject of some larger-than-life music mythologies. Regardless of whether they prove to be true, each tale only cements the icon’s status.

One of those famous fairytales hones in on a singular moment in music history, a clash of the titans situation that dethroned a British rock god and crowned a virtual unknown as king of the six-string. The night in question, Hendrix was invited to join Eric Clapton and reigning psych-rock royalty, CREAM, on stage at The Regent Street Polytechnic in London, where The OG Purple One blew through blues standard “The Killing Floor” right in front of a man (Clapton) who would refused to play the Howlin’ Wolf classic due to its difficulty. Hendrix, of course, showed no signs of wear or strain.

DUST‘s animated Afrofuturism series continues today with a spotlight on Hendrix’s heist of the throne and his connection to the galaxy of astrally-projected black excellence that Sun Ra theorized and implemented. Watch the latest installment of the series below and jump back to revisit previous episodes on Sunny, George Clinton and Star Trek‘s Lt. Nyota Uhura.