Today we’d like to introduce you to Dame Mufasa.
Hi Dame, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I wasn’t someone who always knew they wanted to be an artist. Honestly, I kind of stumbled into it reluctantly. I’ve always loved music, but growing up I never really thought much about art or creativity as something I would pursue myself.
At a certain point in my life, I had to confront the reality that my lifestyle and mindset were taking me down an unhealthy path. I was finding myself incarcerated and in situations that could’ve easily changed the course of my life for the worse. Looking back, I realized that I didn’t have many healthy outlets to express myself or process what I was experiencing.
I started experimenting with creative expression, initially through music, and it completely changed the way I saw myself and the world around me. Art gave me a way to explore thoughts, emotions, and experiences that I didn’t necessarily have the language or tools to express otherwise. More importantly, it helped me recognize that I wasn’t limited to the person I’d been or the circumstances I’d experienced. I could actually imagine and create something different for myself.
That realization has stayed with me ever since.
What started with music eventually grew into an interest in filmmaking, visual arts, curation, and creative production. I became fascinated not only with what I could express through different mediums, but with what art could make possible for other people.
Over time, that curiosity also led me into community engagement, arts programming, and advocacy work. A lot of what I do now is rooted in either sharing the transformative possibilities of art with others or using creativity to advance causes and ideas that I believe in.
In 2024, I was selected for the Crosstown Arts residency, where I developed my album CHURCH IN THE WILD and my experimental short film Eyes of God. That experience was especially meaningful because it allowed me to bring several of my creative interests together. Since then, Eyes of God has been selected for the 2026 Indie Memphis Film Festival, and I’ve continued expanding my practice through projects like Young Hot Ebony, an exhibition exploring the hypersexualization of Black bodies throughout American history, and Soil2Souls, where I help document community histories and experiences through film and storytelling.
I think the biggest difference between where I started and where I am today is that I no longer see art as simply something I make. I see it as a tool for understanding ourselves, challenging the world around us, preserving our stories, and imagining possibilities that might not otherwise seem available to us. That’s what keeps me exploring new mediums and taking on projects that might not fit neatly under one title.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I think one of the biggest challenges has been figuring out how to build a sustainable life around my creative interests, especially coming into the arts without a traditional background or a clear roadmap.
A lot of my journey has involved learning things as I go, teaching myself new skills, building relationships, and finding ways to execute ideas without always having the resources or institutional support to match my ambitions. I’ve had to become pretty resourceful, and while that’s helped me grow tremendously, it can also be exhausting.
Another challenge has been navigating the professional world with a past that doesn’t always fit neatly into what employers or institutions consider an ideal background. There have been opportunities that felt out of reach before I even had a chance to demonstrate what I was capable of. That experience has made me think a lot about access, opportunity, and how much talent and potential can go overlooked simply because someone’s journey looks different.
I’ve also had to learn how to balance being an artist with the practical responsibilities of sustaining a career. When you’re passionate about several disciplines, it can be difficult to decide where to focus your energy, especially when you’re simultaneously trying to create meaningful work, support yourself financially, and contribute to your community.
But I think those challenges have also shaped my approach to creativity. I’ve learned not to wait for perfect circumstances or permission to make something happen. Some of the work I’m most proud of came from figuring out how to make the most of what was available to me.
I’m still navigating a lot of those challenges today. I don’t think there’s necessarily a point where everything suddenly becomes easy, but I’ve become much more confident in my ability to adapt, collaborate, and create opportunities where they might not have existed before.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, musician, and curator based in Memphis, Tennessee. My work spans several disciplines, but at the heart of it all is a fascination with storytelling, Black culture, identity, and the ways art can challenge how we see ourselves and the world around us.
Music was my introduction to creative expression, and I perform and release music under the name Dame Mufasa. My most recent album, CHURCH IN THE WILD, was developed during my 2024 Crosstown Arts residency alongside my experimental short film Eyes of God. The film explores themes of Black faith, love, mortality, and spirituality through a surreal, nontraditional approach to storytelling. It was recently selected for the 2026 Indie Memphis Film Festival, which has been an especially exciting milestone for me as an independent filmmaker.
I’m also really passionate about curatorial work. I’ve had the opportunity to develop exhibitions that explore complex aspects of Black history and contemporary life while creating space for other artists to share their perspectives. Some of those projects include Safe-Keeping: An Exploration of Mass Incarceration, the War on Drugs, and the Black Family, which I guest curated at CMPLX/CLTV in Memphis, and an exhibition of black & white film photography by Madam Fraankie that I curated for NADA Miami in 2023. More recently, I curated Young Hot Ebony: Sex Sells, a group exhibition examining the hypersexualization of Black bodies throughout American history through the work of eight artists.
Outside of my independent artistic practice, I’ve also worked extensively in arts administration, creative production, and community engagement. One project I’m particularly proud to be involved with is Soil2Souls, a South Memphis based initiative focused on food sovereignty, health equity, and cultural storytelling. Through our documentary series Soul Table and other community projects, I’ve been able to help preserve and share stories about food, family, history, and the people who make our communities what they are.
I think what I’m most proud of is that I’ve managed to build a creative practice that allows me to explore my own ideas while also helping other people bring theirs to life. Whether I’m directing a film, recording music, curating an exhibition, or producing a community project, I genuinely enjoy the process of taking an idea and figuring out how to make it real.
As far as what sets me apart, I think it’s my willingness to experiment and work across disciplines without feeling obligated to fit into one particular category. I don’t necessarily approach art with the intention of giving people answers. I’m more interested in creating experiences that make people curious, challenge their assumptions, or encourage them to consider something from a perspective they hadn’t before.
I also don’t believe meaningful art has to be confined to traditional spaces or require crazy resources. Some of my most rewarding work has come from being resourceful, collaborating with talented people, and finding unconventional ways to bring ambitious ideas to life.
At the end of the day, I want to continue making work that contributes something meaningful to our culture, whether that’s through the stories I tell myself or the opportunities I help create for others.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
YouTube and Spotify are probably two of my most used apps. I’m constantly discovering new music, listening to interviews, watching documentaries, or going down random rabbit holes researching whatever happens to interest me that day. YouTube especially has been an incredible resource for learning new skills and exploring subjects I might not otherwise have been exposed to.
As a reader. I gravitate toward classics, biographies, and books that offer some kind of practical knowledge or a different perspective on the world. I love writers like James Baldwin and bell hooks, whose work has really influenced how I think about identity, culture, relationships, and society.
Funny enough, for someone who spends so much time creating art and telling stories, I actually don’t read much fiction at all. I’m usually more interested in real people’s experiences, history, philosophy, or learning something I can apply to my own life.
I think curiosity is probably my biggest resource. I enjoy learning for the sake of learning, and you’d be surprised how often something completely unrelated to what I’m working on ends up inspiring a creative idea later.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @DameMufasa901
