Every year, Brown seek new ways to connect research with leading media innovators, and we are happy to announce that we named DJ Spooky, aka That Subliminal Kid, Paul D. Miller, as the Brown Distinguished Media Innovator for 2017. DJ Spooky’s work ranges from creating the first DJ app to producing an impactful DVD anthology about the “Pioneers of African American Cinema”. According to a New York Times review, “there has never been a more significant video release than Pioneers of African-American Cinema.”

The prolific innovator and artist also created 13 music albums and is about to release a fourteenth. Called “Phantom Dancehall”, it is an intense mix of hip hop, Jamaican ska and dancehall culture. Paul D. Miller will engage in Brown-related collaborations all year, and his residency will culminate in a week-long series of lectures, workshops and performances at Stanford University starting April 10, 2017.

DJ Spooky’s lectures are part of the new Brown Institute Lecture series at Stanford, which we launch with Internet pioneer and founder of archive.org Brewster Kahle on October 11, 2016.