Ideations of Potential

Shodekeh's Innovation Lab of Embodied Scholarship & Hip Hop Imagination

 

Dominic Shodekeh Talifero is a Baltimore-based beatboxer, vocal percussionist, and breath artist. He brings his musical passions to the materials in the Ideations of Potential collection. This is the first hip-hop based collection to enter Towson University's Special Collections, the first in the University of Maryland system, and the first in the State of Maryland. It is also the first living archive of a professional beatboxer anywhere in the world. With the culture of Hip Hop entering it's 50th year in 2023, the timing of such an collection couldn't be more in tune with Hip Hop's current state of evolution.

You can:

find his work in other collections

discover his craft beyond the archive

listen to curated playlists

read the full Archive Statement

browse digital artifacts

Explore the projects below and read more about Shodekeh's life journey. 

You can investigate the individual projects in the Innovation Lab, or browse materials in the digital collection.

TU Innovatium

Since 2006, Shodekeh has been cultivating a unique, dynamic, and innovative relationship with Towson University. From the Department of Dance, to the Asian Arts & Culture Center, to the Albert S. Cook Library, this section illuminates the special connection between Shodekeh and TU, and how it continues to evolve.

The Dargan

Shodekeh began a musical collaboration with the Tuvan throat singing ensemble Alash in 2011, resulting in an ongoing partnership that reaches across the globe. The Dargan project delves into their work and performances together and their friendship beyond the stage.

Plenipotentiary

As an independent artist and musician, Shodekeh has partnered with many different individuals and organizations to create collaborative experiences. From hosting discussions with neuroscientists to live performances with symphony orchestras, the Plenipotentiary project explores Shodekeh's partnerships outside his work at Towson University.

Therapy Lab [coming soon]

Check back soon for more information about this project.

Breath Art [coming soon]

Check back soon for more information about this project.

The Golden Record [coming soon]

Check back soon for more information about this project.

Shodekeh’s career spans the globe and includes partnerships with dancers, musicians, doctors, and other universities. Browse the images or use the link below to see performances, listen to interviews, and read articles about Shodekeh’s work beyond Ideations of Potential.

Beyond the Archive

Alash Ensemble with Shodekeh at the IlluminAsia Series

Some hidden text

Shodekeh and Dr. Charles Limb at the Salzburg Global Seminar

Learn more about Shodekeh by browsing this interactive map.

I, Dominic Shodekeh Shodargan Talifero, hereby pledge to utilize my Living Archive for the preservation, cultivation, and maximization all of my human gifts, intelligence, intuition, imagination, energy, training, creativity, potential and all future attempts at complete Musical Embodiment for the greater purpose of shining a sustained light on the silent epidemic and evolving crisis of Black Youth Suicide and Ideation, of which I am a continued survivor, as well as all other endemic forms of this tragic phenomenon within the human experience in the face of the greatest catalyst of my deep trauma, my absolute sworn enemy, that being the global system of Racism / White Supremacy.

This is my War and my Cosmic Assignment, now during this era of converging pandemics and beyond, and I promise that I will not rest until the day that this goal surpasses my own time on Earth if need be, in order for this mission to hopefully be passed down to future generations if necessary, so that there may be Peace, so help me God.

- 2020

Learn More: The National Institute of Mental Health: "Addressing the Crisis of Black Youth Suicide"