Hey Family!
In this week’s spellbinding episode of How to Be Magical, I sat down with the incomparable Ace Blackwood—filmmaker, illustrator, and digital conjurer known as Hip Hop and Hoodoo. Our conversation is a vibrant tapestry of ancestral reclamation, femme rebellion, and the unapologetic magic of pop culture nostalgia.
Ace opens up about her journey into Hoodoo, a path that began not with family elders, but with a childhood curiosity about the spiritual threads woven into Black folklore. Raised in a devout Christian household, she found herself drawn to the untold stories—Anansi the Spider, Br’er Rabbit—and the quiet ways Hoodoo lingered in their family’s history despite its suppression. This reawakening, as Ace calls it, is a testament to the resilience of tradition, even when it’s forced underground.
The discussion turns fiery as Ace and I dissect her Hoodoo Swim Series, where Bratz dolls and Mean Girls archetypes collide with Afro-spirituality. Imagine Regina George as a Vodou initiate or Clueless’ Cher Horowitz reading tarot—Ace’s work revels in the duality of glamour and grit, proving that femininity and power aren’t just compatible, but inseparable. She challenges the notion that spirituality must be austere, arguing instead for a practice that embraces perfume, sequins, and world history.
Feminism pulses at the heart of Ace’s philosophy. “What comes last in the world,” Ace declares, “in my traditions, comes first.” This ethos fuels their mission to center marginalized identities, whether through storytelling, art, or the simple act of wearing a blinged-out spider necklace as an ancestral homage.
As the episode closes, Ace leaves listeners with a call to arms: embrace the mess, the glam, and the contradictions. Whether you’re a perfume snob, a mythology nerd, or a skeptic who secretly loves The Craft, this conversation is a reminder that magic isn’t just in the shadows—it’s in the glitter, the gossip, and the stories we’ve been told not to tell.
Some of the media referenced in this episode:
The Serpent in the Rainbow, 1986 film
Penny Dreadful, 2014 series
Anansi stories by Michael Auld
Br’er Rabbit
Grimm Fairytales
She is currently taking bookings for divination, so please be sure to support her work if you feel called to.
Connect with Ace:
IG: @hiphopandhoodoo
Twitter: @HouseofBLKWD
TikTok: @aceblackwood
Email: hiphopandhoodoo@gmail.com
Share this post