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I first heard the hyphenated word, Afro-tech, being used in a song called “Legacy” from Sean Carter’s 13th album (4:44).

In one of his lyrics Jay Z says - “That's major, just like the Negro League.”

Meaning: In the late 1800s, Blacks were not accepted in baseball, which eventually led to the formation of the Negro Leagues in 1887. Many leagues would form and collapse due to attendance issues, but the most reputable league was the Negro American League, which lasted for almost three decades. Even though Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, these leagues lasted almost two more decades because of racial tension in the United States.(Genius.com)

Then, in a following verse Hov goes on to say - “There was a time America wouldn't let us ball.”

Meaning: Jay Z is creating a connotation between the previous exclusion of black people from American sports, to now the exclusion of black people from the tech world. (Genius.com)

I’d actually go further and say the exclusion of not just black people, but any person who are the consumers using the tech however not being able to profit from having the opportunity to create the tech.

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