Aethiopia (Greek Αἰθιοπία) first appears as a geographical term in classical sources, in reference to the Upper Nile region, as well as all the regions south of the Sahara desert. Its earliest mention is in the works of Homer: twice in the Iliad, and three times in the Odyssey. The Greek historian Herodotus specifically uses it to refer to the ancient kingdom of Kush in Sudan. The name also features in Greek mythology, where it is sometimes associated with a kingdom said to be seated at Joppa, or elsewhere in Asia.

Homer (c. 800 BC) is the first to mention "Aethiopians" (Αἰθίοπας); he mentions that they are to be found at the southern extremities of the world, divided by the sea into "eastern" (at the sunrise) and "western" (at the sunset). The Greek poets Hesiod (c. 700 BC) and Pindar (c. 450 BC) speak of Memnon as the "king of Aethiopia", and further state that he founded the city of Susa (in Elam).

In 515 BC, Scylax of Caryanda, on orders from Darius the Great of Persia, sailed along the Indus River, Indian Ocean and Red Sea, circumnavigating the Arabian peninsula. He mentioned Aethiopians, but his writings on them have not survived. Hecataeus of Miletus (ca. 500 BC) is also said to have written a book about Aethiopia, but his writing is now known only through quotations from later authors. He stated that Aethiopia was located to the east of the Nile, as far as the Red Sea and Indian Ocean; he is also quoted as relating a myth that the Skiapods ("Shade feet") lived there, whose feet were supposedly large enough to serve as shade. The philosopher Xenophanes, who lived around the same time, noted that "The Thracians make their gods like them, with blue eyes and fair (or red) hair, while Aethiopians make their gods like them, black".

Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, legal name Le Sony'r Ra; May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993) was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a 1979 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

"Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial," critic Scott Yanow said, because of Sun Ra's eclectic music and unorthodox lifestyle. Claiming that he was of the "Angel Race" and not from Earth, but from Saturn, Sun Ra developed a complex persona using "cosmic" philosophies and lyrical poetry that made him a pioneer of afrofuturism. He preached awareness and peace above all. He abandoned his birth name and took on the name and persona of Sun Ra (Ra being the Egyptian God of the Sun), and used several other names throughout his career, including Le Sonra and Sonny Lee. Sun Ra denied any connection with his birth name, saying "That's an imaginary person, never existed … Any name that I use other than Ra is a pseudonym."