I confess that I haven't read much Afrofuturism, but everything I have read is unlike anything else I have ever read. If you want sci-fi that will kick you into new territory, go find some Nnedi Okorafor.

What is really cool about this intergalactic diplomatic mission is that Binti is OmuHimba from Namibia (Google Himba people right now), and the otjize paste that the Himba use on their braids and skin is an integral part of how she saves the universe. There's also colonialism and octopus-jellyfish aliens. The only let down in this novella is that it is a novella! I wish soooo much that it had been fleshed out into a 350 page book.