David Boykin began studying music on the clarinet at the age of 21 in 1991 and first performed professionally in 1997. Since 1997 he has released over 20 recordings as a leader; appeared as a features guest on other prominent musician’s recordings; performed at major international jazz festivals and smaller jazz venues locally and globally; and founded Sonic Healing Ministries, which is an organization dedicated to the spiritual evolution of humanity through music.

Dr. Belsidus is one of the newest performance personas of composer and multi instrumentalist David Boykin. Utilizing turntables, drum machines, samplers, and synthesizers, Boykin creates electronic music informed my golden era hip-hop production techniques through the lenses of a 21st century Chicago based free jazz musician and the 20th century militant Pan African Revolutionary character Dr Belsidus from George Schuyler's classic Black sci-fi novel, Black Empire.