WASHINGTON — The pressures that some D.C. residents are feeling gave birth to the “Don’t Mute DC" movement. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser just made Go-Go the official music of the District.
But there is another brand of music that has been the soundtrack to D.C., telling the story of surviving through a gentrifying city.
On a recent Sunday, nearly 50 self-proclaimed 'hip-hop heads' filed into Studio A at Rockville’s Omega Studio for a sound session and experience of food, music and DC’s black culture.
"The Manhood Project is basically a lens into the journey of black boys and black men," Priest Da Nomad said. Priest Da Nomad is a pioneer in D.C. Hip hop, getting his start nearly 3 decades ago when D.C.'s U Street was buzzing with rap, jazz and poetry.
“I would go freestyle at the poetry events that's how I met Ta'Nehisi (Coates)," Priest said. The eclectic sounds echoing from clubs like Bohemian Cavern, Kaffa House and State of the Union. The institutions that gave birth to the resurgence of Black Broadway in the 1990's are now a distant memory on today's U Street.
"Venues that don't embrace hip hop, don't embrace music that comes from people of color," explained Priest, "It's harder than it used to be."
30 years later, the D.C. native and dad is still making music with a message.
"I think there have been a lot of great changes in the city," he said. "Every neighborhood wants nice things, but not at the expense of pushing people out. That's always the challenge, right, in providing resources for education, for economic development for housing for all that stuff to make things inclusive.”
At Omega, Priest teamed up with D.C.'s own celebrity chef Rock Harper, of Hell's Kitchen fame, for a night of beats and eats and how the two are crucial to the culture.
"These experiences around food, and usually there's music, have a tendency to anchor themselves in our minds and hearts," Chef Rock said. "It’s really important that chefs and creatives in the food and beverage industry be truthful to their stories, their history -- no matter what the outside world looks like.”
The album, The Manhood Project, is Priest’s story: while D.C. has changed, the culture that gave birth to so many creatives remains constant. You must put in the work to keep it thriving.
"You have to refuse to be denied," he said. "I know the project, the music is important. Just when I get down or have those times, the Universe, God always send me a message that says 'it matters, you matter."