By Marcus A. Williams
Special to the AFRO
New York City has hip-hop, Baltimore has house music, Houston has “chopped and screwed” and Washington, D.C. has Go-go but that might be changing very soon.
Go-go has been around for decades now, starting with EU’s classic, “Doing the Butt,” which received national recognition and can still be heard bumping through speakers as an “oldie but goodie.”
In 2005 when the city’s new premiere go-go band Rear Essence performed with Ludacris on the MTV Music Awards, go-go was nationally solidified as the sound of the capital city.
It has even had mainstream success, being used by artists like Beyonce, Lil Jon, Toni Braxton and D.C.’s own Amerie.
But festival organizers are saying enough is enough!
The District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation has partnered with Liberated Muse Productions to host the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest hoping to showcase the hind talents of the District.
Organizers of the Capital Hip-Hop festival believe the overwhelming amount of go-go in the district has saturated local and national airwaves and has definitely received well-deserved recognition.
However, with the heavy flow of the bongo, snare and bass drums making people all over the city groove for decades, the music is stifling the thousands of others in the district who are just as talented but represent other genres.
“When you allow other talents to gel with the city and not be in isolated communities, that’s when you have the culture coming together and becoming aware of the different vibes the city have to offer,” says the founder of Liberated Muse Productions and co-organizer of the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest, Khadijah Ali-Coleman.
“People in the city and a lot of venues in D.C. cater to the go-go scene and that has hindered a lot of artists from showing their talents to the community.”
Many would argue that if go-go was able to evolve from being an ugly sound out of the District into being sought after by A-list celebrities, than surely other talents in the District can do the same.
“I think in D.C. we have not been given the opportunity to hear much about the artists and talents we have here. Even on the radio there isn’t much of a place for D.C. talents to be heard,” says festival co-organizer, Maceo Thomas. “I think go-go has always had a platform in D.C. and has developed a strong fan base so we decided not to make this event a go-go event.”
The festival will cater to the 25 to 40-year-old crowd with soul being the theme. From R&B, to hip-hop, to reggae every sound heard doing the festival will be soulful and full of the classic passion that is so missed in the edgy rough grooves of go-go.
While go-go will always be the sound of the capital city and will continue to penetrate national airwaves, this festival is promising to do everything it can to showcase the array of talents the artists in the District and the surrounding areas have to offer.
The festival is expected to attract between 750 to 1000 residents of the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region at the newly reformed Marvin Gaye Park in the Deanwood corridor of the District.
The Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest will kick off at 11a.m. and on July 26.
For more information please visit, www.capitalhiphopsoulfest.com