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ePluribus: America is an on-line contemporary American culture magazine that incorporates the original concept of our nation's motto to provide cultural news coverage of America. Our motto is Humanity Starts With Culture.

jA.AM Is Stepping Up To The Hip-Hop Scene Like Whoa

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By JEANETTE LENOIR

Sounding like one of the greatest in the game, Kendrick Lamar, the DMV artist known as jA.AM is still able to maintain a sense of self and originality in his music. Represented by a label he created in 2014, Forever Apex Entertainment, this headlining DC artist is stepping onto the hip-hop scene with righteous blunt rhymes and a strong disposition that screams: I’m not here to play. I’m here to deliver. And he does, beautifully.

His rhymes are infectious, thought provoking and deep. And yet, jA.AM can keep your head bobbing and body jiggling to the awesome groove of his music. He’s a bona fide talent.

Take a listen:

jA.AM, aka Joe Lyric, sounds like he’s been spitting rhymes since birth. The man is clearly a natural and easy on the ears and eyes while touching your heart, even poking at your mind. Together with his team of collaborators, jA.AM is steadily creating his generation’s music that pays homage to the forefathers of hip-hop with songs like Gotta Get It. And, keeping in line with the evolution of being unapologetically sexual in modern day society he delivers a song that can make a THOT blush. BiG Cap is not only raw and explicit, it’s creatively sexy.

NO NO is another juicy and unequivocal song that’s easy to dance to while connecting to the rhymes. We all know someone who oversteps every boundary you set, never pays you back and is a shameless leech. His song 2AM delivers another one-two punch to your endorphins while paying homage to U Street, a once culturally significant neighborhood for African Americans that is steadily being reshaped to fit perfectly into the hands of gentrification. A stark reality in a city that was once affectionately known as Chocolate City. These days, black people are barely able to maintain a piece of the DMV that’s not overrun by poverty, crime and urban decay. And, it’s all by design and systematic, making jA.AM’s place and success in his hometown a significant achievement.

Get You Some explodes like fireworks in your ears with jA.AM spitting fast rhymes that’s beautifully yoked to an equally impressive beat. This artist is definitely one to watch on his come up. Wanna get you some? Here’s how: Forever Apex. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and subscribe to his YouTube Channel to stay updated with new music releases and to listen to the full track of all their published songs. Enjoy and always support your local artists. They keep the culture alive and us moving to the ever changing beat of life.

The Last Poets Block Party Showcased The Beauty Of Black Culture And The Continued Struggle For Equality

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By JEANETTE LENOIR

 

The Last Poets Block Party in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, DC on May 19, 2019 was a stark reminder of the journey African Americans have walked for human rights, dignity and the freedom the Constitution highlights as a birth right for every American, despite its unequal distribution among her citizens. Hip-Hop, in many ways, is the avenue taken by those who needed a different way to protest discrimination, racism while emphasizing the value and beauty of black culture and infusing it with the power that has been systematically stripped from black people. The birth of the hip-hop movement is credited to The Last Poets: Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan who were merely reacting to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. 

The birth of hip-hop was born from the pain and suffering experienced by generations of black people in America. These artist took to the streets with a different kind of weapon to fight back; their rhymes and beats that gave the unjust status and mistreatment of blacks in America life. May 19, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the forming of The Last Poets. It’s also the birthday of the black revolutionary leader, Malcolm X. An in-depth report on the group’s inception can be found HERE.

Below are some of the highlights of this year’s celebration, organized by Busboys and Poets, of the forefathers of hip-hop and the movement to bring about a more just world for black and brown people. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Poets Block Party Commemorating Malcolm X’s Birthday

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By JEANETTE LENOIR

Dwayne Lawson-Brown, Co-Host of the longest running speakeasy in Washington, DC – Spit Dat – will be part of the great line up at tomorrow’s The Last Poets Block Party at Busboys and Poets in Anacostia in Washington, DC.  The event is to commemorate black revolutionary Malcolm X’s birthday, (May 19, 1968) and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Last Poets inception as a group. The lineup will include Talib Kweli, Smif n Wessun, Black Alley and many more influential artist who continue to impact and shape our American culture.

Tickets are only $25. All the details can be found HERE.

Lawson-Brown has more details below:

Uncovering A Prestigious Black Cemetery Beneath A Strip Mall

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By JEANETTE LENOIR

The Laurel Cemetery is a significant burial location for African Americans and yet, it sits unrecognized beneath a strip mall on Belair Road in Northeast Baltimore. Frederick Douglas spoke there during the funeral of a friend, 270 black Civil War soldiers are buried there, and it’s the final resting place for some of the movers and shakers in the African American community who called Baltimore home in the early 19th century. One would never know the sacredness of this cemetery at face value today because it’s easily walked over and used as a short cut to get to and from the strip mall that sits above it.

Thankfully, there’s good news to report on the cemetery that stood the test of time from 1852 – 1957.  A symposium to commemorate the historic cemetery will take place on June 15, 2019 at Coppin State University from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM in the Talon Center, located at 2500 W. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21216. Click HERE for all the details.

My conversation with local Artist and Baltimore native, Terrell Brown, dives into this sad state of affairs of a once prominent resting place for Baltimore’s black elites.

Clifton Park Mansion: Keeper Of American History And Culture

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By JEANETTE LENOIR

 

Charm City is a historic place and keeper of endless stories of American culture. Baltimore, one of America’s long standing and vital seaports, is worthy of exploration beyond the headlines of political strives, the widening gap between the haves and have not, and endless reports of government and police corruption. There’s a lot happening in Baltimore that rarely make headline news. From the artists who call the area home to the movers and shakers who take pride in reshaping the city to reflect its buried American roots and true charm. The history of The Clifton Park Mansion provides a glimpse into what this great city holds and perhaps, what many overlook.

Gwen Kokes with Real Food Farms – Civic Works takes us on a tour of the historic mansion undergoing a face lift she now offices in:

 

Healing Mother Earth Through Composting

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BY JEANETTE LENOIR

Looking for ways to be more environmentally conscience? Here’s an idea: start a compost and get your co-workers involved. This easy compost idea is great for class room projects, your home and anywhere else you think this great idea will work.  It’s a simple way to reduce our carbon footprint and show Mother Earth that we’re not all callous, uncaring and glutenous earthlings determined to destroy her.

Jackie Goulet, Education Coordinator with Real Food Farm in Baltimore takes us through the easy step-by-step process in the video below:

April Is Jazz Appreciation Month

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BY JEANETTE LENOIR

Jazz Appreciation Month, also known as JAM, was born at The National Museum of American History in 2001 to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz for the month of April.

JAM is intended to stimulate and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz, study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio programs and recordings, read books about jazz, and to explore all the avenues where Jazz can be found.

This year, JAM celebrates jazz beyond borders by looking at the dynamic ways jazz can unite people across the culture and geography. The theme is to celebrate the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra’s next tour, which will visit cities in North America, Europe, and Asia. This tour will ignite the Smithsonian’s goal of “convening conversations,” in which we will use the power of music as a springboard into important discussions around diversity, identity, diplomacy, and innovation.

This year’s featured artist will be Nat King Cole and his work as an innovative artist, world influencer, and dynamic performer. An international performer, Nat King Cole gained wide support from around the globe. He pushed racial boundaries that sought to prevent him from success. He was the first African American to host his own television series, Nat King Cole Show.

See the 2019 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert streamed live on the National Museum of American History website, April 15 at 8 p.m. This year’s honorees are Stanley Crouch, Bob Dorough, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Maria Schneider. Learn more.

List of Jazz venues worth a visit:

Editor’s Note: Additional information on JAM can be found at: www.si.edu 

Women’s History Month 2019: Shaping The World, Still

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From The National Women’s History Museum 

Every year March is designated Women’s History Month by Presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history.

Did You Know? Women’s History Month started as Women’s History Week

Women’s History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day. The movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year.

In 1980, a consortium of women’s groups and historians—led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance)—successfully lobbied for national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women’s History Week.

Subsequent Presidents continued to proclaim a National Women’s History Week in March until 1987 when Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, each president has issued an annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”

The National Women’s History Alliance selects and publishes the yearly theme. The 2019 Women’s History Month theme is “Visionary Women: Champions of Peace & Nonviolence.”  The theme honors “women who have led efforts to end war, violence, and injustice and pioneered the use of nonviolence to change society.”

 

Ethel Ennis: A Beautiful Voice And Accomplished Jazz Singer Who Kept It Real

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BY JEANETTE LENOIR

Listening to Ethel Ennis sing songs like Have You Forgotten? and My Foolish Heart brings back nostalgia and memories of days long gone. These days one would be hard pressed to find musicians without twerking background dancers or some other gimmick. However, they do exist. And, Ennis’s life is a wonderful example of an accomplished artist who was able to share her talent with the world without the pressures of fame and “making it” in Hollywood. And, Ennis didn’t just “make it” … she made it proudly and successfully in her native home of Baltimore. Granted, the city isn’t called “Charm City” or “The Greatest City in America” for nothing. B’More is a mecca for Jazz musicians and singers like Ennis, still. Ennis passed away on February 17, 2019. She was 86.

It’s well worth it to take a stroll through YouTube and listen to her beautiful voice serenade you.  Start with Have you forgotten?

Biography from Wayback Machine:
Baltimore native Ethel Ennis is a national treasure. Critics have hailed her as “the most accomplished singer performing today.” That stature was earned by her magnificent voice, her brilliant compositions, her joyful performances and her collaboration with the finest musicians. Ethel Ennis first won national recognition for her recording “Lullaby for Losers” in 1955. In 1958, she was selected by Benny Goodman as the female vocalist for his all-star band. Later, she was chosen as a featured singer on the Arthur Godfrey Show. After performing at the 1964 Newport Jazz Festival with Billy Taylor, Cozy Cole, and Slam Stewart, she appeared with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra on television’s “Bell Telephone Hour.” She followed those amazing achievements by wowing them at the Monterey Jazz Festival in duets with Joe Williams. She returned to her hometown to perform in concerts with the Count Basie Band and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. During that same period, she shared the bill with Cab Calloway at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and played supper clubs and concert halls all over the country.

In the seventies, she founded the practice of singing the National Anthem a capella at Richard Nixon’s 1973 presidential inauguration. She performed at the White House for Jimmy Carter as well. During the period, she became Baltimore’s cultural ambassador, singing Chinese folk songs in Baltimore’s sister city of Xiamen, China as well as performing in Rotterdam, Germany. In the 1980’s, Ethel opened her own music club, Ethel’s Place with her husband, writer Earl Arnett. They presented the world’s greatest jazz musicians and broadcast live concerts to national audiences. They sold the club in 1988, each returning full-time to their artistic pursuits. Frank Sinatra once described her as, “my kind of singer.” A Downbeat reviewer once said of Ethel, “her voice runs deep, exuding the personality of a sage who has lived many lives.” She is the great sage of jazz and if you can find any one of her two dozen records and singles, you will have added a national treasure to your collection.

In her own words on her interracial marriage…

If True, Jussie Smollett Only Proves The Thirst Is Real

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BY JEANETTE LENOIR

I have to admit, when news broke of the alleged attack on Jussie Smollett, I had to Google the name first. I haven’t seen the popular show Empire; however, I am familiar with the series created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong. Mainly because I love reading about Taraji P. Henson and her character Cookie that has taken a life of its own. Now I know Smollett plays Cookie’s middle son Jamal, who is gay.  Here’s my other confession; I was suspicious from the start. Organic skepticism aside, the story just didn’t sound believable to me considering time and setting. It sounded like a lie. Not a white, black, blue or pink lie but a big fat lie like the ones our dear leader Donald Trump buoys on to con the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump sniffed it out of Smollett’s lie hole like a terrier after a rat, automatically prompting him to chime in on the controversy. It’s true folks, the 45th president of the United States is not just the best liar on earth; Smollett proves he’s also the best lie magnet…allegedly.

Each day, following the alleged homophobic and racist attack and the outpouring of support from celebrities and politicians, my skepticism grew, along with many others who voiced their opinions on social media. The incident reported by Smollett even birthed a new media campaign addressing the real issues facing the LGBTQ community. The NowThis video, (It’s been taken down) supporting Jussie and condemning the homophobic attack is unfortunately relevant in today’s society, with or without Smollett making up a hate crime. And, if it’s proven to be a hoax concocted by Smollett to remain relevant as an Empire character or gay black hero among people of color and the gay community, he’s done irreversible harm to the larger struggle for human rights. Smollett, chasing the predictable outcome lure that promises fame, more fortune, more likes and followers, more time under the glare of flashing lights, red carpet events and awards shows, is crashing like a shooting star. And, Smollett is a star, don’t you know. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and now he’s paying a heavy price for his Hollywood moment. It’s hard to comprehend but Smollett should only remind us that Hollywood is a hoax, too.  And, despite how tantalizing it is to use this cheap trick to further or discredit the arguments around the many social movements of our time, Smollett’s alleged behavior has nothing to do with US but everything to do with HIM. He’s the product of our new digital world…the era of social media and a real thirst or desperation for attention; good or bad. They say the thirst is real. Well, Smollett proves he’s not just thirsty; he’s parched. The man needs a Big Gulp and a dose of reality, not our sympathy.

A lot of people are disappointed and point to Black History Month as a symbol of the alleged incident being a deeper pain, like a gut punch to the black community. Others have maintained their support for the actor and raise the other real issue of a fractured relationship between Chicago police and the community they serve.  All of these are valid points and worthy of deeper analysis. However, in legal terms and in the court of public opinion; it’s like coming to court with dirty hands or committing a wrong to shine light on what’s right. It doesn’t work. It’s clear; Smollett’s alleged hoax carries real consequences. And if his aim was to sip from the “Thirst Cup,” he’s finding out the hard way that bad behavior still comes with punishment, despite what Trump is doing. We’ve been here before with the likes of Smollett. Milli Vanilli blamed it on the rain. What will Smollett blame this nonsense on? Although dated, the wisdom here is still to Be Like Mike … not like Trump.