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Black IN Colorado

4 stories

Seven men pose in a wood-paneled lounge with record shelves, holding trumpets, a trombone, and a sousaphone.

FeaturesCommon Ancestor: LowDown Brass Band’s New Hotness Has Roots“LowDown Brass Band has roots in the Jazz education world,” MC Billa Camp tells BandWagon, “but the Jazz education world has the habit of treating Jazz like an island. As if – Jazz isn’t birthed from the same struggle as Hip Hop. As if they are not Black father and son, born fighting the same fight.” Lowdown Nights, the latest and most future-leaning record from LowDown Brass Band, was appropriately released during Black History Month. It takes things further out of the pigeonhole and into the pan-genre stage, using the history of the African American experience as its guide. Especially with the hit single “Be The One Tonight,” they go mainstream – and that’s a good thing. The collective has enough talent within its ranks to deliver a show with as much variety as Beyoncés 2018 Homecoming at Coachella. It’s the multi-lingual, multicultural, multi-genre kind of mainstream pop and dance music that encapsulates the musical stew of 2022.Kevin Johnston · Feb 10, 2022

A man in a black cap and graphic tee points at the camera while rapping into a mic on a dark, blue-lit stage.

FeaturesJoy as Resistance: Wayne Watts Raps Decompression for RevolutionariesWayne Watts is a man of letters, but he is also an educator and activist. “I wanted to make music for revolutionaries to decompress to. While you’re fighting these things it’s really essential to remember to breathe.” The power of his dedication to words lies in the myriad of ways in which he employs them. “They’re filled up with a lot of manifestations and affirmations,” he said. “I treat my mantras like songs.” As an educator, Watts co-founded the Dream Create Inspire Tour. “The intention has always been to create an incubator to give disenfranchised creators a platform.”Gabe Allen · Feb 2, 2021

A performer in a dark beanie and zip-up jacket sings into a microphone under red stage lighting.

FeaturesCan We Just Live? Devin Tremell Speaks Out with Hip Hop as a Tool of InfluenceDevin Tremell insisted to the crowd of hundreds looking up at him from the Lincoln Park gazebo in Greeley that he was just a regular Black dude.Dan England · Aug 3, 2020

Man in a black t-shirt singing into a mic against a yellow background, with a drum kit at lower left.

FeaturesDrum As You Are: Eric Riley Throws Down The Beat As A Black Musician In MetalEven with all the fun Eric Riley has thrashing onstage with his longtime friend Nate Valdez, there is always that one drunk person who has to point it out: a black guy in a metal band!Valerie Vampola · Jul 4, 2020