91茄子

Imagine you are standing in a dimly lit venue captured by the electricity of bass drums and horns, and melodiously distinct voices permeating through a loud microphone.

The sound reminds you of jazz, funk, hip-hop, gospel, and blues but all in a single genre. The energy of people dancing beside you is both entertaining and contagious.

You are not in New Orleans, or in Memphis, but in the nation鈥檚 capital where Go-go is both a musical genre, and a lifestyle.

Last month, Mayor Muriel Bower the week of November 17-23 as Go-go Awareness Week while presenting an award at the 2019 Go-Go Awards held at Ballou Senior High School in Southeast.

鈥淭his is our sound of the city, this is an indigenous sound to Washington, D.C.,鈥� Bowser said. 鈥淚t is more than a music genre. It is a movement and a way of life.鈥�

In June, a D.C. city council member introduced legislation to make Go-go the official music of the city. The bill would do more than just recognize the genre but also deepen the appreciation of the culture and people who have called the city home for generations.

鈥淭o me, and so many other native Washingtonians, Go-go music has become so much more than just a musical genre,鈥� said Council member Kenyan McDuffie, D-Ward 5, who introduced the 鈥淚t codifies into law that Go-go will never be muted in the District of Columbia.鈥�

91茄子 checked and the council has still not officially voted on the resolution, but the thought behind it has been a rallying cry for organizations like Don’t Mute DC.

Don鈥檛 Mute DC movement fired up earlier this year when Go-go music, played out of a notable store in the Shaw neighborhood, fell silent after new residents complained about the loudness. The silence sparked a series of demonstrations from local bands and community residents for weeks.

Organizers of the movement and other community activists have named gentrification to be one of the main reasons for the attempts to silence Go-go.

On October 30, city council members invited 46 witnesses from around the city to support the bill introduced by McDuffie and to testify on behalf of Go-go music and the people who live it.

Witnesses at the hearing said the passage of the bill would do more than just allow the music to be played in airports, restaurants, in schools, and on radio stations, but would force the city to pay closer attention to the inequalities among native Washingtonians.

鈥淎s we鈥檝e seen D.C. have the most intense gentrification in our country, there鈥檚 a need to, just like the music, preserve and protect the natives who participate in the culture,鈥� said Tony Lewis, Jr.

A notable figure in the D.C. community, Lewis works to raise awareness of the impacts of mass incarceration and advocate for resources for returning citizens.

He was one of the witnesses to testify before the council and said the bill would also allow Washingtonians to 鈥渆ducate鈥� and 鈥渢each鈥� newcomers to the city about the music and ways of life of residents.

Threats to ‘Chocolate City’

Ronald Moten has been at the forefront of the Don鈥檛 Mute DC movement since April, however his fight to make sure Black Washingtonians have equity in the city is not a new passion.

鈥淚鈥檝e been dealing with this for decades. This is nothing new for me,鈥� Moten said.

As a community organizer and activist in the city Moten was already helping another store owner in Northwest battling gentrification when he got a call about Metro PCS in April 鈥� which Moten called 鈥渢he boiling point.鈥�

鈥淭his [movement] didn鈥檛 just start with Don鈥檛 Mute DC, it鈥檚 something we鈥檝e been fighting for a minute,鈥� Moten said. 鈥淓verybody said 鈥榯his shit is real, we have to stand up, and can鈥檛 keep acting like it won鈥檛 be me next.鈥欌��

According to a by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, nearly 20,000 black Washingtonians were displaced by mostly white affluent newcomers between 2000-2013.

The district as a whole has some of the highest rates of low-income residents being pushed out of their homes in the country, according to

In Southeast neighborhoods, like Congress Heights and Anacostia, housing prices have doubled in the past five years.

In 1995, Moten rallied Go-go bands, students and residents in the city to protest the actions of the formerly known District of Columbia Financial Control Board, which would override key decisions by the D.C. mayor and city council to assist residents.

鈥淧olicy is what helped create this mess, so it鈥檚 gonna be policy and action to help slow it down,鈥� Moten said.

Most city council members seem to support the bill, however there is more discussion needed to find ways to finance it. The bill would require financial changes and more programs to assist people in the city.

Council member McDuffie鈥檚 office did not respond to a request from 91茄子 for comment on the Go-go resolution status.

Leader of the infamous Go-go band, Backyard Band, Anwan 鈥淏ig G鈥� Glover, also testified before the D.C. Council and shared the stories of his siblings and friends who have lost their lives to violence in the city, and how his involvement with Go-go music was a means of survival for him.

In an interview with 91茄子, Glover said Go-go culture was something people just had to 鈥渟ee for themselves,鈥� and the passage of the bill would allow people to have more of an appreciation of the culture.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been fighting for this for so long,鈥� said Glover. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of out-of-towners that are open to the music, they just didn鈥檛 know about it or didn鈥檛 understand it.鈥�

Backyard Band, also known as the was formed by Glover and other members in the early 1990s and has since been one of the main bands spreading the genre in other parts of the country and the world.

According to Glover, the band has worked with rappers Snoop Dogg and Wale on different songs, and more collaborations with mainstream artists would bring even more attention to the music and cultural impacts of Go-Go.

鈥淸The] Don鈥檛 Mute DC movement brought so much awareness to the situation, and I鈥檓 glad that it happened because now, people worldwide are thinking about it,鈥� Glover said.