This week’s headlines prove it: summer isn’t over until the block party is over and the National Book Festival packs its bags.
Those who disobey will be let go: DJ Spinderella is just one of the big names performing at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture at the first Hip-Hop block party on Aug. 13. Spinderella, the DJ, rapper and producer most famous for his work with Salt-N-Pepa, will cap off the day-long festivities with a personal mixed dance party that will conclude at 11pm. The party celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap, a nine-CD, 300-page anthology covering the evolution of hip-hop with 129 tracks and 11 essays written by music scholars, authors and journalists. Lasting for 12 hours, the block party will host daytime and evening events, including main stage performances (located outside the museum on Madison Drive NW) by Alphabet Rockers, Mumu Fresh and a local showcase curated by DJ Heat. Radio personality Vic Jagger will be the MC for the daytime shows. Inside the museum, Culture Shock DC will host dance workshops alongside book talks and panel discussions. Evening events will focus on outside performances, including sets by The Halluci Nation and Grammy-nominated rapper D Smoke before Spinderella takes the reins. Admission is free, but registration is required.
“The origins of hip-hop and rap are in the community, where people would gather in basements, street corners, neighborhood parties and community concerts to tell the stories of the people and places that brought it to life in a language of their own. ,” says Dwandalyn Reece, associate director of curatorial affairs at the NMAAHC, in the press release. “As a true block party, we invite all ages to come together to enjoy activities and performances in honor of the museum’s greatest tribute to hip-hop music and culture.” Tickets will be available online starting this Friday, July 22.
Making Money Moves: For over a decade, CapitalBop has been promoting, presenting and preserving the jazz scene and jazz music of D.C. in the District through concerts, festivals, partnerships and reports. While the group is a staple of the scene working to build a community around the city’s black musical traditions, CapitalBop has never had an executive director – until now. On July 13, the nonprofit announced the hiring of Jeanette Berry, a musician, educator and organizer. “These days, most of the time, if you want good news, you have to do it yourself. And that’s what we’ve been doing at CapitalBop: establishing new plans and helping new music come to life,” co-founders Luke Stewart and Giovanni Russonello wrote on the organization’s website, calling the hiring of Berry a big step. “After more than a decade in business, we are honored by the opportunity to expand our team and with it our ability to serve the DC music community… the next step – and beyond.”
Berry, a New York native who arrived in D.C. during the pandemic, he toured the world recording and playing jazz, R&B and hip-hop with artists like Lauryn Hill and The Roots. She did labor organizing with the Music Workers Alliance and taught at all levels from elementary school to college. But today, Berry is the executive director of CapitalBop, where she “seeks to support and grow the mission and vision by expanding our roster of artists, supporting the city’s artists with resources and performance space, engaging more in our communities by building more music programming.” and humanities that includes them and giving artists and communities the power to continue creating the music and culture that has long been the heart of this city,” writes Berry in her online cover letter. “I ask myself, in all the work I do: How can we best serve our communities? This question drives me each day, and I seek to lead CapitalBop in service not only of the organization, but of the city that organization serves: Washington, D.C.”
It’s been three years: Finally, the Library of Congress National Book Festival will return for a full day of programming on September 3. brings some big names to D.C., including the most beloved dirty computer Janelle Monáe, Parks and Rec star Nick Offerman and deaf activist Nyle DiMarco. Under the theme Books Bring Us Together, more than 120 authors, poets and writers will participate in the 11-hour festival held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. This year’s festival will feature storytelling, audiobook events and a new Life/Style stage to focus on pop culture. As always, the event is free and open to the public.
Speaking of writers…: Local YA author and PR professional Sydney Walters is in the running to win MAXIM Magazine’s Cover Girl 2022 contest. If she takes the crown, the author of The State of Grace plans to donate a portion of her $25,000 prize money to the Trevor Project, a national organization that provides suicide prevention services to queer and transgender youth, and Debra of America, who is working to find a cure for the skin disease Epidermolysis Bullosa. Walters plans to use some of the remaining funds to promote his novel series. It can be a pretty creative way to support local writers, but voting for the Walters group ends this week. The winner will be decided by public vote on August 18.
People underestimate the power of nostalgia: The power of what was continues to draw Instagram millennials — and Tiktoking Gen Zers (hello, early childhood fashion return) — to ever-evolving “experiences.” Fans, some might call obsessives, flooded into the FRIENDS experience of Superfly X near Metro Center earlier this year, reliving a decade of antics by Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Rachel, Chandelier and Joey. Now the Superfly X is back in D.C. with another dose of TV nostalgia. Opening July 28 at 1020 G St. NW, The Office Experience will allow fans to explore the world of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in a 17-area, two-story space filled with props and costumes taken from the show. Like Friends before it, guests can expect set recreations (designed for the ‘gram) of Pam’s desk, Michael’s office, and Ryan’s closet. I confess I’ve never watched the show which ran for nine seasons from March 2005 to May 2013, but fans will likely be excited to learn that the experience will also recreate Kevin’s Chili Spill and Beach Day (whatever that means). And just in case an infinite amount of Instagram Stories isn’t enough to remind you of Jim, Pam, Michael, Dwight, Kelly and the rest of the team, there’s an on-site retail store replicating the Warehouse, which will sell exclusive merchandise for tickets and guests without ticket. (American series creator Greg Daniels was a consultant on the project.) Tickets are on sale now.
