In this episode we interview Aaron Myers, a locker, bboy, capoeirista and the co-artististic director of the Beantown Lockers. He is also a Harvard University alumni and Vice President at United Way Worldwide. Aaron is married, has two daughters and lives in Boston.
We talk about growing up in the Midwest, hip hop culture being interlaced in ivy league universities, resources for artists and his mission to help communities, balancing family life with work and hobbies, breaking with the Floor Lords and his inspirations in locking.
Aaron shares several incredible resources with us that you can find here:
Street Dance Classes:
Finance:
Legal:
Technology:
Grants & Funding:
You can find Aaron here:
www.instagram.com/aaromyer/
www.facebook.com/aaromyer
www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-myers-63a7851a/
In this episode we interview Aaron Myers, a locker, bboy, capoeirista and the co-artististic director of the Beantown Lockers. He is also a Harvard University alumni and Vice President at United Way Worldwide. Aaron is married, has two daughters and lives in Boston.
We talk about growing up in the Midwest, hip hop culture being interlaced in ivy league universities, resources for artists and his mission to help communities, balancing family life with work and hobbies, breaking with the Floor Lords and his inspirations in locking.
Aaron shares several incredible resources with us that you can find here:
Street Dance Classes:
Finance:
Legal:
Technology:
Grants & Funding:
You can find Aaron here:
www.instagram.com/aaromyer/
www.facebook.com/aaromyer
www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-myers-63a7851a/
Yeah, we're counting our blessings. I think COVID has just made us really focus on the essentials and what we need as opposed to what we want and give thanks for what we have. And I think in the holiday season, that's always true, but it's just rung even more true, I think, this year. Welcome to Souls of Hip Hop, a podcast for hip hop heads that aims to bring inspiring people together to share their wisdom, passion and unique stories. My name is Candy, and I'm DJ Razor Cut. And together we are Soulidarity, connecting souls organically. What's up fam, thanks for tuning in. On today's show, we welcome Aaron Myers. Aaron is a Locker, B-boy, Capoeirista and the co-artistic director of the Beantown lockers. He is also a Harvard University alumni and Vice President at United Way worldwide. Aaron is married with two daughters and lives in Boston. I want to start off by asking how would your parents describe what you do? So I think at a really high level, and reflective of the values that I think they tried to instill in me, I think they would describe me as someone who's really mission centered, and community oriented. I've worked most of my professional life in the nonprofit sector, and now work with United Way worldwide, I support our network of organizations outside of the US. And I've always seen the place where I work in a profession I've chose as a means to create opportunity for people that historically have been disadvantaged, either by history or by institutions today, around the world. And so for me, that's been really meaningful. And it comes from my parents who are always really active in community themselves. My father was really active with the Urban League, also with the United Way in the town where I grew up. And then before that, to a certain extent, the civil rights movement, as well, both of my parents, so those are values, I think I've gotten honesty from them, and that I'm thankful for. And so I would say that's my work life and then outside of my work life, my father is a bit of a ham, and always joking. So I've tried to follow his lead in that regard as well in terms of I guess, they describe me as funny though, in a different way from our dad, perhaps, and his creative as well. You know, I liked when I grew up around dancing, there was always music in the house. My parents in particular love Motown. They love Marvin, from the Commodores, James Brown, and so many others I grew up listening, you know, to those influences, there was a lot of dancing, and particularly in the holidays, but it was all social dancing, it was fine. And so that's why I took my creative cue from was more from the dancing and the music that I grew up around, that they played. And it interesting enough, I've really felt there was a bit of a bridge between my parents music, and then the music that I started to embrace when hip hop emerged because hip hop sampled so heavily from some of the same things that I heard growing up. And so that kind of tethered, I would say, my generation to my parents generation, which was nice. Can you tell us a bit about what you remember as your first encounter with hip hop, and like how you experienced that? Yeah, it was so mainly through the media. And so it was initially movies that came to mind for me. So movies like Wildstyle, and Style Wars. And then shortly thereafter, I recall, there was Beat Street and Breakin' which were perhaps even more influential in my eyes. In fact, I remember in our movie theater, in the town where I was growing up by that time. So I was born in Chicago, born and raised initially in Chicago, but then it was, by the time I got an elementary school, we relocated to Indiana, to a town about an hour north of Indianapolis, and about two to three hours away from Chicago, where we still had relatives where we would spend summers. So my ties to Chicago have always been strong, even though I grew up in a slightly different place. But even in a smaller town where I grew up, you know, these movies had reach, and I went to see them multiple times with my friends. And I can recall in the middle of the movie, we would be so inspired by what we were seeing on the big screen, there was a big space between the front row usually nobody wants to sit and the screen itself. And we would start dancing in the middle of the movie, almost in rotation as if it was a cipher, like we'd sit down and watch. And then once one person was done catching wreck, another person would jump in. So maybe that's why we had to go multiple times because we ended up missing it. But again, we couldn't help but feel inspired. And after the movie I can recall I wouldn't be led out and there was a long corridor between the entrance to the cinema and the exit to the street. And it's sort of felt like one of the scenes in Beat Street where they're in the subway and they were in a largely vacant subway space and almost had that same vibe to it, and so they're the cipher and the dancing would just continue afterwards until our parents came and picked us up and then we had to go. And so it was shows like that. And then I would say it was followed by other shows, some of which you know, it started well before that one shows like Soul Train. I remember catching early on Saturday morning sometime, and Soul Train was playing more funk and soul it's where locking first gained a national audience, where Don Campbell, Scooby Doo, Jimmy Foster and others made their appearances on that show and helped to define the aesthetic of the dance. But there were others, the other eventually I recall started to show up on Soul Train as well. I recall, I think Kurtis Blow was one of the early ones, but I really recall groups like Nucleus, and they sang jam on it came on revenge. And then other groups from the early days, like Soul Sonic Force was on there at one point, these are memories that really like cemented my relationship and my interest in hip hop. And these were performers that captivated my imagination. And then there were the subsequent generations that got their own spotlight on other TV shows like BTS rap city, which I would try to catch on a regular, and then you own MTV Raps. And in those days, you had to, you know, there was no, I think the VCR was making its admin or its ways into people's homes, what otherwise, you really had to be focused on you had to tune in at the time, you had to catch the move or catch the verse, and try to remember it or at least recall the spirit of it to try to replicate something like that thereafter, or to have it be your basis for inspiration. And so my first It all started with the media between the movies and those shows. That was like in the mid 80s? Yeah, that's right. So I mean, again, inspired by those films in the mid 80s, I started the breaking and then there was a time where as a kid, I think as you're growing up your interests shift. So I think the media started paying less attention to b-boying and b-girling, like more of my friends stopped doing it. And so I didn't necessarily have a community of people that we would push or pull one another right to continue to grow in that direction. And it was also about the time that sports were becoming more prominent. And that was just a big part of the, you know, the city and the culture where I was growing up at the time. So I moved into BMX racing sort of recreationally that eventually evolved into skateboarding in parallel what was happening as I was playing soccer, basketball, track, so a lot of different sports. And that just sort of squeezed out dance unless it was in social settings. And there were plenty of opportunities socially, even through middle and high school to dance. But it didn't become a thing in and of itself, to which people necessarily dedicated a lot of time and attention, maybe to the same extent that they do today. And I guess if I just extend that a bit further into the future. And when I went to college, I had, you know, done sports. In fact, I continued, I played football through college my first year. But then college, I started to see all these other things in terms of arts that caught my interest, one of which was Capoeira Angola. And so I was attracted to Capoeira Angola, in part because it had the same energy, the same dynamism that B-boying did for me, and I assumed at that point, well, no one else was into b-boy or B-girling. This looks like the next best thing. And there are so many similarities. And then I also had the opportunity to learn another language through this art form, to connect to another culture to learn to play a whole range of percussive instruments. And for me, that was intriguing. And that and so I shifted into to Capoeira Angola, about midway through college, and it wasn't so after college. So this is getting to the late 90s. Now, when I saw a flyer for Floor Lore, which is a show a production put on by the Floor Lords in Boston, that I realized, man, there are people out here still doing this than keeping this alive. And even putting on full scale productions with it, this big show that I went to see. And I approached them afterwards. And I said, Man, I love what you guys are doing. Where do you practice? How can I learn? I connected with Lino at that time, who was the president of the Floor Lords, I also connected with Flyte. And then Jonathan, some of the members of the crew at that time, and they told me about the Henigen school. So I started this is after college in the late 90s and early 2000, frequenting their practices and learning from them. And again, that was a really bright chapter in my life as well. What is interesting is I didn't know that you grew up in Chicago. Yeah, that's where I was born. And that's 75. My sister's still there. It takes us back there once a year or so. So what our connections to Chicago are certainly strong. You describe what it was like growing up in Chicago? Yeah. So for me, the things that made a lasting impression on me even influenced what I studied, I think to a certain extent had to do with artistic and then the cultural scene so by the artistic scene, you know, my mom, my aunt would take us to For example, the Art Institute of Chicago. And there was always amazing exhibits and things happening there that I thought were so awesome and I've always loved art still do. And so there were those kinds of things. There were also the street festivals, you may know that, that Chicago has a very large and historic Mexican community. There's also Polish community, there's a more recent Puerto Rican community, and sort of Humboldt Park. In fact, there's this enormous Puerto Rican flag that's metallic and made out of metal that sort of crosses that part of what you could consider little Puerto Rico and Chicago, but the Mexican festivals were always an awesome place where community came together. We also in recent years, we went back on one of our visits to see my sister went to a lowrider festival. And I just think that is such a beautiful manifestation of community, of family of creativity, and wherever all those things intersect. I've always loved being in those places, and seeing those things. So between the museums, and then the community based festivals, and this is not to mention, the other festivals in Chicago is known for in terms of its musical traditions, right? Chicago is steeped in the blues, has a great Blues Festival. There's also the Jazz Festival, you know, all of these things, and I would say together with going to Lake Michigan has less to do maybe necessarily with the arts and culture. But that was the next best thing to have an ocean for someone like me from the Midwest who's landlocked, we would go to the dunes, which are big, you know, rolling sand hills that are on the border of Lake Michigan. And so our summers, that was another kind of highlight it was it was a combination of all those things, from the sand in the sea, or similarities to it, to the community to the art and the institutions, all of which were highlights from me growing up in Chicago. Then you go to college in Boston. Yeah. So that's what brought me to Boston, initially, where did you go to college? So I was at Harvard. And this was like that made into the late 90s. And Did you just say you went to Harvard? Yeah. I was, I was very lucky, I was very lucky to go there. I really was at so much to do with the people I met. You know, I think people think of that school. And the reputation as academically, of course, it's high standards. It's known for that. But man, that the people I connected with the friendships I still have through today are what I carry with me more than anything. And I feel like I've learned so much from the people I went to school with, I think to tie some of everything together. And one of the things I took away from school is that it was great to gain other languages. You know, I grew up hearing, being in Chicago and having an aunt who spoke Spanish, we spent several years in Chile and would take me to some of those festivals as well that I was referencing earlier, she was sort of my conduit into that part of the world, the Spanish speaking part of the world. And so I had studied, even though I grew up around Spanish, I didn't necessarily, I didn't speak it at home. So I made it a point to study from middle to high and then all the way through college, and eventually went to Spain spend some time until later, like a summer, I spent a summer studying abroad there. But I also started to pick up other Roman languages because after going to Spain until lado, I became interested, we traveled to France, and planning ahead to that I was like, man, I better have some friends. And if I want to make the most of you know that extra time that I've been there, so from Spanish, I added French and then late in college years on my own started working on Brazilian Portuguese as well, I got a little grant to actually look into capoeira. And I knew that if you're ever going to you're going to conduct research, if you want to understand culture, if you want to understand a dance or people in their culture, you've got to be able to understand their language and not just the language of movement, but the you know, the language they speak. So that's why I made such a concerted effort to work on foreign languages. Because I knew it would be helpful, the extent to which I could speak them, I know, it'd be the extent to which I could really understand elements of the culture as well, including its, you know, traditions and movement, music, etc. So that was wonderful as well. And that was one takeaway. And I think the other thing beyond foreign languages and under skin, underscoring their importance as it relates to culture, is that what I started to appreciate the opportunities that that I had, and I'm grateful for, to kind of build a bridge between the institution what is called the ivory tower, and then community. And mainly that was through programs like there's something called the Phillips Brooks house, which organized community service opportunities. So instead of there was several years instead of going on a spring break to one destination, we had community service trips, right. So we knew there was a big needed community, a group of students would go there and execute a project that address the need that a community had, and expose this to new parts of the states. So that was really interesting. And then during the year I did this program called city step and it was great because it Really melted my interest in dance and then being connected community as well. And essentially, we would go into schools, Boston area public schools between Cambridge and Boston. And we would offer dance instruction. But it was dance instruction after grounding them in the fundamentals of one aspect of dance and it had a hip hop focus, it was actually developed a production. So different cohorts of students will go to different schools develop a routine, together with the students in the school, including allowing them to choose the music to shape some of the movement, if they would do something we pick up on and say, yeah, let's put that in. I love that. What do you want to call it that you know, they have a name for it. So we co created with the kids, and we both in into a production every year. And these are organizations, institutions, I still support just philanthropically because I believe in their work. And they continue to make a great impression. So that was wonderful from the language from the, again from the institution into the community. And then after school in terms of the community, I started discovering all these other institutions. So is it related to copper and gold that there was the New England Brazilian Cultural Center. And that's where that's where I was sending a couple of Angola. But it was also a place with a cape verdean community would hold regular parties that I got to go to once in a while. And those were awesome, whole another community, one of the style of foods style of music style of dance. And it's also where soul revival took place, which historically was a big house party in Boston. And so now, you know, the house scene is very rich, but that happened at the Brazilian Cultural Center as well. So it's a place where I went from one thing, and then I got so much more. In addition to that there was an organization called gymnastics, it was teaching gymnastics to youth, but also had a dance program, as well. And this was the organization run by an art Frank, that's a predecessor to what is now called meta movements, Latin dance company, doing the same thing also has a gymnastics component, but with Latin music, and that was actually the program to which I met my wife and man, how could you ever repay these institutions, they've given me right. And then, of course, there was the Floor Lords crew, you know, it took me to be able to dance with them for a while, and then to connect with the Brazilian, with the African American Latino communities that otherwise I may have had no connection to. But it gave me a real meaningful way of connecting with them, and learning new things. And so those are some highlights from the college years, I would say until shortly thereafter, and then overlapping with the Floor Lords. So I definitely want to talk a bit more about the connection that you build with capoeira and learning Portuguese, and then actually spending time in Brazil. But before we get there, I just want to dive a little deeper into the years of getting to know the Floor Lords, expanding a bit more about how you experienced the scene at that time in the late 90s. And how it was for you during that time, man, it was such an exciting time. So the production, I have to say, Floor Lore and again, that was the point of entry. So maybe I should just start there. What was so exciting about that, for me is that they would highlight not only the different dimensions of hip hop, so it's a one part of the show, the latter one is, as I'm calling would highlight DJs, MCs, graffiti writers. And then of course, the B boys and B girls and some poppers as well. And then another part of the show highlighted all the influences on hip hop that were around hip hop, and in which there were synergies with hip hop. So in that other section, they would have something on Kung Fu, they would have something it looked like a scene out of I don't know, a disco with like funk soul music. And that's why a little locking would come into play. They had a Capoeira Angola scene, then they had a Latin scene as well. We know about, you know, the influences of the Latino community on the birth of hip hop on top rock and Wiggles has written and talked about this extensively. And so Floor Lore connected all the dots for people. It's almost like saying what came before and influence. And then here are all the elements and all their splendor. So that was that was awesome. And so what was happening at the time is that we would all rehearse to the Hinnigan school. So that was the spot. And this is near he st stop off the green line, if you're familiar with Boston, sort of in the Roxbury section. And so I would take the train to there walk up that way. In fact, I live in Edison square right out of college, so I wasn't too far. But they were so welcoming and encouraging. They'd be up on the stage, there was an elevated stage where the crew members, the core members would practice had a nice smooth wood floor. And then the rest of us the cafeteria tables out of the way as the cafeteria, and usually the janitor hadn't cleaned up all that well. So we're down there on the floor, back spinning in mustard. And just having such a good time, and if we ever had a question, they were also approachable. You know, in particular, I mean, I think of Lino in particular, I also think of Domino and Dash are related to popping. If there was one move you wanted to know about, you know, you could always just tap him on the shoulder, and they're more than happy to step away from it. Whatever is happening, and show you and then give you some words of encouragement. So that's something I've always appreciated about Floor Lords. But that was a couple of times a week, we would do that. And then I remember they would do jams as well. This was at a time where I feel like when I came back to Boston, about five years ago, Floor Lords were much more and but this time Pookie sort of moved into place, Alex Diaz aka El Nino as the Floor Lords president, where they were much more focused on battling, they still organized jams, but at the time when I joined, so in the late 90s, up into the early 2000s, when I went to graduate school, there was a lot more show opportunities, performance opportunities, which is not to say they didn't battle, they did battle Rock Steady. They did battle other crews during that span of three years or so when I was going to practice with them. And if there are jams, you know, there I think the first time I battled in one of their jams was, there was a jam, they threw out the Tobin school. Also in the Roxbury section was the flooring to the union jam, they would do it on an annual basis, just like they now do their anniversary, it was a bit more informal than but they would have battles and in different categories. And that was the first time I think I battled after having gone there and practice and practice and practice. And from there, they Lino saw there was enough interest in those of us who are newer that didn't have the experience didn't necessarily have the skill set for the core crew members to do perform at the level that they did. But they created Floor Lords too. And there's a bunch of a thing for that group. And so the smaller shows or the shows that maybe weren't paid, it was a growth opportunity. For us, it was an exposure opportunity, bonding opportunity to perform, to create our own routines, do our own thing. And then they would at times bring us in back into some of the bigger shows like Floor Lore, when they would do that production, I would usually become the one working with them, like on a couple other segments. But then there might be another routine or two that I joined with the others. And this was also the time and one other thing I would add about this, this time from like 98 to 2001 is when I first started to see lacking, because they would put it a little into the flow load show. And there was one or two people like Shallow, David Shallow, did a little bit of it. Lino did a little bit of it, mostly in the context of shows. But it was George lumpkins, who was DJ Act1 who's still here, that was really about it. And so there were other opportunities like they did a wall World's Fair that was near Roxburgh crossing, and this was in the summer of 2000, I believe it was, and act one actually put together a lock in routine that him and I did in the context of that show. And there was other shows like that, where there might be one dedicated locking routine, it wasn't that often. And it was a style of locking, not like the originals more funky, more character loose, but a bit more tightly executed and technical, akin to what you see in the valley, San Fernando Valley style associated with the 80 styles of locking, which is understandable because that was their era for the likes of George Lumpkins. Act One and for David Shallow, and others. So it's understandable that that's where they do their influence was because it was also the music changed, right? It became more electronic, the beats per minute, I think was a little faster. And that just changed the whole feel and the execution of locking itself. So I had a little bit of exposure, but it was sort of here and there. And Act One was in and out of the picture. But I'm grateful that you planted those seeds of inspiration then because when I came back in 2015, that's where I wanted to pick up. It just felt right. And it was the last show to bring it full circle in 2015 that Lino organized before he moved to Hawaii. And when there was a shift from him being a president. So it's Alex Diaz. And so he put Carl Alleyne w o co founded Beantown lockers And who's the you know the CO-creative director o the group now we consider our oach the lead, right our inspira ion, he performed in that show w th a young cat by the name of abba Velez who's an amazing danc r in his own right here in the B ston area. He lives in Chelsea but amazing popper and locker, oung foenum. So I saw them. And when I saw it and wanting to get back into dance, I was like t at's that's the thing for me. T at's the time was right again, I'm still blown away by the whole heart. You just dropped Harvard on me like that, because there's a big movement within the collegiate route with hip hop clubs. And with breaking clubs and dance clubs, and Ivy League sector, and a lot of times these things are not together. Ivy League and hip hop normally are not next to each other. Yet, Hip Hop has always been within these universities. You know, even with Harvard and the Source magazine. That's right. Yeah, the founders of the Source. You're exactly right. It's something they started at the time kind of on the side. And so the time I was there, one interesting development that I think leads into what you were just describing in terms of how hip hop is showing up in the university context, is that they establish it was sort of a musical professorship but more focused on jazz But I've seen that evolve to even Why think Nas taught at one point at Harvard, it led to it because I think we have to see hip hop on a continuum. Right? It didn't just all of a sudden happen and Sedwig and cetera cedar Avenue, right in that year because Kool Herc was spinning at that party. I think, you know, it's informed by the stuff that came before it. It's an evolution of that from from jazz to r&b to funk and soul from which is sampled so heavily. And the one of the things I so admire about African American culture, but I think it extends across the Diaspora is a way in which it constantly reinvents itself. It can take a bit or piece of something from the past and pull it into the future in a way that breathes new life into it when you see the continuity. And yet it's something new, it constitutes something new in and of itself. And that just fascinates me, especially if you put it against the backdrop of so much oppression, and discrimination, and so much hardship, right. It's amazing. The resilience that underpins hip hop culture, and allows it to persist no matter what you know, and they say, can't stop won't stop. I believe that just because that's just what it's what I've seen. But coming back to Harvard, it's also fascinating to see that as they introduce maybe a professor here or there who's a practitioner of the art form, in order in order to provide firsthand I would say, knowledge and experience and exposure to students who are interested in this subject. It's finishing, see the likes of Cornell University, establish a whole archives that's got all these great fliers and memorabilia. And then it's interesting to see within the context of Massachusetts, there's now a Massachusetts hip hop archive as well, I realized that's outside of the university itself, but still a really positive, interesting development. And now the Harvard School of Education for graduate school, there's hip hop x lab, at a shot of church, and there's a member of our crew, Remy, who's now studying there as well. And it seems like there's more. And I think it comes back to what I started seeing my university years in terms of what are those opportunities to build a bridge between University and community that's mutually beneficial, that enriches the understanding of those who care about, you know, community needs, issues, institutions, and then people in the community themselves that have the first hand knowledge, often of what the best solutions are, that are often the people that define the culture. And the Vanguard's right, who are carrying it forward. It's it's a really symbiotic relationship. And so people say, Listen, you know, you'll never learn hip hop in the university. I think that's true, I think it will always stand alone and its own right and community from which it came. At the same time. I think there are benefits that flow in both directions to making those kind of connections. So when people criticize, or they're doing this, and and it's not legit, I just think we need to be more open minded right about those developments and say, Well, what how could that benefit ultimately, community. How do we center the people and ensure that the value accrues to them that helped define and keep this alive? For us, I don't know if you see it differently, Candy? I learned about it also, when I went to college to learn more about the culture aspect. So when I was in university, I just found myself going to shows and meeting people within that and starting sort of a student run club, it wasn't an official club, it was something that we all kind of linked up together to do. And within that, like you said, there were one or two professors that shared hip hop through an English course, or shared hip hop arts. And so it was like these little sprinkles. When I moved to Boston inside it, you know, at Harvard, which is also known for this very highly academic elite place and to see that people were embracing it kids were having a space within their dorms to dance, to see Harvard throw a jam for their communities and having other Ivy League schools come together and collegiate. So what I really enjoyed about it was seeing that crew atmosphere that I that was has been missing to see it again, within the students and seeing the crews with their the women and their crews and their colleges supporting them and rooting them on and it was just sort of gave me that feel of when I started dancing and how that sort of family crew energy vibe was and so I was like, I never thought that I would find this here at Harvard. Yeah, it's true. Razor was spinning and I'm like, first of all, I'm judging a jam here at Harvard. Yeah. My mom was like, starting to like my daughter's judging at Harvard. And yeah, you know, thank you go, go. I'm sitting in the end. He's DJing and I'm sitting over here like, is this really happening? Like, you know, these kids really vibing out This is amazing and great to see the culture giving everyone an opportunity to learn about it more. Because regardless, you're going to try to find the knowledge, right? You, like you said, you need to learn the cultures, I need to learn the language I need to. And so that's what happens as you get engulfed in the culture. You want to learn about it? Absolutely. Yeah, I was also encouraged to come back and say, wait a minute, there's a Harvard breakers club. I said, I had no idea. And it was at that jam, where I connected with some members of it like he up for example. And that was such a fun jam. I mean, ways that you put it down, maybe doses a funk that made me so happy. But yeah, the energy was incredible. And it's you know, what's what I also see happening in the community more broadly, is that space is at a premium, you know, you're in a city like Boston, space is hard to come by, there's not a whole lot of funding and support for the arts necessarily. And we have to make do with what we've got, we've got to be one another's best resources. And so if the university has facilities spaces to offer, and there's a corresponding entrance amongst the student body, right to to welcome in other parts of the community, that define the culture in which they're interested, man, that's a win win, because otherwise, so many studios are closing down. And we don't know how many of them not only studios, but clubs where, again, if I think about locking, it didn't develop in studio, you know, it developed initially in a cafeteria beside a jukebox by a guy that was trying to do a social dance. We didn't get it quite right. But it really coalesced in the context of clubs and competitions in clubs themselves. And so not knowing if you're going to have these institutions that anchor and feed the culture. If whenever we can do to take advantage of spaces, even if it's University ones, there's an interest there. Again, I think everybody wins. When that happens. I think one thing I love about you is that you're so much about giving back to the community giving back to the culture, you always support from the very small local jams to a very big scale, as you're doing with the United Way. Are there any insights that you can share for artists that are listening to our podcast on where they can get resources? Or how they can inform themselves about things that could help them? Yeah, absolutely. And there's a lot of them, I know, I tend to look at community through an asset based lens, you know, sometimes we look around, we like damn, I wish we had this. We don't have that I was I was sort of saying that, but in different words with reference to space. But actually, I think the more we connect with one another, and ask those questions based on what we need the direction in which we're trying to go and list other support, just as you're asking this question, the man anything is possible. And so if I think about, for example, classes, even though there are fewer spaces, I do see organizations coming along like the flavor continues. So I'm thinking about Jane and Brian, that are leading that group that's bringing together I would say the street dance community of Boston, and all of its different leaders into a single space to offer classes. And I think that's going to lead to some exciting possibilities. I even see them making an effort to connect more fully with the university community, when COVID permits to be able to orchestrate more jams that build those ties between different forms of dance, and then the university world as well and beyond. So the flavor continues is one that definitely comes to mind. If I think of you know, there are other needs. If I think about there's the business side of dance as well, even though I don't make a living from it, that I think for some people that are perhaps younger, higher potential, and have that aspiration, it's important to ground yourself in the business side of the arts as well. And so if it relates to finances, for example, we have a great dancer here in Boston by the name of Ashton Lights, aka Stackz, who's been doing second styles are jam for now, what is it four plus years. But I don't know if everyone knows. He also has this whole program that he's created based on his own experience and lessons that he's learned in terms of managing your finances effectively, in order to realize your vision that he calls the life builders program. That's something I would highly recommend people check it out. Even if your aspiration isn't dance specific. Stackz has some real world experience to impart that's going to help you get where you want to go. I'd also mention there's something called assets for artists, which is again, more on the financial side. There's even consultancies, like sunlight tax, if you have tax related questions, if you're getting revenue from grants, or if you're getting revenue from performances, how do you account for that in such a way that the IRS doesn't take away a lot of it right and honors your position as an artist as a creative in this world and you're able to sustain yourself? I think that's important. They're also sometimes legal considerations. So around liability if you're throwing a jam, you may not always think about this, but I think venues that host performance, think about it, and I've found that we get the question we've tried to perform it. Different places about if you're doing something that's athletic, perhaps risky, how you're going to mitigate the risk of you know, you're getting in trouble, just like the venue wants to mitigate the risk of themself getting sued. So I think about there folks are connected with the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston who've been given some great advice on that front that I really appreciate. You'd be surprised even some dancers in our community who are lawyers, I think about Amy Rubin, who used to dance a lot with Beantown lockers and is now more into popping has been a longtime tapper and proponent of the arts. She's a lawyer by training. And so you know, she's even said, you know, there's legal technical questions, she might be able to help. And she's, I feel like she's one of us, you know, and why not call him a friend for something like that. I also would say, in terms of technology now, especially now in this environment, right, we've got to figure out how we perform and reach an audience give a class, and it may go beyond just knowing what zoom is. But orchestrating something bigger and different and more engaging online, I found that the cats at loop lab are really great at doing that. And they're also seeking to empower youth, in particular youth of color into this profession in terms of technology, audio, visual technology, and for artists. And so another great resource. And then the last thing I'll mention, comes down to funding as well, right? If you're looking to way to fund your idea to bring it to life, I think what I saw a lot of the Floor Lords doing back in the day, is that they would just charge at a rate, they could offset the cost of the venue, adequately compensate all the dancers, and they were really good at doing that now. But if you're looking to supplement your revenue in what you have, there are so many grants out there, there's one that we've been very fortunate to receive coming into this year called the live artsboston. I could say more about that as it relates to what we got coming up or what we're doing. That's a great grant. But there's an organization called Dunamis, which is a bit of a boutique, I would say boutique not isn't super expensive. They're really community oriented. But they're well versed in the artistic community and all the different resources. So they do this thing on the resources section of their website. Again, it's Dunamis it's a resources Roundup. And so they always list new and upcoming funding opportunities, whether it's from the city of Boston, or from private foundations, or other entities where you can receive funding in order to bring a performance to life to orchestrate a workshop. And they can range from a few 100 to a few 1000 to several $1,000. But that's a great, a great place to look for funding type leads. And I think that covers most of it, I would just say, Man, it really helps to tap into those around you and ask who knows what depending on what you're trying to pursue, because you'll be surprised how much people know but the extent to which you engage will depend on how much your benefit or how quickly you can find answers to these kind of questions that you may have to navigate. We put some of the links in our show notes. So you're the director of operations and are now the VP of international network engagement and performance at United Way worldwide. What does being a hip hop practitioner have in common with your work? Wow, that is a great question. There's a couple of things that come to mind. I mean, one is cultural competencies, right, you got to be able to relate to appreciate and ultimately work with people whose background is very different than yours. And that's just not, you know, my team, for example, is made up, we have about 25, people spread out across five different regions. They all speak different languages, we're probably based of that team of 25 and 12 different countries, we're in different time zones, it makes for very strange hours. And things that are lost inevitably in communication via email, even via zoom, I feel like you got to work harder to really to discern the nonverbal cues and to be able to truly connect with somebody. It's hard. It really is. But I think that the cultural competencies I tried, you know, I made an effort and I continue to try to hone in starting in college, whether it's through language, and then the work opportunities that I've had to work with people of very different backgrounds has helped me appreciate that there are very different work styles. And those already exist amongst people that share a common language. Right? They say there are type A's all the way through. I mean, you named the others. So I would say cultural competency is an important skill set. It's I don't know that there's necessarily a course for it. But I feel like that's something that's critical. And it's a parallel prerequisite, if you will, in both worlds. The other that I found is important is project management. I think artists sometimes have a reputation of just being loose, spontaneous. I think you have to end candy I saw you said this at one point, I think one of your posts where you were reflecting on a moment you were saying you got to have vision. So a vision about what you can excite people. Right. And that's why I think leadership comes in to build excitement and consensus around a vision. This is what we want to be able to do. What do you think? Can you see yourself in it help people see themselves in that vision, right, but I think getting to the vision itself realizing it requires a lot of execution. And this is where you raise a you've got some skills in terms of your professional life in terms of project management, right, I remember you were calling you said, that's a big part of what you have to be able to do in terms of quality assurance, project management. So I've gone to Project Management Institute training, and I've applied that same discipline as it relates to planning and executing some of our shows. It's the big picture stuff, it's the vision, but it's the discipline to say, here are the milestones on that path. To help understand what different people's strengths and interests are, some people may not be so keen on social media, but they're good on logistics. So leveraging, understanding people's strengths and leveraging them into a plan that allows you to take measured steps in the direction of your vision and to actually achieve it, if this is over the top, but I use Smartsheet. And I have these timelines in terms of phases, milestones, deliverables related notes, and that's what I use to think about all the components that have to fall together in a certain order. And as you try to mitigate the risk of getting off track, in order for just a performance to come together, really three things, you know, this idea of leadership when it comes to setting a vision, and then the idea of management and execution in terms of project management to actually help everyone get their together. I completely agree with those things. And as you said, I have a very strong project management background. And when Candy and me threw our first jam, we created a little team, they were completely overwhelmed when I came with like an MS Project Plan, 400 tasks and what I mean by when I'm trying to get everything on a spreadsheet, everyone had their own sheet to follow what the plan was, right? My homie was like, yo, Razor is on point, this is the most organized jam, I've ever been a part of. Yeah, yeah. I think it's great to know that people within the community are offering these types of courses and offering these types of workshops to provide for artists to learn these skills, because it's not something that most people learn in school. I'm just like, blown away by all this knowledge and information. No doubt. I want to switch it up a little bit. Okay. What advice would you give your teenage self? Oh, that's a great question. So I'm now in my mid 40s. So it's like when you hit 40, that check engine light come on. And so I mean, you may have heard me referenced earlier, I was really fortunate to play a lot of different sports going up, and I really enjoyed them. And on the side, I would do BMX racing, BMX evolved into skateboarding that continue all the way through college. I mean, I feel like there's been this parallel mix of things outside of school, in sports between martial arts, extreme sports, and then, you know, acrobatic dance art forms that have always, they've always been intertwined. That's been the trilogy. For me outside of school, I just had no fear going up, if I wanted to do a trick, you know, I had a vision of how to trigger someone to a trick, if it was on a bike or skateboard, I would do it. And then that carried over into dance. That's what and so I had that same spirit. And I feel like I started to manage it more effectively, you know, after college, they what I did before, but I was at a point. And to give you a sense in high school, what they said the insurance company said to my parents, listen, if your son gets injured, again, he is off our policy, he is too high risk. And it's it's of his own doing. And it's because I'm trying to do you know, rails slides down hand rails or grinds down hand rails, and then fall in, you know, I've learned to fall pretty well, but I just got injured so much. And so what I found is that between, you know, the wear and tear over the years, it catches up with you. And then you have to correct for it. In my case, you know, it got to a point where I have arthritis and one of my ankles, I had to have a reconstructive surgery at the end of the year before last, and now I've got to care for it and manage it in a certain way, rest is become a really important part of the equation, I think I still have room for improvement in terms of diet, so that it also allows me to dance for as long as I'm around and to enjoy it. And with his full range of motion is possible. You'll appreciate it more, I would say when you get to be my age. And so in retrospect, the teenager so it would be I guess, just take better care of your body How has becoming a father changed your perspective or your philosophy? That's another good question. I think the biggest thing and I imagine you guys have experienced this to a certain extent as well is around reprioritization. You know, for me at the time, my daughters who are now 14 & 11 came along what became the most important thing is being present for my daughters being able to provide for them together with my wife. That was just paramount. And so what that meant for me in terms of what my other interests were before they came along, in particular dance. It Really as it relates to taking classes, going to jams battling or performing with different groups, it took a backseat. And it took a backseat for 10 plus years. And I found a way so I couldn't do it with the same intensity and focus that I had done it before. And to a certain extent, I've tried to come back to now but in a balanced way, considering work life and family needs. But what one bright spot is that when I came back from Brazil, as I lived and worked in Brazil, right out of graduate school for a solid year, and was able to continue dance through them, but when I came back, and then got married, and then shortly after that family came along, what was good is it even as it did I, because we were in Newark, New Jersey at the time, so close to New York City, right across the Hudson River. You know, for those about 10 years or so. There are so many festivals in New York City that were on the weekend when my wife was actually working, she would work on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. So what that means is that was time for me and my girls to go to the city and I had to find a way to go to things like for example, there was something called Crotona Park jams that Christie Zee and Pop master Fable would put on and bring together all kinds of DJs I mean, the original era, you know, we will go to things like that, but we would take food and if there was a swingset there, we make sure go to the swing set. If there was the guy selling the little ketose, the little sweet shaved ice, we had to get one of those. So I found a way we could go to Crotona Park jam. And at a time when they were watching Yo Gabba Gabba shows like that for kids, they would see like oh, that's Biz Markie. He was on Yo Gabba Gabba. And then they want to talk to this. So we found a way to make it work occasionally through festivals on weekends to combine, you know, just them wanting to be a kid and meet our time with them. But to be in a space in place, we're also hip hop was alive. And you know, in fact, we were so close to New York City. That was great. I couldn't engage with the community in the same way I did before. But I could still be present and appreciate. And then there were other things going up that hopefully you'll find this helpful as well, when your kids get involved in like different programs in the recreational interest. One of them early on for my older daughter was around Bowman planet. So my wife is Puerto Rican. And that's a really important tradition for her. And so we found this program called those Fernando still having to know, which is a prominent Bomba planning group in new york city that has a program specifically for kids is a year long program. And so my older daughter would go to that. But of course, my younger daughter she'd want to be playing, she didn't have the attention span, right to sit and listen to the songs, learn the music, make the day he got a mask, they would make the costume as well and all that up to performance. So the good news about that program, which was at the Julio Bogo Center in New York City, that was a few blocks away from 106 and Park. And 106 and Park is like the graffiti wall of fame that every year they would redo and it's adjacent to a school, but that school has a playground. So again, here's an opportunity, you know, one daughter was doing one thing, or if I was doing both of them, we could still be in and around things related to hip hop that I so appreciated that gave me energy and inspiration. But my ghost can be happy as well. And I think there's a way to find that balance no matter where you are. It doesn't come quickly, readily or easily, but it's possible. So if nothing else, I hope you'll take that away to the extent that your interests diverge, you know, from your daughters as they as they grow up, because ours mine do as well. You know, my girls, they all need to be buying the girl and pop in or aspects. They're doing classical Indian dance, or they're doing gymnastics, so we find a way to make it work. One thing I've always loved and appreciated about you is you're very upbeat and motivational character, like anytime around you. Your motivation is contagious. Where did you get that from? You know, maybe it partly comes from the past, but it's also very much tied to the presence, you know, some of my best memories going up are tied to dancing, because my family, you know, always that my dad loved James Brown and the mashed potatoes, my aunt is well. And so it just continues to give me a lot of joy. Again, it's not what I do professionally. But it really balances and replenishes me, I also think about the fact it's taken me to new places we know both near within the city that I hadn't discovered I'd known about even though I was here in school previously, and I made my way back now five years ago, but also far it's taken me to different countries, especially for Capoeirs Angola, you know, to Brazil multiple times. And then I discovered a hip hop community in Brazil. From the time I was living there and I'm still in touch with now to Latin community in Brazil, that made its way to Montreal, which is another place I spent a lot of time so it's it's connecting me with others who inspire me who enrich me and especially you know, at this time I'm grateful for every get down that I can get, you know, every locker tunity is I say sometimes say it really lifts me up. And I think it's also it relates to the present, it's, it's a reflection of the positive energy I feel in the music, whether it's the old music that Razor is laying down some some classics, or if it's, you know, a golden era, hip hop jam, or even something more recent, you can feel it, like through the music. And then also, I think, the others and how they respond to it, and how we're able to exchange the movements sometimes without even saying a thing. That is just fascinating. And, and I think energizing. And so, for me, I'm reflecting back a lot of what I see what I feel what I hear in the context of jams or parties, and those moments, you know, they don't come along every day. And when they do, I just feel like you got to make them count, right? That's my mindset, you know, going into any and all opportunities, I have to connect with others, especially on music and dance. I always like to know if there's any quotes or a tagline that maybe your kids are like, Dad says this all the time. So I can think of one from the Floor Lords days. That was that was was funny, you know, Lino would sometimes scream, I'll be like, let's work, you know. And James Brown is a similar thing, like a hardest working man in show business. I feel like it's a bit of a reoccurring theme, I'll be at differently stated, you know, work is play, right? It's like, let's work. Let's put everything we got into it. But let's have fun while we're doing it. And that's a reflection of an outlook, I think, right? A life perspective. That's worth restating this some other things, you know, I've had the good fortune to connect with Don Campbell on three or four different occasions. Starting in 2016, Don Campbell was the creator of locking, you know, this dance that I'm doing most these days. And there was a lot of things that he would say that that really resonated with me. And I think I would repeat here. So, you know, as much as people would try to copy what he was doing. And there was a point in his earlier days, he'd get really upset. Like when people are copying, he was telling a story with his sons, mommy's like, but yeah, they like what you're doing. It's a compliment. And it says, that just means you got to keep on creating. And so Don would say things like, take my dance, and make it yours. He didn't want us to look exactly like him. He wanted us to put our own personality, our own Mojo into what we were trying to do, even if it's using the same foundational language, the same basic movements that he came up with that define locking. So take my dance and make it yours. He would also say put yourself into it. That's another way I guess the saying the same thing. And then I really love that he would say this, he would often say, listen, nobody's gonna beat you with being you, and be blind be growing. And this extends to hip hop. It's very competitive, right? It's one upmanship, it's survival of the illest. Right? It's always, it's battle mentality. I feel like when Don saying that ain't nobody can beat you at being you, it just removes all of that tension otherwise, and it's just like, express yourself, you know, as Charles Wright would say, it is that song express yourself. So he would say that, and I was like, wow, that's true. I don't have to compare myself to anybody else. You know, however, I put myself into it. However, I show up, you know, I'm just want to be the best version of myself. So ultimately, I think that's what Dan left me with. And then there's one other thing that he would say often, which is, it's not where you start, the way you finish. You know, I had a humble start, I had a short period of time with the floor, though it was only three years. So they've had an enduring influence on my life. On my Outlook, I took a 10 plus year hiatus, off dance, to focus on establishing myself in my career, because I wanted to be able to provide for my family didn't come back to it to 12 years later, and I came back and I started a different place. But that had a close relationship with connection to the Floor Lords. And so you no matter where you start, even if you have to press pause, for whatever personal reasons, if it's injury, if it's other life, things, you can still come back to it, you can still be great. You can you know, you can still have fun. You may be at a different place physically, but you can't do quite as much. But it's just to say you can always come back to it. And so that's why I've relish every moment. You know, you mentioned a lot of names right now. But maybe we can expand on that a little bit. Who do you look up to and who inspires you? I would say it's certainly as it relates to dance in the dance world. It's Donald Campbell. He was he just liked to draw and he was that quiet kid in the corner. He would just he would describe himself. He was content being in his own room at home, whether it was drawing, you know, portraits of someone or still lives. And again, it was just one of his charismatic friends. he admired a couple of them that invited him to try to do the robot shuffle, move side to side he locked his joints he missed and then try to catch the beat and look awkward but they were like Don do that lock do that lock and he felt encouraged. All right. So when I was saying earlier to Floor Lords give you a word of encouragement, it can go a long way, you never know how positive is going to impact someone. So he got that imagine he took that and ran with it and created a whole dance, and then formed a whole group, and then toured the world. And then also, I wanted to make before I come back to your question, I do want to make a really important connection as I see it between locking and then sort of hip hop or be boring and be growing. And that when lacking had its resurgence in the late 90s, early 2000s. It was in the context of events like freestyle session, like B boy summit, you know, in the likes of cross one that created an openness space to bring back in locking, and then bring back in the originals right, the original here because it's considered, some people call it this is the first street dance. It's not necessarily hip hop, it didn't as hip hop, you know, being born in the Bronx. It was slightly earlier, but an important precursor also, you know, a street dance, you know, social dance, I think an important precursor to be a b-girl and b-boy and then popping is in emerging, bugaloo, out west. So I will always feel a synergy a connection to the b-boy, b-girl community, and not just because of the time I have with the Floor Lords. But because I recognize that as a bigger part of the story of locking is that it came back and part and was nurtured by the B boy and b-girl community and in events like that, and then it went worldwide. So that's just an important connection I wanted to make for those who didn't know the backstory and you know, 70s Yes, this is the 15th anniversary of the dance that faded away, but when it came back, it was that's why we feel the affinity that we do, I think for the hip hop community, in particular B boys and B girls, but that was I realized I that was a tangent. And I want to come back to your question in terms of like inspirations. And in addition to Don, there are a couple other people that I was named, I mentioned, I would just reiterate again, in George Lumpkins, Act One, you know, you think about the big picture inspirations like those who created the originators, right of one aspect or another culture, then you think of the tradition bearers, those that have carried it on and who pass it on and inspire and lift people up. And for me, and I would say also Carl Alleyne. So Carl Alleyne is the co founder of beatdown backers, he was put onto Locking by Act one as well. And this is a time when I had left, right left Boston, that's when called got onto locking, co established Beantown lockers. So between, there's a lot of lineage, I think, between Act One, George lumpkins, and Carl Alleyne, and then leading to the crew that he's put together now that I'm lucky to be a part of. So I really want to center both of them in this conversation, because they continue to inspire, whether it's a music they play, or how they perform. Like Carl especially has the original spirit of the lockers of Don Campbell, of personality, you know, Don would connect with the audience, he may grab an ashtray or napkin twist into a rose, putting air in his hat, twist and turn it back color has that same energy, there's no such thing as I'm the performer, you're the audience. It's like you're in it with Carl. And like 90% of what he's doing. It's channeled through his facial expressions. And then it's almost like everything else is residual through the body. But he's just, he's got funk, running through him from head to toe. So I really want to center those two, because in the Boston scene, if it wasn't for them, we probably would have been tele because we wouldn't have what we have now. So it's thanks to them. What you're mentioning too, is that I see Carl sharing his knowledge through these online courses and online workshop. One of the silver linings I gotta say, by this pandemic, has been able to connect with people that do this dance. from so many different parts of the world. There was a class that sugar pop gave, he's more a popper, but he's an amazing locker, Locker Kan. There was a whole series called lock academia where even Deuce Morales who's out of Mexico phenomenal locker, she's usually between Mexico and L.A.- wouldn't had a chance to take classes with her as well, our friends at hood lockers in Philly, but they've been doing online classes and trying to take advantage of those as well. There's been moments of great, like some more intellectual enlightenment, as opposed to movement in and sort of epiphanies in terms of movement or new learnings and moments. So I think about monsell durnan. You know, it's comes about a professor of hip hop did his whole series called intangible roots. So he did it over the course of the summer, he piloted now he turned into a course you can actually sign up for very reasonably priced, but very rich and content. And it allows you to see the line that runs through culture across space and time, including hip hop. And so that's been awesome and also have to commend one of the second generation of lockers, Alpha Omega Anderson, he's been doing something called street dance roots. And so what he's been doing has been convening the original generation that is still around and their contemporaries and giving them a chance to tell their story. And and even the Soul Train game folks, you know, the original Soul Train gang dancers like Jimmy to Joe Freeman, and others, he brings them into the mix and it's been fun fascinating to hear from if not from the OGs themself and their contemporaries about different things that were happening on the scene at that time, all of which influence how the dance evolved. Because dance always, you know, it hinges on context, right? What's going on in space and time. Those have been a couple of things have been awesome. And then of course, you got your series running strong, as well. And so there's so it's just like, there's not enough opportunities in the day to gleam all of the wisdom that's coming through channels like yours, and then the other ones I mentioned, but it's quite exciting thing about hours in a day, how do you balance it? Between wife and kids and work and hobbies? Yeah, it's if I would try to go to the gym, it would have to be this is back in the day, when I stopped dancing for that 10 year hiatus or so I would have to go and then be home before they woke up. And then usually that translate into Okay, I better go to bed early, hence no jams or classes, because they probably weren't going to sleep through the night. Unfortunately, my girls just didn't sleep well. So that was a that was part of the reason right for the sacrifice. So it's like starting early on. Now, if I do it, it's got to be after they go to bed. So we schedule our rehearsals, and I try to only go to classes that are after the time, they'd be asleep, so that I'm not sacrificing time with them. You know, one of the things that just mentally helped me during the times when I was away from dance was to be able to come back to it for the reasons I mentioned earlier. So you know, once a month, we would try to do one or two things, my wife and I so this is when our girls with the younger end of the spectrum is to go dancing. So again, we met through this program, this Latin dance performance program where they take someone that knows Latin dance really well paired up with someone who didn't know it. Well, that was me. And then build towards the performance. But my wife has always you know, her nickname is la flaca de la salsa. So she loves salsa, she loves Latin dance. And so if we could find time to go dance together once a month, that was a quality time. If we could get her no other time. We know we could count on that. Or if you know she just wanted to have a Ladies Night Out. Or if I want to go to the fellas to a hip hop thing. We would just try to give one another the opportunity to do that. Right. So it's time together time apart beyond the time with family and for family that's been helpful in sustaining and nurturing right our bond with one another. I think it's a good point though to somehow whatever it is to have dedicated time. Yeah, my girls joke now that we got a juicer for Christmas, like oh, y'all juicing tonight. Hey, Mom and Dad are juicing. That's because there's a lot of work. I don't know if you've ever tried to juice Yeah, you gotta take a whole lot of fruit, and it's going to yield about this much juice. And then you got all that stuff in there. Yeah. That's right. So I mean, it's comical but humor will take you through it as well, like Razor, the jokes you tell, you know, enlightens that what otherwise can feel very heavy at times between COVID and others sent me humor laughter really can be the best medicine I feel between laughter and music, and then each other, we can get through anything. Other any projects that you're currently working on or that are coming up that you would like to talk about? Yeah, certainly. So I mentioned we were we were really lucky to get a grant from the Boston foundation. It's called Live Arts Boston. And so what we propose to them again, all on the premise that there's a couple of really important special occasions this year that we can't let this year pass without starting to commemorate them. One is the 50th anniversary of locking. I don't know if you know that the city of Los Angeles dedicated a major intersection in south central to Donald Campbell, in recognition of his unique enduring contributions to dance, called Don Campbell Lock square, it's near Maverick flats, one of the places where he would compete alive. It's like it's not being ground, where lacking was really born and coalesce, City of Los Angeles pulled out all the stops earlier this year in January to do that for him. So this being the 50th anniversary of lacking also the that we lost on Campbell, it was a couple months later, he passed away. And then the 10th anniversary of our crew we like we got to celebrate. So what we propose and we got some funding for is for a monthly series of pop up shows. They've been for an hour, we call them funky Fridays. for an hour, we get together with a different crew from month to month. It's been an outdoor setting all the way from August to December. And it's one part performance is one part interactive workshop is one part opened in cipher. It's a very similar formula. But have what makes it interesting for us is we're doing happening with street style based crews. But we've also done them with international groups. We didn't want meta movements. It was all Latin based we didn't want with Samba Viva or Brazilian music. So the challenge for us creatively is like how can we do locking make it look and feel like locking to a whole nother genre of music. But also we're trying to think about how do we stay true to the past this dance but also how do we innovate and I think part of the innovation can from having to do it to different styles of music that are not traditionally associated from those that your dance came from, right. So that's been the spirit of the performances. And it's been a lot of fun. We've been posting little snippets and footage and highlights on Beantown lockers, Instagram, but also Beantown Lockers Facebook page, stay tuned. For one of those, we're gonna do them all the way through mid next year. So very grateful to be have to keep creating. And I feel like in part this time, and COVID and all the constraints, it's forced you to think outside the box and be more creative. That's one of the things about like dance or hip hop, you know, it can be really empowering a community builder, a support in times of need. It's been tough, but it's also it's a bit of a hot mess, but at the same time, a lot of funkiness in a good way. What is Hip Hop to you? oh Lord, you saved the toughest for last didn't you? You know, I think of it as someone who studied like history initially, in a traditional sense, it's a creative expression of black and brown people's lived experience, and as manifested in graffiti, in what MCs are doing, DJs, and certainly B boys and B girls. And I think at the same time, it's a reflection of where its creators came from. And that's what I was saying earlier about context dance, like music is always a reflection of the times and the place where it emerges from, at the same time, it's a reflection of values, you know, I think we have to recognize, and asking what are the values that underpin hip hop, and that make it have such universal appeal. So you know, I think about peace, unity, love and having fun. But it's also when I was saying earlier about its its resilience, because it was forged in such a tough time under such such tough circumstances. And the fact that it's, you know, it those who rise to the top in terms of hip hop and wanting to things they've been battle tested, they've gone through lots of trials, lots of tribulations, and they've risen to the top because of their resilience, but also because they're contributing something new to the art form. So this idea of originality, like hip hop is one of the other core values, this idea that you can't bike, or you you know, you can't replicate something without at least giving credit. But even that is I think, not well viewed, right, you got to come with something original, I think before you can come with something original, you got to grind yourself in the basics, right, the fundamentals first, but that's a really high expectation, you know, hip hop set a really high bar for creativity in that regard. And then again, I think is potential that the last thing I'll mention about hip hop, it's more than just creative expression. You know, it's it's a means for community building. And also, I think empowerment of communities, you know, you think about the idea of each one, teach one. But I also draw a parallel with what happened with these guys in the Cold War era, or post around that time. And Louis Armstrong and jazz musicians going to other parts of the world to try to help people understand and appreciate American culture as a means to have a diplomatic in and be on better footing, have a better relationship with other countries. And now I see it's interesting there are now programming hip hop is now it's almost similar. And there's even formal programs around it like what Junious Brickhouse has created in the next level program, where they're taking people that are well versed in the different elements of hip hop, sending them on a residency to exchange with different countries that are interested in hip hop. And it just helps us more fully appreciate and understand one another. So building community beyond borders, empowerment, and also platform for a voice that otherwise might be suppressed by regular channels. So it's all of these things. I don't think unfortunately, I'm sorry, there's just no short answer to what is here five, but it is all these things, and that's why it forever intrigues us and keeps us coming back right. Thank you so much to our guests, Aaron Myers for taking the time and being so open while sharing your perspective with us. Some of the gems we took away from this interview were: Philanthropy is not just about giving money, but giving leadership. Sharing the gifts and resources that may be successful with others, makes the community and in turn the world better. The world of art, philanthropy and business are interlaced and can mutually benefit from each other. Cultural empathy is having an appreciation and consideration of the differences and similarities of another culture in comparison to one's own. It is an awareness and skill that can be best learned through experience. Our theme music was beatbox by Denis the Menace and produced by Zede, a big shout out to the brothers from Switzerland. The background music was produced by Taki Brano, a big thank you to our broski from Providence. big ups to Crazy Hood productions for the continued love and support. Our podcast basically runs on coffee. To keep our show running well you can support by buying us a coffee through the link in our show notes. Much love to Roger Romero for buying us coffee. We would love to get your feedback for questions and any suggestions you might have. You can reach out to us on Instagram Twitter or Facebook@SoulidarityLLC or via email soulidarityllc@gmail.com - If you liked today's show, please tell a friend about our podcast or as Phife Dawg would say: tell your mother, tell your father, send a telegram. In our next episode we have 80 Empire. They consist of the Rezza brothers, Adrian aka sir analog and Lucas aka sir digital. 80 Empire are multi Platinum, universal published, Juno nominated, singers, songwriters, producers and artists who thrive on their versatile and diverse love of music and music making. Thr Rezza brothers own and run their own label called Gladiator records. They're both married, fathers and live in the Niagara region in Canada. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and leave a rating and review. See you on our next episode. Thank you for listening to our podcast. No seriously though, thank you. I am Candy. I'm DJ Razor Cut. And this is Souls of hip hop.