That spiderweb is quintessentially Austin: irreverent, endlessly entertaining, and weird as hell. And among longtime veterans in the city’s rap community and upstarts alike, there’s a growing belief that the latest generation of local rap acts, led primarily by artists including Mama Duke, J Soulja, Mike Melinoe, Riders Against the Storm, Vintage Jay, Magna Carda, Abhi the Nomad, Deezie Brown, The Teeta, Chucky Blk, among others, combined with a push to create infrastructure that can support creativity, might finally elevate the Austin rap scene beyond its city’s limits even during a pandemic.
Abhi the Nomad performing at SXSW Dive Bar Sessions on March 15, 2019.Rick Kern/Getty
What Does “Build Back Better” Look Like for Live Music?
Black musicians were already struggling for resources and recognition before the pandemic. Now, they’re organizing and championing lasting reform in the live music industry.
During the pandemic, Austin s annual Blues on the Green, for the first time, allowed a Black musician Jackie Venson to curate a performance lineup. Ismael Quintanilla
Black musicians were already struggling for resources and recognition before the pandemic. Now, they’re organizing and championing lasting reform in the live music industry.
During the pandemic, Austin s annual Blues on the Green, for the first time, allowed a Black musician Jackie Venson to curate a performance lineup. Ismael Quintanilla
On a cold Wednesday night in Austin, Texas, Jon Dee Graham nestles into a floral print sofa with his son, William, performing with him. Hugging a guitar, he thanks the few dozen Facebook Live viewers whoâve been listening. He shouts, he laughs, and he sings of moonlit skies and Amsterdam sunshine âsweeter than Van Gogh yellow.â But itâs all bittersweet.
The past year has been a shadow of the musicianâs normal life. He starts his livestream at 7 p.m. every Wednesday. Thatâs when, for almost 25 years, heâs taken the stage at The Continental Club â the same stage where, for $2, he would hear Stevie Ray Vaughan.
We are Austin music, repeats Jonathan Chaka Mahone.
He states those words emphatically in reference to not only his own musical endeavors, but the unappreciated depth of Black talent in the Texas capital. Putting the Black and brown face on music is what they should be doing, he continues. Get out of the way. Stop acting like we re still in the Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan days. The symbol of [Austin] music is still a guitar. That day is over!
His passion transcends virtual confines necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. After 11-plus years of hustling alongside his wife, Ghislaine Qi Dada Jean, the hyperactive social justice advocate earned the right to voice his opinion in unadulterated terms. The two unite as Riders Against the Storm, a hip-hop duo focused on uplifting its community in lieu of promoting dysfunction for album sales.
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