during the mid to late nineties richmond virginia was abuzz with the sounds of emcees from richmond virginia with a diverse palate of talent. Lyrical ability, composition and style reigned supreme and each artist in his teens exhibited a wide range of mic handling skills. Here lies a treasure trove of music all recorded in the late 90's early 2000's from DUC. Dwellers of the Underground Cypha. Featuring Nod Dread, Jeff Session, Dutch the Don, Realness, Doc Death and Manifest plus special vocal sounds from Queen Makeda. Enjoy and share

Higher Plane - Nod Dread

Interlude

Quality Time - Nod Dread featuring Queen Makeda

Gotta Get Dat Money - Nod Dread

Get it Crunk - Jeff Session feat Realness

Raise Em Up - Nod Dread

For My Gangstas - Realness feat Jeff Session

Wanna Ride - Jeff Session Feat Nod Dread, Doc Death, Realness

Interview of Runoko Rashidi by Duron Chavis on the global African presence

Interview with Runoko Rashidi

Gentrification: the process of repairing and rebuilding homes and businesses in a deteriorating area (such as an urban neighborhood) accompanied by an influx of middle-class or affluent people and that often results in the displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents

Join Duron Chavis, Community Engagement Manager of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for an engaging dialogue on race, place and gentrification in RVA featuring local affordable housing experts and community advocates.

Program will take place in Gallery 4 at the ICA as part of Rashid Johnson's "Monument" installation. 


@icavcu
@rashidjohnson

Featuring Special Guests:

Brian Koziol - Housing Opportunities Made Equal

Willie Hillard - Brookland Park Area Association

Shekinah Mitchell - Virginia LISC

Jonathan Knopf - Maggie Walker Community Land Trust

Arthur Burton - Kinfolks Community

Richmond VS Everybody - A Dialogue on Race, Place and Gentrification - ICARVA

Duron Chavis was born in 1980 in Richmond Virginia. Also known as Brother Manifest; he has participated in the growth and enrichment of the African community for the past 10 years. Born in 1980 in during the rise of crack cocaine into urban communities throughout the US, he attended primary school overseas in Germany and came back to the United States at the age of 12 in 1992.

During his senior year at George Wythe High School, he was shot three times in an attempt to perform poetry at a local block party on Richmond's Southside. Graduating at the top ten of the George Wythe's Class of 1998, he received the Courage, Strength and Tenacity award for his diligence and unfaltering commitment to education in lieu of being a victim of gun violence.

Attending Virginia State University 1998-2000 as a Provost Scholar, Chavis became highly involved in student activism as a promoter of cultural awareness for people of African descent. Becoming ever cognizant of the importance of using art and mass media to promote ethnic heritage; Duron produced and hosted The Black History Chronicles; a live television show dedicated to historical and contemporary issues related to people of color and featured prominent scholars and community activists such as the late Benjamin Kareem, assistant to Malcolm X; for several seasons on Comcast Community Television.

Chavis started his career in community advocacy as first a volunteer then an employee of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of VA. He worked as a museum coordinator developing programs and conducting guided tours for groups of all ages and backgrounds. In 2003 he founded the highly acclaimed Happily Natural Day festival as a grassroots effort to supplement the summer jazz concert that was held annually at the institution. A resounding success; the festival has inspired Africans from all over the globe to reexamine their relationship with the inferiority complex instilled into indigenous minds as a result Western imperialism and hegemony. The festival is a weekend long experience held annually in both Richmond VA and Atlanta GA that focuses on cultural awareness, health, wellness and social change. Chavis has worked with Dr. Llaila Afrika, Dr. Phil Valentine, Hakim Bey, Dr. Neely Fuller, Queen Afua, Runoko Rashidi, Ashra Kwesi, Ashanti Alston, Dhoruba Bin-Wahad, dead prez, Popmaster Fabel and many more community activists, scholars and organizations from all over the country.

Presently Chavis is engaged in coordinating innovative and dynamic initiatives around the topics of urban agriculture and food security in a culturally relevant way. In 2009 Chavis launched the Richmond Noir Market, a Saturday farmer’s market targeting low income communities located in what the USDA has designated as food deserts in Richmond Virginia. 2012 marked the development of the McDonough Community Garden, an urban agriculture project that promotes sustainable food growing, horticultural therapy and environmental stewardship.

Chavis has received numerable accolades for his work. He served in 2011 as a Clean Air Ambassador on behalf of Earthjustice and the Hip Hop Caucus. He is an alumni of Leadership Metro Richmond’s class of 2011, received Style Weekly’s Top 40 under 40 award in 2010, was featured as Richmond Free Press’s Personality of the Week and most recently was nominated for the 2012 Golden Trowel Award by Tricycle Gardens for his work around urban agriculture and food access.