Existing comment:
The South and Southeast:
Born out of the mix of funk and hip-hop, go-go music is unique to the District of Columbia and its surrounding areas. It is rarely heard live farther south than Richmond or north of Baltimore. In Western Europe, hardcore fans and radio stations cannot seem to get enough of the go-go beat. The music combines the call-and-response of the African American church with percussion instruments playing multiple rhythms. Musicians modify rhythms through syncopation (accenting the weak beat of a musical bar).
Go-go is popular throughout the Washington Metropolitan area but is particularly important to the residents of Southeast DC, whose life experiences helped shape and define the music from its beginnings to the present. Katio Hammond states, "It's the way we think. The way we talk. What we war. It's the decisions we make. Maurice Shorter, lifelong resident of Far Southeast, former manager of the Junkyard Band, and current president of the Go-Go Coalition, adds, "Go-go is an entire culture... it's a feeling. It's a way of life. I love it and I'm gonna live it!" |