Vancouver’s Black Music Month festival 2023 returns
Posted June 4, 2023 10:57 am.
Vancouver’s annual Black Music Month festival was back at Queen Elizabeth Plaza over the weekend in an event that one artist says “represents unity.”
The outdoor concert explores the origins of hip-hop and also highlights artists from the area.
“We have local artists from Vancouver, and also some from Victoria and Manitoba. Today is hip-hop women, so we have lots of women headliners,” Nkere Ezekiel, event co-ordinator, said.
“It’s about representation because we don’t have a lot of small communities with Black people coming together and just making music, making art, and just having fun while doing it.”
The sixth annual festival kicked off on Friday and is slated to run until Sunday evening.
Ndidi Cascade is an artist who was born and raised in Vancouver and says the festival is about showcasing culture and connecting people.
“I believe we are all connected to Africa and Afro-centric culture, and so hip-hop is such a powerful force that brings so many humans together and this is what this event represents to me,” she said.
Vancouver’s annual Black Music Month festival was back at Queen Elizabeth Plaza over the weekend. (Angela Bower, CityNews Image)
Not only is she one of the artists featured at the festival, but she is also the curator of the event — something that she says is needed in a city like Vancouver.
“Vancouver has always tried to find an identity culturally. We live in a very beautiful part of the world it’s really easy to feel comfortable, and we have this privilege of being able to create while looking at the globe and watching it and being inspired,” she said.
“I feel like we can inspire the world to evolve as humans with good hearts and like-minded communities and to connect with one another.”
Ndidi says her strong passion for hip-hop stems from its ability to heal communities.
“Hip-hop has spread across the globe and the four main elements of hip-hop: DJing, art, breaking, and emceeing, and hip-hop has saved a lot of lives, empowers a lot of people, and a lot of voices in order to heal communities,” she said.
