2015_NWFolklife

5 BY SEAN JEWELL There is no other family in the Northwest that quite represents Northwest Folklife’s 2015 Cultural Focus like the Maraire family. Their Zimbabwean culture, known as Shona, teaches music as a way of life. It’s been handed down from one generation to the next in story and song.The songs incorporate dance, hosho (rattle), marimba (wooden percussion) and mbira (thumb piano). Dumisani Maraire Sr.’s songs grew into a community of marimba groups in Seattle in the ’70s and ’80s. He and his family taught classes and gave demonstrations worldwide. Shona has no written history and, as such, Zimbabwean people pass along folk traditions orally. It is only by spending time with elders that the music can be learned. It is for these reasons that the Maraire family is key to this year’s Cultural Focus. Like Dumisani, his sons are well known locally and internationally for their culture and music: Hip-Hop with a focus on Shona.Tendai Maraire’s mbira sounds and polyrhythmic drums are the essential components in Shabazz Palaces sound.The group is signed to Seattle record label Sub Pop, and widely recognized as avante- garde in the genre, thanks in part to their Shona sound. Dumi Jr., or Draze, is an outspoken hip-hop artist once known for his dancing, but now better known for his rapping abilities. For all his talents,Dumisani Maraire Sr.is best known as an inspiration. “He was genius,he was driven,and there was swag there,a flair when he hit the stage,”said Dumi Jr.“He was a showman and a visionary… He came toAmerica,that was part of his dream, but he didn’t come toAmerica to be someone else,he came here to be an African inAmerica.” View the full article visit: www.nwfolklife.org/festival2015/ cultural-focus/ MEET THE MARAIRE FAMILY Photos courtesy of the Maraire Family n 1994 Ish Butler & Digable Planets win Grammy award for “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That)” n 1998 DJ Kun Luv launches Seaspot.com n 2004 • King Khazm establishes 206 Zulu • Massive Monkees win World B-Boy Championships (and again in 2012) • Laura “Piece” Kelly performs her spoken word piece “Central District” on HBO’s “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry” n 2014 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis win multiple Grammy awards A new art form Graffiti is the artistic portion of hip-hop, and it was one of the first elements of the culture to make an impression on the general public in NewYork City. In the 1970s graffiti writers or “bombers” began breaking into train yards at night and painting massive, colorful pieces that took up entire sides of subway cars. Respect was earned by those who “hit up” the most daring locations or created the most intricate/original designs. Break dancing explodes B-girling/b-boying, or break dancing, is the dance component of hip-hop. Break dancing borrows from elements of various dance styles such as jazz, tap and lindy-hop, as well as disciplines such as Eastern martial arts and capoeira, a Brazilian martial art. Mainstream media seized upon the early popularity of breaking with three major studio films, and break dancers in commercials and the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. A powerful platform By the mid 1970s, a depressed economy, poorly funded schools, and rampant poverty and crime created a disconnect between expectations and the reality of life in many urban areas. Participating in the various aspects of hip-hop gave marginalized and disenfranchised young people a forum of cultural expression with mass appeal for the first time. The opportunity to build community around the various aspects of hip-hop provided common cultural ground for incredibly diverse groups of people and has perhaps done more to reduce artificial social barriers, such as race and class, than any other cultural movement in modern history. View the full article visit: www.nwfolklife. org/festival2015/ cultural-focus/ Photo of DJ Kool Herc in Cedar Park, Bronx, 1975 Photo of Arts Corps Breakin’ Challenge by Christopher Nelson The opportunity to build community around the various aspects of hip-hop provided common cultural ground for incredibly diverse groups of people... “ ”