On July 10, glbl wrmng and friends will be heating up the stage at The Broadside for the inaugural concert of the SOULidarity performance series. Organized by glbl wrmng co-founder Nate Cameron under the auspices of Them People Productions, a curation company led by Cameron and his wife Krystle Sims-Cameron, SOULidarity will feature sets by rising artists of NOLA’s hip hop, R&B, and pop scenes, including Kr3wcial, LeTrainiump, $leazy EZ, Dominic Scott, BLÜ, and freshly-minted BUKU DJ’s ANTWIGADEE! and Malik Ninety Five. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m.
Though New Orleans and bounce are all but synonymous, some of the city’s most talented artists in that and associated genres—excluding Big Freedia, the reigning queen of bounce—are suspiciously absent from the marquees of its major venues. The SOULidarity performance series seeks to uplift Black hip hop and R&B talent in the city.
“We have immense talent in New Orleans. We always have,” Cameron said. “But I think that the common trend of the folks in R&B from New Orleans that broke out—I’m thinking of my buddy Luke James, Lucky Daye, Frank Ocean—they all had to move or they all had to get out of the city to have that big boom happen.
“There should be options for that to happen at home. It’s getting better with building infrastructure…[Still] I feel like for a lot of different reasons—a couple are systematic, a couple are racial—R&B and hip hop just have not gotten their due down here when it comes to budding artists.”
Beyond the networking and performance aspects of the series, Cameron wants SOULidarity to be a vehicle for Black fellowship, mutual aid, and shared joy. “They aren’t promoting joy. All these different things that we’re hearing in the news aren’t evoking joy. It’s more times than not the opposite: anger and sometimes fear, rage, sadness,” Cameron said.
In an effort to continue his mission to amplify community voices, this iteration of SOULidarity will be spotlighting the Young Starz of NOLA, a non-profit supporting New Orleans youth in the performing arts both with and without disabilities, as well as various Black-owned retail businesses. However, this would not be an event affiliated with glbl wrmng without a nod to environmental awareness, among the causes supported by the collective. Glass from the event will be collected and recycled by NOLA Glass Half Full to create sandbags for restoration along the Louisiana coastline.
For more information about the SOULidarity concert series and to purchase tickets, visit the websites for The Broadside and Them People Productions. To support the efforts of the Young Starz of NOLA and learn about their Starz the musical performances from July 10– 11, visit the youngstarzofnola Instagram and Eventbrite page.
