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Film, Video Follow The Music Interview: Ultraa Energi

Video interview with Arnez Grant (Ultraa Energi) conducted by Maren Cummings

More Resources

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[ Transcript of Arnez Grant (Jeffery Smith Jr.) interview ]

About this Item

Title

  • Follow The Music Interview: Ultraa Energi

Names

  • Grant, Arnez (Interviewee)
  • Cummings, Maren (Interviewer)
  • Cummings, Maren (Recordist)

Created / Published

  • Washington, District of Columbia, June 6, 2023

Headings

  • -  Underground music
  • -  Music trade
  • -  Gay culture
  • -  African American dancers--United States--Interviews
  • -  Dance--Competitions
  • -  Drag balls
  • -  Voguing (Dance)
  • -  House music--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Moving Image
  • -  United States -- Washington (D.C.)

Genre

  • Interviews
  • Ethnography
  • Moving Image

Notes

  • -  Summary: Arnez Grant (Jeffery Smith Jr.), also known as Ultraa Energi, shares his journey to becoming a Vogue dancer and music producer with guidance from mentors Vjuan Allure and DJ Sedrick. He discusses the creation of Vogue beats as institutional memory of Vogue House and battle cultures. He discusses how Vogue exists inside of House clubs, in Ballroom House culture, and in Vogue battles.
  • -  Keywords: House of Energi, Black gay men, vogue, Ballroom music, bitch track, shade, gay club culture, CDJ, Old Way, gay club, Ball, battle, Vogue Femme, DC Ballroom, gay night, record pool, Ballroom House Music, Vogue Fem, Face, Body, Icon, Legend, Legendary, Ball walkers, Hand Performance, Sex Siren, Capoiera, chant, 10s, chop, storm, Runway, Ballroom track
  • -  Venue: Recorded on Zoom, June 6, 2023.

Medium

  • 1 moving image file (MP4): digital. 1 manuscript file (PDF): digital.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Series: Washington, DC

Source Collection

  • Follow the Music: Exploring Multi-Linear Legacies of House Culture: Community Collections Grant Project, 2022-2023 (AFC 2022/012)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • video
  • pdf
  • image

Rights & Access

The American Folklife Center and community fieldworkers who carried out these Mellon-Foundation-funded Community Collection Grant projects (2022-2024) feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. Researchers are asked to approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

With the consent of the community fieldworkers and people documented in these collections, the Center is providing online access to these materials strictly for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other holders of rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of the items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. The Center cannot grant permission to use items in its collections, because it generally does not own the copyright to materials in the collections. Whenever possible, however, staff will provide the most accurate information available regarding copyright holders, based on what is known about the materials in our collections.

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Credit line

Follow the Music: Exploring Multi-Linear Legacies of House Culture, Community Collections Grant Project, 2023 (AFC 2022/012), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Grant, Arnez, Maren Cummings, and Maren Cummings. Follow The Music Interview: Ultraa Energi. Washington, District of Columbia, June 6, 2023. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2022012_067/.

APA citation style:

Grant, A., Cummings, M. & Cummings, M. (2023) Follow The Music Interview: Ultraa Energi. Washington, District of Columbia, June 6. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2022012_067/.

MLA citation style:

Grant, Arnez, Maren Cummings, and Maren Cummings. Follow The Music Interview: Ultraa Energi. Washington, District of Columbia, June 6, 2023. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2022012_067/>.