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Film, Video Follow The Music Interview: Jamal Harris

Video interview with Jamal Harris conducted by Leslie Liao

More Resources

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[ Transcript of Jamal Harris interview ]

About this Item

Title

  • Follow The Music Interview: Jamal Harris

Names

  • Liao, Leslie (Interviewer)
  • Liao, Leslie (Recordist)
  • Harris, Jamal M. (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Silver Spring, Maryland, May 22, 2023

Headings

  • -  African American disc jockeys
  • -  Nightlife
  • -  Underground music
  • -  African Americans--Social life and customs
  • -  African American dancers--United States--Interviews
  • -  Promoters
  • -  House music--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Moving Image
  • -  United States -- Washington (D.C.)

Genre

  • Interviews
  • Ethnography
  • Moving Image

Notes

  • -  Summary: Jamal Harris, a native Washingtonian of Caribbean descent, recounts transitioning from house parties at Howard University to House clubs, and the clubhouse scene, like The Clubhouse with his cousin, DJ Mandrill. As a student at Howard, he worked/volunteered at WHBC & WHUR and heard music that was popular, like Madonna, that they had already heard in House clubs, but which meant that mainstream was finally appreciating what already existed in club culture. Jamal mostly listened to hip hop and did break dancing, but he eventually started listening to reggae and soca and DJing, then began promoting and hosting events. He recounts how community service- helping artists, cleaning up after events, is a tradition that honors his grandmother. In making connections with his grandmother and Lindy Hop, his dad and Jazz music, and songs he had heard as a child (Roy Ayers), Jamal notes how many genres of music are a part of House music and how it connects multiple generations and the multiple countries of origin in a DC neighborhood.
  • -  Keywords: DC Native, house party, energy, Break Dance, breaker, gay, hip house, mainstream, hip hop, rap, Black gay, Black pride, community service, comfort, camaraderie, ego, community, home
  • -  Venue: Recorded at Urban Artistry Dance Academy, Silver Spring, Maryland, May 22, 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:

Liao, Leslie, Leslie Liao, and Jamal M Harris. Follow The Music Interview: Jamal Harris. Silver Spring, Maryland, 2023. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2022012_074/.

APA citation style:

Liao, L., Liao, L. & Harris, J. M. (2023) Follow The Music Interview: Jamal Harris. Silver Spring, Maryland. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2022012_074/.

MLA citation style:

Liao, Leslie, Leslie Liao, and Jamal M Harris. Follow The Music Interview: Jamal Harris. Silver Spring, Maryland, 2023. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2022012_074/>.