Hannah Ritvo
Juicee Monroe, left, organized a day of hip-hop at Demetral Field: ‘I want to give new artists a chance to perform, a platform — let them know they can scream.’
It’s 1 p.m. at Demetral Park and a rhythmic beat fills the air. Following the music, I reach Jay-Day, a hip-hop artist from Jefferson who drove more than 30 miles to Madison to take part in Make Music Madison Day. Jay-Day is the first performer at Juicee and Friendz, a full-day lineup of Wisconsin and Illinois hip-hop and R&B artists and poets at the east-side park.
Parked in the center of the shelter, he’s surrounded by tables filled with family, friends and other performers. Loud music pulsates out of two large speakers behind Jay-Day, where DJ G Money remains for most of the day blasting artists’ mixes.
Jay-Day kicks off his set with a song that features loud howling. Fittingly, its title is “Werewolf.” The artist tells the audience the song is an anthem about transitioning into one’s highest self.
It’s not easy to hear hip-hop in Madison, which has developed a reputation as a city hostile to hip-hop venues and with few opportunities for hip-hop artists to perform live. But this year’s Make Music Madison Day, which took place June 21, attempted to make up for this deficit, with 52 hip-hop and R&B performances scheduled throughout the city.
Eleven take place at Juicee and Friendz, thanks to hip-hop artist and host of the event, Juicee Monroe. “I want to give new artists a chance to perform, a platform — let them know they can scream,” Monroe says. “It’s a cool way to pay it forward while doing what I love. I’m giving back to the culture: all for hip-hop, all for 608,” she adds, referring to the area code for Madison and much of southwestern Wisconsin. “For the 608 culture movement,” is a slogan that’s repeated often throughout the day.
Monroe gives each performer a cheeky introduction: “This is Ladi-E. She’s looking absolutely edible tonight.”
Ladi-E takes the mic in a glamorous all-black outfit. The hip-hop artist sports boxy sunglasses, a long skirt and a strappy corset, with gold jewelry draping over her wrists, ears and neck. Based in Madison, Ladi-E performs mainly in Chicago and Milwaukee. “There isn’t much hip-hop in Madison, or even a lot of live music,” says Ladi-E. “It’s unfortunate, because I really like to perform, but I don’t get the chance very often.”
Ladi-E saw Monroe’s Facebook call for artists and performed twice during Make Music Madison Day: at Bizness First Media & Production on Rosa Road in the late afternoon and at Juicee and Friendz in the evening.
The crowd remains small throughout the day, composed mainly of friends and family with occasional parkgoers and community members wandering in to join the festivities. Attendees shout encouragement to performers on stage and many bring food and drinks to enjoy during the performances.
Monroe takes a moment between performers to shout out artists. “Everyone who has performed today has been great — I’m impressed. It’s been my pleasure hosting. I live, breathe, eat hip-hop.”
To help boost this year’s number of hip-hop and R&B performances, the Make Music Madison team hired its first ever musician-in-residence to work directly with artists. Corey Whitmore focused on recruiting more hip-hop and R&B artists and sourced equipment for those who needed it. His efforts paid off: There are about five times more hip-hop shows this year than last year, when there were just nine.
Whitmore works as the artistic innovation coordinator for Urban Community Arts Network (UCAN), a nonprofit that fosters growth in the local hip-hop scene through live music events and such programs as “Academic Rap Up,” which brings local hip-hop artists into eight Madison high schools and middle schools to teach the history of the culture and music.
Duowan Rimson, who performs twice today — solo as Dude da Def and alongside Juicee Monroe — is UCAN artist-in-residence at Blackhawk Middle School, where he teaches sixth graders the basics of hip-hop.
“The kids learn about climate change and global warming, and we come in and we show them the ins and outs of hip-hop and how to write 16 bars,” says Rimson. “We show them how to take notes and turn it into a song about climate change.”
As the evening draws to a close, Juicee Monroe thanks both the audience and performers for showing up. “We’re all here because we have a talent and we want to share it with the city, share it with the world. It’s a blessing to be able to do that, it’s a blessing to have people who want to listen.”
Number of Make Music Madison performances:
621 (the most in the country!)
Most unusual location:
On the Yahara River
(Yid Vicious Paddle Party)
Number of event volunteers:
16
Most prolific performer:
The Folk Circus (7 shows)
