All Media

Video and Song Produced By Ron Moten Co-Founder of Don't Mute DC Based Upon A True Story. Performance By The Pure Elegance Band Featuring Special Guest Jus Paul, Weensey, J'TA Freeman. Song Written By Jus Paul and Ron Moten ( To Support Movement or Buy Merchandise Please GO TO www.gogomuseumcafe.com or email info@dontmutedc.com

This performance at the 2020 Go-Go Awards at the Howard Theatre included a multimedia slideshow spotlighting great Black women in history as DC welcomes its first Black woman vice president, Kamala Harris, and celebrates the many Black women who paved the way. Be'La Dona (http://www.beladonaband.com/) is a crowd favorite, an all-female group of master musicians that was named "Grown and Sexy Band of the Year" as well as "Cultural Influencers" from the Mayor's Office of Women's Policy and Initiatives in 2020. The First Ladies of Go-Go are an ensemble created by Don't Mute DC that debuted at the Eaton Workshop during the DC-New Orleans concert and conversation series in Sept. 2019 in collaboration with the NMAAHC Ambassadors. A rotating roster of top female vocalists from various Go-Go bands have been invited to perform as "The First Ladies of Go-Go." In this intergenerational performance, the beloved Be'La Dona warmly welcomed emerging women artists. Be’la Dona Band Roster: Cherie Agurs- Keyboards Claudia Rogers- Keyboards Shannon Browne- Drums Natasha Proctor- Percussion Alena Budd- Guitar Storm Thomas- Bass Karis Hill- Vocals Dani Jordan- Vocals Ashley Brown- Vocals Janico Enterprise Mgr. John Agurs Special Guests in order of appearance: Tashi Mhoon Cooper, Dancer in Red, (student, Duke Ellington School of the Arts) J'TA Freeman, Vocalist (IG: @therealjtanya) Christa Lee, Vocalist (IG: @christalee_music ) Kimise "Songbird" Lee, Vocalist (https://www.facebook.com/Kimise-Songbird-Lee-325057867424/) Presented by the Go-Go Museum & Cafe in collaboration with Traditional Arts DC.

Killa Cal (IG: @kill_switch) is an award-winning rapper known for his verbal dexterity and clever wordplay as 2nd mic for the legendary Go-Go band Rare Essence. In this performance commissioned in honor of the 2020 Go-Go Awards, the artist recounts the historical milestones, the highs and lows for Go-Go--D.C.'s indigenous art form in 2020, and gives advice for the future. The Go-Go Awards were presented by the Go-Go Museum & Cafe and Traditional Arts DC. Thanks for technical production support for this video from the District of Columbia Office of Cable, Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME).

The latest edition of "The Royal Pocket" premiered Nov. 22, 2020 at the Go-Go Awards presented by the Go-Go Museum & Cafe and Traditional Arts DC. The conga is the signature sound of Go-Go music, which is native to Washington, D.C., but has connections all over the African Diaspora and beyond. This performance ends with some of DC's most legendary Go-Go conga drummers jamming at the future home of the Go-Go Museum & Cafe in Historic downtown Anacostia. Thanks to technology, they were joined remotely with a percussionist playing live from Ghana, and drummers with roots in South Asia and Cuba. The Royal Pocket--2020 Go-Go Awards Edition Roster: Ronald "Moe" Moten (Washington, D.C.) Creator Kweku Sumbry (Washington DC) Djembe, musical composer/director Joe Bee (Ghana) Apentema John Santos (Oakland CA) Congas Sunny Jain (Brooklyn NY) Dhol Smoke (Washington DC) Congos Go-Go Mickey (Washington DC) Congos Sauce (Washington DC) Congos Winko (Washington DC) Congos Buggy (Washington DC) Drumset Christopher Davis (Washington, D.C.) Keyboard Nathaniel Fields (Washington, D.C.) Bass

This showcase at the 2020 Go-Go Awards that aired on Nov. 22, 2020 pays homage to the music and social media phenomenon that became an antidote to the loneliness and isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as millions were locked down at home under quarantine. "Go-Go Verses" was filmed in Washington, D.C.'s historic downtown Anacostia in the Secret Garden stage behind the future home of the Go-Go Museum & Cafe. This intimate conversation between two bands represents two very different strains of Go-Go. Representing the old school is Pure Elegance (https://www.facebook.com/Pure-Elegance-Band-355057497897048/) known for 1990s megabits such as “Put Ya One Leg Up.” Their rich horn section and experienced musicianship represent classic, straight-up Go-Go. In 2020, Pure Elegance had a new hit with their song, “Can't Mute Us” (https://youtu.be/sSfeHGjQr80) has been ubiquitous at marches for Black Lives and Black Votes that raged in the streets following the heinous police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. "Can't Mute Us" was a 2020 Go-Go Awards finalist in the "Best Song" and "Best Video" categories. An exemplar of Go-Go's new school is TOB Band & Show. https://www.instagram.com/tobbandandshow Band Leader Lil' Chris Proctor started the band in junior high, and they are among the leaders of the "bounce beat" sound, rich in timbales, with fast-paced, punk energy that is popular among a new generation of Go-Go fans. TOB has also served as the Pied Piper of DC protests throughout 2020. Chances are if you heard musical protests for Black Lives in the nation's capital in 2020, it was very highly likely it was TOB, aka the Take Ova Band. The 2020 Go-Go Awards were TOB's break-out year. They earned both "Best Band" and "Best Bounce Beat Band" awards, an important milestone and a sign of the future of go-go. In this intimate exchange, fans learned about the family ties across the two bands and their musical lineage to Godfather of Go-Go Chuck Brown. Anwan "Big G" Glover of Backyard Band https://www.instagram.com/anwanglover/ (winner of the Lead Talker of the Year as well as Petey Greene Awards for Community Advocacy awards) makes a guest appearance. Glover leads the Backyard Band which dominated the 2020 Go-Go Awards as finalists in nearly half of the categories and nabbing the top prizes for Best Rhythm section, Virtual/Livestream Show, Drummer, and Male Singer. Providing expert commentary between rounds of the Go-Go Verses is Go-Go Radio Live https://www.instagram.com/gogoradiolive/ Founder Nico the Gogo-ologist and C-Bo, founder of Bounce Beat Radio. "It's Marvelous" Comedian Davey Ruffin (https://www.instagram.com/davyruffin/) opens the show with a coin toss. The 2020 Go-Go Awards were presented by the Go-Go Museum & Cafe in collaboration with Traditional Arts DC. This Go-Go Verses showcase was underwritten by the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and the Humanities.

Known as "Half-Band, Half-Amazing," New Impressionz turned up the heat for the 2020 Go-Go Awards in this performance live-streamed from the historic Howard Theatre in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Built in 1909, the theatre was the first such facility built for Black audiences in the United States. This venue has hosted a long line of Black DC musical maestros from Duke Ellington to Go-Go Godfather Chuck Brown. Upon Brown's 2012 death, the theatre hosted a wake as his sunglasses-and-fedora clad body lay in state with crowds outside chanting "Wind Me Up, Chuck" for one last time. New Impressionz' Leader TJ upholds the tradition for D.C's indigenous sound, and brings it to a new generation of fans, seamlessly melting sunny, old-school funk grooves into newer bounce beats. The 2020 Go-Go Awards were presented by the Go-Go Museum & Cafe in collaboration with Traditional Arts DC.

Our partners at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage produced this video tribute to spotlight the work of three Go-Go Hall of Fame inductees who won Lifetime Achievement Awards for Community Archiving and Preservation: DON CAMPBELL, owner of Central Communications/Metro PCS KATO HAMMOND, author and founder of TMOTTGOGO Magazine NICO "the Gogo-Ologist" HOBSON, co-founder of Go-Go Radio Live This video aired Nov. 22, 2020 as part of the 2020 Go-Go Awards, presented by the Go-Go Museum & Cafe and Traditional Arts DC.

Farewell to the Frank D. Reeves Center of Municipal Affairs? DC's Forever First Lady Cora Masters Barry, "The Beat Don't Stop" executive producer Bo Sampson and Go-Go Live author Natalie Hopkinson reminisce about DC history and culture in the iconic building at the corner of 14th and U Street on the occasion of the 2020 Go-Go Awards. Recently, plans were announced (https://www.washingtoninformer.com/reeves-center-reimaging-elicits-strong-reaction/) to possibly raze the building that held a century of memories for Black DC. Known as "Black Broadway" starting in the 1920s, this intersection was the epicenter of the 1968 uprisings following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. The Reeves Center was home to the Go-Go party Club U from the 1990s to the early 2000s. Most recently, the building was the backdrop to Moechella rallies at the height of the 2019 Don't Mute DC uprisings. Thanks to the Mayor's Office of African American Affairs for facilitating this conversation inside the Reeves Center in honor of the 2020 Go-Go Awards presented by the Go-Go Museum & Cafe and Traditional Arts DC.