The usually sleepy Sumner Street was jolted awake by the sounds of hip-hop music pouring out from an old firehouse on Friday night in East Boston. Energetic music lovers from all walks of life were packed inside the small building, including people who came together for a night of good music, good feelings and a good cause.
This was a charity concert hosted by Zumix, a Boston-based nonprofit and youth-development organization dedicated to fostering positive change in adolescents through music and the arts.
The concert was presented by WZMR, Zumix’s own radio station, and by local media brand HipStory. It featured performances by Boston-based hip-hop artists Junior Biggie, Oompa and Latrell James.
The concert, hosted in Zumix’s headquarters and studio in East Boston, was designed to raise money for their programs and to cater to the community Zumix represents.
“Here at Zumix, we’re a pretty diverse bunch,” said Jeeyoon Kim, Zumix’s community arts and events coordinator and chief organizer of the concert. “It’s really important for our students to see people who look like them and who have similar life experiences with them on stage.”
The artists who performed were all local hip-hop musicians, who, through their lyrics and storytelling, express wishes to share their experiences and reach out to others in their respective communities.
“I want my art to reach open minded individuals and people who are not afraid to say exactly how they feel,” James said in a press release.
James headlined the show and debuted several new songs, which touched on his personal life, upbringing and community.
Lakiyra Williams, better known by her stage name Oompa, also shared the idea of reaching out to one’s community through music.
Born in Roxbury, Oompa revealed parts of her identity through poetic lyrics about the black and LGBT communities she said she proudly represents.
“We want to continue to further push hip-hop as a genre,” said Cliff Notez, founder and creative director of HipStory, “while also connecting with the community.”
James and Oompa said they believe they can have a positive impact on those who listen to their music, yet sometimes, they said, it can be a difficult task to reach those listeners.
The neighborhood of East Boston is at a disadvantage because it is geographically isolated from the rest of the city, Kim said. For this reason, its community sometimes has difficulty gaining access to local music, art and culture.
“Our vision of a healthy, happy neighborhood community is having things like this happen right in your neighborhood,” Kim said.
This goal was reflected in the large turnout on Friday, and the crowd filled the old brick building with an abundance of energy to go along with performances by all three artists.
“It was excitement, it was sadness, it was all types of emotions,” said Dawry Ruiz, a sophomore at Roxbury Prep and Zumix communications intern. “From the beginning, it was just good music.”
Ruiz was one of many high school students in attendance. Students from all neighborhoods in East Boston arrived at the concert, many of whom were involved with the Zumix organization in one way or another. The event was specifically designed to bring music to the local youth, as high school students were admitted for free.
“It’s really important for young people to get great experiences like this,” Kim said. “There are so many barriers like age and then the cost, so we took all of those away.”
The environment surrounding the show was one of youthful exuberance. Teens would freestyle rap in between acts and congregate in dance circles, prompting James to hop off stage and join them toward the end of the show.
“Music is important to a young person’s development,” James said to the crowd, “because it exposes them to different cultures and places around the world without them leaving their homes.”
