Crankin: Power and Resilience in Washington DC's Go-Go Culture

Go-go is the heart and soul of Washington, DC's African American culture—a source of resilience for the community and a way to celebrate Black lives. As the soundtrack of the District since the mid-1970s, go-go was designated the official music of Washington in 2020, and it has been incorporated into music genres such as hip-hop and R&B for decades.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Alona Wartofsky leads an exciting conversation with Kato Hammond and Matt Miller, offering a rich narrative to highlight go-go's key figures, bands, and moments—spanning fifty years from its beginnings all the way to its central role in the #BLM protests in 2020 and the #DontMuteDC and Moechella movements. This encompassing discussion of go-go music culture details the life of Chuck Brown, the "godfather of go-go," and documents the history of the genre's early pioneers, Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, and Experience Unlimited (EU). The panel recalls EU's 1988 number one hit, "Da Butt," go-go's gospel and grown 'n' sexy subgenres, go-go's international impact, the bouncebeat sound, go-go lifestyles, activism, and, finally, the homecoming as go-go artists brought Chuck Brown's African-inspired beat to Africa.

This talk will entertain and inform fans of go-go as well as African American and American-created music; musicologists; scholars of American culture and subcultures; and readers interested in DC history.

Time will be allocated for Q&A.

"Shaped and informed by their singular, varied, decades-long interactions with the go-go scene, the authors have created a lively, visually rich book that not only lives up to its title but is fundamental to understanding what this music is all about." Kip Lornell, coauthor of The Beat: Go-Go Music From Washington DC, and professor emeritus of music history and culture, George Washington University

Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Alona Wartofsky has been writing about go-go since the mid-1980s; her stories about the music have appeared in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, The Village Voice, Spin magazine, Craftsmanship Magazine and LA Weekly. She served as Washington City Paper’s arts editor before moving to The Washington Post, where she worked as a Style and Sunday Arts editor and staff writer. More recently, she has covered go-go culture for Washington City Paper. Alona contributed the go-go section for the 2013 Corcoran Gallery of Art catalog for the exhibit, “Pump Me Up: D.C. Subcultures of the ‘80s.” She wrote the new Georgetown University Press book Crankin! Power and Resilience in Washington, DC’s Go-Go Culture with longtime community activist Charles Stephenson, Jr. and go-go historian and musician Kato Hammond.

Kato Hammond is a Washington, D.C. musician, author, filmmaker, cultural historian, and founder of TMOTTGoGo, one of the longest-running platforms dedicated to documenting Go-Go music and culture. A longtime guitarist, Hammond is also a former member of Little Benny & The Masters, giving him firsthand experience inside the music and culture he has spent decades documenting. For more than 30 years, he has chronicled the people, history, sound, and evolution of Go-Go through journalism, books, film, photography, and digital media. Hammond is co-author of CRANKIN!: Power and Resilience in Washington, DC’s Go-Go Culture, published by Georgetown University Press.

Matt “Swamp Guinee” Miller is a multi-genre, drummer/percussionist, recording artist, producer, songwriter, actor, cultural arts educator and fatherhood ambassador from Washington, DC. He performs, tours, recorded and has collaborated as a drummer/percussionist and vocalist and educator with many artists and collectives such as Crank LuKongo, The Legendary Wailers feat. Julian Junior Marvin of Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Archives, Thievery Corporation, The Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS), The Alvin Ailey School, and The Alvin Ailey Extension Program. Much of Matt’s work has been dedicated to his commitment of educating and activism through the arts.
In 2014, Matt was featured in WETA’s critically acclaimed documentary, Washington DC in the 80’s’. His Matt’s music production, “Born Again” by Crank LuKongo, was nominated for a WAMMIE Award in 2 categories for Best Go-Go Album, and Best Go-Go Artist/Group. Matt continues to create cultural arts enrichment initiatives providing workshops and masterclasses, and he continues his passion for recording, performing and educating through music.