Hip Hop moves forward by sampling sounds from the past. Like Hip Hop artists over the past five decades, Chesapeake Heartland: An African American Humanities Project records, digitizes, and samples from Kent County history, interpreting and passing on the past for both the present moment and future generations.
During the summer of 2021, Chesapeake Heartland’s Hip Hop Time Capsule paired Kent County teenagers and Washington College students with musicians, college professors, and museum professionals to research, explore, document, and interpret the rich history of African American music in Kent County, Md.
In the process, high school interns built on Kent County’s history to craft a unique sound and style. They drew from music and interviews in Chesapeake Heartland's digital archive to produce their own beats and musical compilations. They created cover art reinterpreting historic images. They crafted lyrics and poems highlighting Black heroes in our region's past. They spoke to the significance of history, family, and community in their own lives. They provided their own perspectives on Kent County's past, present, and future.
Click on the various mixtapes below to hear their work.
SUMMER '21 MIXTAPE
AMA AMPONSAH
AUSTIN MARTIN-WILLIAMS
DANNY PALMATARY
J.R. MCKINNEY
JAMES WILLIAMS
FAITHLIN HUNTER
GRACE LINDSAY
ALANA FITHIAN-WILSON
AMAYA BARRETT
LASHAUN MOODY
PHEBE WOOD
SAMUEL BUCKEL
MYONA MOORE
BROOKLYN GORDON
TY'AISHAH MOODY
HEZIKAI HARRIS
The 2021 Hip Hop Time Capsule program was made possible thanks to the generous support of Minary’s Dream Alliance, The Kent Cultural Alliance, and the Kent County Local Management Board, as well as collaborations with Sumner Hall, Kent County Public Library and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Special thanks to the program guests who shared their time and talents with our interns: Timothy Anne Burnside, Dom Flemons, Karen Somerville, Marlon Saunders, Yvng Swag, Vaughn Bratcher, Tevi Ann Swinson, Robert Earl Price, Sufiya Abdur-Rahman, and Alex Baker. The wisdom of our panel of professionals - Gordon Wallace, Ty Bolden, Jasmyn Castro, Jana Carter, and Kentavius Jones – was also greatly appreciated. Lastly, we’d like to give a shout out to the Water’s Edge Museum in Oxford, MD for hosting the program for the day and inspiring our interns in their creative endeavors. Thank you all!