Hundreds of southeast Queens residents turned out for the first-ever Music and Culture Fest in Baisley Pond Park in Jamaica on Saturday.
Councilwoman Adrienne Adams presented the daylong celebration of the impact and positive evolution of the hip-hop culture, partnering with pioneering VJ and DJ Ralph McDaniels and the King of Kings Foundation.
“The goal of this event is to bring people together for the love of hip-hop music, which is a genre, a culture and a lifestyle,” Adams said. “The arts are a powerful unifying tool and I believe in the positive power of music. The Music and Culture Fest lets neighbors meet each other in a setting that encourages them to explore their own creativity, dance, laugh, be moved and to recognize that we are all in this together as a community. The connection of a strong community is so much more powerful than the forces that divide us.”
The free family event, co-sponsored by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, featured an all-star lineup of renowned DJs, including Funk Master Flex, DJ Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, and Grand Master Vic DJ G Money and the Rockaway Twins.
“This inaugural Music and Culture Fest was an exciting celebration of hip-hop music and a fun, family-friendly event for Southeast Queens,” Katz said. “Council member Adrienne Adams deserves to be commended for putting on the fest in collaboration with Ralph McDaniels and the King of Kings Foundation. It was a privilege for me to join with Assembly member Vivian Cook in co-sponsoring this great celebration of hip-hop, a powerful art form with strong Queens roots.”
Since 2005, the King of Kings Foundation has taken a community-based approach to gun violence prevention to help change the lives of more than 30,000 students and young adults at schools, libraries, community centers, youth detention centers and parks in neighborhoods such as Hollis, Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, Far Rockaway, Corona and Queensbridge.
“On behalf of the King of Kings Foundation, we would truly like to thank Council member Adrienne Adams not only for her due diligence but her steadfast commitment in bringing about change to the community that she serves,” King of Kings President Todd Feurtado said. “Saturday’s event was so great that the community can’t wait until next year.”
