The EQ. Magazine Issue 6: Creative Employment

The Words Beats & Life Biannual Magazine

Issue 6

We Do It 4 The Culture

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SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING LESSONS ROOTED IN HIP-HOP CULTURE FOR GRADES 6-12

AS SEEN ON

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING IS REFLECTED IN HIP-HOP CULTURE! Authentic connections with young people are important now more than ever! They have a lot to say; and as educators, we must provide vulnerable spaces and agency for them to show up in all of their greatness.

We Do It 4 the Culture

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features:

100+ SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING LESSONS to support and explicitly teach strategies that uphold the five competencies of social-emotional learning for grades 6-12.

The curriculum is an exciting new way to teach SEL. Not only is it socially responsible pedagogy, but it’s engaging through its use of music, real life experiences, and its innovative way to drive conversation in the classroom…[For students] to see themselves in what they learn is always a positive. We Do It 4 the Culture™ does that.

- D. Garnes, Special Education Teacher

CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE CONTENT designed for schools that understand the importance of teaching that acknowledges, responds to, and celebrates all cultures while offering equitable access to education.

MEDIA-BASED lessons to engage students within the online spaces where they are already communicating and sharing ideas.

SUPPORT & TRAINING including live and virtual professional development because social-emotional learning without an equity lens fails to acknowledge the deep cultural connection between how emotions are manifested and managed.

OUTCOMES Based on data compiled from teacher feedback across multiple states nationwide, when We Do It 4 the Culture™ is used for more than 40 minutes per week, the curriculum: Increased teachers’ confidence in using culturally responsive lessons and practices Improved relationships between teachers and students Improved peer relationships between students Improved classroom climate

DISTRICT PARTNERS Contact us for more information: 443-744-9818

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The EQ. Magazine Issue 6 Winter 2025-2026

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SUBSTANTIAL: INDIE RAP COMMANDMENTS

Twenty-five years deep as a professional musical artist, Substantial drops gems on how to survive the game.

Interview by Awon

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LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Mazi Mutafa explains why creative employment is one of WBL’s five priorities

GIVING GAME AND BUILDING PATHWAYS Learn how WBL prepares youth to succeed in the creative economy Written by Donney Rose

PHOTO ESSAY: DMV MADE ’25 See how the second annual festival went down

JAMILLA OKUBO: FROM TUMBLR TO DIOR Successful visual artist Jamilla Okubo discusses her path from WBL student to professional.

Written by Mazi Mutafa

KAMAUU: DMV MADE

From the streets of D.C. to the heights of the music industry Interview by Substantial, Article by Mazi Mutafa

Cover Art: Richard Soben

CONTRIBUTORS

Dominic Painter

Mazi Mutafa

Adrienne Bedsole

editor in chief, The EQ. marketing and communications director, Words Beats & Life

senior editor and writer, The EQ. executive director, Words Beats & Life

senior editor, The EQ. marketing and communications manager, Words Beats & Life

Erica Keith

Donney Rose

art director, The EQ. art director, The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture, Words Beats & Life

contributing writer, The EQ. digital content contributor, Words Beats & Life

Stan “Substantial” Robinson

Antwan "Awon" Wiggins interviewer, The EQ.

interviewer, The EQ.

Richard Soben

senior graphic designer and illustrator, The EQ. senior graphic designer and illustrator, Words Beats & Life

M. Abdul-Majid B. Bennett

H. Betz

H. Cejas

S. Ahlowalia T. Blanchard

G. Cendana

S. Cunningham G. Easterling

A. Ahmed

E. Davis

J. Ally

H. Chapman

K. Denny II

O. Fabunmi

T. Gonzalez

J. Gordon

R. Govan

T. Jenkins

A. Johnson

D. Johnson

R. Choula

J. Doar-Sinkfield

C. Griffin

E. Guevara

N. Johnson

J. Hamlin

F. Joiner

M. Lawrence

W. Layne

J. Lee

A. McNeil

N. Miller

M. Mutty

M. Naison

S. Nakae

E. Sloane

L. Smith

S. Smith

G. Nauden N. Policy

V. Robinson B. Sone

Rene “DJ Think” Toussaint

D. Caldwell

K. Gadson

C. McKithen L. Poli

W. Byrd

J. Pratt

K. Walker

J. Sturgis E. Ward

C. White

T. Jones

T. Love

S. Rabb

A. Painter I. Reiff

S. Sagoo

M. Suber

J. White

R. Bates

T. Cao R. Castellucci

E. Coppolecchia

N. Horsford

B. Joseph

C. Duah

G. Curl

D. Dunston

M. Gayer

M. Gibbons

A. Issa Chtewi

A. Jelonek

M. Joseph

A. Keith

K. Kelly

G. Lumban

L. Lyons

M. Mason

T. Moore

R. Most

J. Muhammad

C. Parker

S. Parker

J. Pearlstein

L. Perine

D. Reynolds

M. Richard

B. Rickett

R. Renard

J. Sams

S. Tadesse

L. Temple

R. White

C. Calleros

A. Gasdaska

K. Salois

N. Washington

K. Bates

J. Dominguez

K. Garrett

C. Montgomery

J. Ostroot

B. Rouson

C. Dodds

H. Bass

B. Conner

T. Hoagland

K. Jones

M. Lee

J. Mills

J. Purdy

M. Rogers

T. Wellons

M. Lee

S. Colle

K. Garcia

B. Herron

H. Jones

C. Onyeador

C. Stoddard

J. Walker

X. Webb-Spann

D. Clark

T. Dickerson

E. Kwawu

S. Robinson

T. Burnside C. Chyr

J. Fialkowski

A. Maxner L. Plicque

K. Bartee

M. Dias

E. Kovalsky

C. Piggee

K. Baker

J. Felton

K. Matthews

A. Robertson

C. Appleby

M. Brown M. Brown H. Bryant

A. Cespedes

T. Eugene

M. Albano

R. Washington

S. White

N. Mathews M. Mutafa

M. Santini

A. Shafiq

N. Tieszen

T. Tingling-Clemmons

S. Washington

D. Williams

E. Wright

N. Sharif

J. Watkins

LETTER FROM THE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR t Words Beats & Life, we know that creativity is more than self-expression; it is a pathway to meaningful work, entrepreneurship, and leadership. For more than two decades, we have been committed to investing in our apprentice students to turn their creative passions into professional possibilities.

This issue of The EQ. is dedicated to that priority: creative employment.

Inside, you’ll meet members of our creative community whose stories embody this vision.

Former deputy director Stan Robinson reflects on his dual calling as an artist and educator, guiding generations through rap music and teaching. KAMAUU, one of our earliest students, now moves global audiences as a recording artist who merges artistry, philosophy and social consciousness. Jamilla Okubo, a former Academy student turned internationally recognized visual artist and designer, continues to reshape how culture and identity are portrayed through fashion and fine art. And Donney Rose, poet and former Academy director, reminds us of the power of the spoken word to open doors, personally, professionally and politically.

Their journeys mirror the work of our WBL Academy, Alternative Spring Break and Alternative Winter Break programs, which

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connect students to working creatives in the media, performing and visual arts. For the last three summers, we have also partnered with the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program, hosting 50 young people each year, and this year showcased their talent at DMV Made as podcasters, performers, filmmakers and event organizers. This fall, for the first time, we joined the School Year Internship Program, employing eight students in daily paid internships producing our weekly radio show, "Something to Say," on WPFW 89.3 FM. This spring, we proudly relaunch our Creative Economy Career Fair, our fourth edition and first since COVID, reuniting students, educators and industry leaders in an effort to promote greater employment in the creative sectors of the DMV. We invite you to explore this issue of The EQ. and see how creativity continues to power opportunity at Words Beats & Life.

Mazi

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GIVING GAME AND BUILDING PATHWAYS

THE WBL ACADEMY’S BUSINESS COURSES PREPARE YOUTH FOR THE D.C. CREATIVE ECONOMY

BY DONNEY ROSE

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USING TECHNOLOGY TO BUILD WORLDS AND TELL STORIES THROUGH PODCASTING, SOCIAL MEDIA AND FILMMAKING IS EXACTLY RIGHT FOR THIS MOMENT. — MAZI MUTAFA, WBL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ntrepreneurship in hiphop exists at the cornerstone of the culture. And though the “hustler’s spirit” has been embedded in the genre since its inception, it is virtually impossible to navigate hip-hop culture in the digital age without participating in some level of entrepreneurial activity.

Whether monetizing a podcast or serving as a brand ambassador for a company that aligns with the genre’s cultural values, hip-hop’s ecosystem of artists, media personalities, historians and scholars consistently finds new ways to be the proverbial captains of their own ships, forging pathways for financial stability with the ingenuity and grit synonymous with the art form.

As ambassadors and cultural leaders in hip-hop-based youth arts programming, the staff and

leadership of the Words Beats & Life Academy are committed to strengthening and sustaining the pipeline from young people being introduced to the arts to evolving into employable practitioners within Washington, D.C.’s creative economy. By equipping participants with culturally relevant curricula that engage students through hip-hop arts and history and building skills across multiple disciplines, the WBL Academy utilizes apprentice-centered programming designed to move students along a skill-building trajectory.

A significant aspect of this programming is its business classes, such as Business of Music & the Arts, Like a Boss and Chess. These classes give students the opportunity to be introduced to practical applications that complement the artistic craft they are learning in classes such as DJing, beat pro-

duction, poetry and graffiti. Creative employment, an organizational pillar of WBL, is centered around the idea of “engaging members of the larger creative community to share their knowledge and experience as guest speakers, mentors and potential employers.” In many respects, there is no better way for WBL to honor this pillar than by using its arts education programming as a bridge to its future personnel.

“Using technology to build worlds and tell stories through podcasting, social media and filmmaking is exactly right for this moment,” says Words Beats & Life executive director Mazi Mutafa, who leads a four-day-a-week festival production class. “My students gain these skills through my podcasting and special event management curriculum, which was created in direct response to their evaluations and requests.”

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PARTICIPANTS LEAVE WITH A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF CONTRACTS, OWNERSHIP, LICENSING, PUBLISHING AND DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION AND WILL BE ABLE TO ADEQUATELY PLAN, PRODUCE AND DISPLAY THEIR ARTISTIC VISION FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. Signature events such as the annual WBL Fest, Juste Debout and DMV Made, either principally organized by WBL or featuring WBL in partnership with other entities, require considerable planning, fundraising and activation from artists and community members. The festival production class offers students the blueprint for turning a concept for an event into a real-life occasion enjoyed by the masses.

The Business of Music & the Arts class functions to teach students: “the inner workings of the arts and entertainment industries and highlight resources that help create pathways to a sustainable career in the music industry,” and ensure that participants “leave with a basic understanding of contracts, ownership, licensing, publishing and digital distribution and will be able to adequately plan, produce and display their artistic vision for public consumption as well as the ability to market and monetize their art.”

By design, the class allows students to peek behind the curtain and understand the intricacies of living as a professional artist, giving a realistic assessment of the detailed — and often non-glamorous — side of what it takes to prosper as a creative.

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The Like a Boss class prepares high school participants for post-secondary education while also providing a solid foundation in entrepreneurship and employment, connecting the dots between artistic interests and career paths. Students are tasked with creating pitch ideas and often demonstrate their innovations at culminating Academy showcases and other community events. WBL also offers these participants access to feedback from a robust network of arts professionals, board members and community business leaders to further aid in the development of their ideas.

The Chess class applies the principles of chess to everyday life and business. Students learn the fundamentals of the game, such as setting up a board, moving pieces and capturing, understanding the distinction between checkmate and stalemate, and how to castle. While playing the game of kings, queens and pawns, lessons in strategy and critical thinking are emphasized as a means of teaching students how to navigate the business world.

Students also benefit from applying business-related curriculum while still participating in arts

programs. Youth poets selected as ambassadors through the DMV Youth Poet Laureate program are regularly commissioned to write and perform original poetry. They learn fee setting, contract negotiation and the concept of fair market value through WBL’s business classes. This instruction has given young writers the ability to understand the value of their craft beyond being a hobby, guiding many who transition from the youth poetry community to the adult scene.

The WBL Academy business classes give students the tools to see a future for themselves as contributors to D.C.’s creative economy while understanding the value of their art and creative practice in the present day. These classes seek to debunk the tropes of the “starving artist” or of the artist who does not take their business acumen seriously. Youth participants are provided top-tier instruction from teachers and facilitators who have succeeded in their respective fields and have been able to provide for themselves and their families based on their creative endeavors.

“Which is, in and of itself, foundational to hip-hop culture.”

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SUBSTANTIAL

INDIE RAP COMMANDMENTS AN INTERVIEW BY AWON Conversation edited for length and clarity.

Awon: I have the honor and privilege of interviewing my homie Substantial, an amazing MC, producer, legendary artist — international and global — touching the far reaches of the world with his music. We're going to get into questions about his journey, how he's celebrating that, and his reflections on the past 25-plus years in the game, which is an amazing feat for any artist, more or less an MC. Let's get right into it.

You're nearing this huge milestone, coming close to 25 years since you were introduced to the world through [the album] To This Union A Sun Was Born, produced by the late great legendary Nujabes. Walk us through some of your greatest achievements, how you've been reflecting and some of the lessons you might have learned on this epic journey you’ve had.

Substantial: Well first, shout out to you man. You've been a brother that, throughout my journey, your name has come up so many times. My homies would be like, “Man, what you do is kind of along the lines with what this brother's doing.” You know, it's just crazy us being here now and the relationship we built over the years.

It's been an amazing trip man. My life leading up to the music and certain things happening that really could have kept me from achieving anything. Growing up, as a lot of us did, being around certain elements, I'm grateful THE EQ. EQ

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I found music and art when I did because it definitely kept me very focused on trying to make something happen with that. And that made me a bit safer, even when it wasn't too safe out here.

Suitland High School was where I started to hone my skills as a musician, emcee and visual artist. Then, I used my skills as a visual artist to get into college. Being able to go to college in Brooklyn, New York, at Pratt Institute definitely propelled a lot of different things, including being able to get that deal with Hideout Productions and Nujabes [in Japan] and everything that came along with that over the years.

Now, fast forward 25 years from that moment when the album first came out. It’s just crazy. I was in China just a month ago, doing my thing out there, and I saw that those songs that were made so long ago are really resonating with folks now. I saw how excited they are to hear these things that I wrote when I was a teenager.

And it’s a blessing, bro. It’s a blessing to get to do what we do — what we’re passionate about — and to touch people’s lives through it.

Awon: Absolutely. You’ve run your career in such a clean way, especially when it comes to your business acumen. What made you start to veer away from the traditional side of the music industry — the way it was when you first came in? Because

SUBSTANTIAL SUBSTANTIAL

"It's called rap music, not music rap. The lyrics are always first."

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we’re talking 2001. You got to see the evolution, how things changed — how it went from physical copies and actual unit sales [of cassette tapes and CDs], to the digital streaming era. You’ve had to go through several reinventions.

At what point did you decide to shift toward a more independent route — but still run it in a clean, corporate way? Because when I come to your show, it’s a full experience.

You’ve got the show, but you’ve also got the pop-up with merchandise everywhere.

There’s such a wide variety of products.

And you’d think it was a whole team running things — but I know it’s just you and your wife.

At what point did you determine, “Yo, I'm gonna switch it up and do it this way?”

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Substantial: Before I moved to New York, I figured out that the traditional route in the music industry — to quote some of my Japanese peers, “It might be difficult.” I would meet with record labels and oftentimes they wanted me to change my image — not so much how I dressed, but because I did the battle rap thing at one point in time, they were trying to make my image a lot more hardcore, that's how they saw me. They were like, ‘Yo, I need you to lean into that, more and less of this reflective talking about life.” After having a few of those conversations I realized this [path] might be difficult.

When I got to New York it was still more of the same when I would speak with [record] labels.

I also had a different presence on stage. I'd be performing with homies and it's not that I wasn't hype. It’s just this is hype, for me. One thing people don’t realize is when you got a

"Rapping is something you do. Hip-hop is something you live." deep voice, I might not sound hype to y’all, but for me this is hype, this is my voice elevated. So, that was a challenge for me as well.

People were always trying to make me a little more animated, a little more hype, you know, be a little more negative, curse a little more in your music, do this, do that. And I just realized that even the people who knew who I really was were encouraging me to do that. And I had to go a different way.

When we talk about the merchandise piece — shout out to Brooklyn! Living in Brooklyn really exposed me to a lot. I already had that hustler mentality before I got there, but then in Brooklyn I just had bigger opportunities to really leverage what I had already done here [in the DMV]. When I was mailing out demos, trying to get a record deal, I was already selling mixtapes for other people’s music all the time. I'm making (their) mixtapes at the crib and selling them at school — why can't I sell my demo If a bunch of people in my school already think I'm nice, the same demo I'm mailing out, wasting money, not hearing back from people — I could start selling this now. So, I just freaked the cover art and got a job at Sam Goody so I could make my cassettes discounted. And I realized that early.

So, when I got to Brooklyn, more opportunities came for me to sell my stuff. I started doing the International African Street Festival, and we would set up a tent out there. We had the merch table the whole weekend. That was kind of the prelim for the [fandom] conventions. Eventually, I was performing there a little bit. I went from performing and trying to sell my stuff in the crowd to booking a table for the weekend — and then making over $1,000 in phys-

ical sales with the crew. And this is early — pre-record deal with Nujabes.

So, yeah, man, I realized early on I didn’t have to wait for other people’s permission to act on things that I already saw in front of me. I just required a bit of capital. I learned quickly that I don’t have to sell as much as [a big artist] in order to make the same money because I got a lot less overhead. And I ain’t got an office with 50 people working there. It’s me and my partners.

Awon: Let's fast forward to 2010. Bop Alloy — you know, that Substantial and Marcus D collaboration. The Bop Alloy artwork is iconic. I saw that everywhere. Everywhere. That character — the image is so iconic, and it fit for that time, especially with the explosion of anime into America.

How did that project begin? And once you give us that history, what is next for Bop Alloy?

Substantial: Marcus and I connected in — I want to say — ‘07. And I’m 10 years older than Marcus, so he was still in high school when he first reached out to me. But I saw potential in what he was doing really early. After doing two collabs with Marcus, I stepped to the representation I had for everything I was doing in Japan, and I told them, if I did a full project with this kid, I think we could really make something special and really leverage and build up the base that was kind of missing out on this sound from earlier in my career. I felt like it fell in line with that, but it was an upgrade.

So, we did that. And right away I told them, we need a name for this. We came up with a couple of differ-

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ent names, and I think one of the first names I came up with was Bop Alloy. Once we had the name, we started talking about this idea of a character that was basically an android, but built of instruments. It’s like what I think of when I think of rap music — rap music is this thing that is organic in some ways, but also very mechanical.

It’s like a machine with a soul.

Shout out to Shuhei, the artist who created the character. And the character’s name, for those who don’t know, is Saxophone Jones.

So, moving into the future — we got our third official album [coming soon]. It’s called "Masters of the Artistry."

We actually shout you out in one of the songs too, bro.

Yeah — you know, “jazz rap aficionado like the homie Awon.” That’s one of the lines.

When we were talking about doing this project, we knew we wanted to stay true to our roots and acknowl-

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edge our foundation — and salute those who came before us and those who’ve been on this journey with us. But also, we wanted to tap into what our future potentially looks like too, and try to upgrade the sound in different places, and do something we’ve never done before — record a whole album together.

So, part of the traveling you’ve seen me do is — I took two trips out to Japan in the same year to finish up the album in person with Marcus. The record’s almost done, man. We’re finishing up, putting final touches on one or two tracks, then mixing and mastering, and going to launch this Kickstarter campaign so we can crowdfund it. We ain’t waiting on nobody but the people who already rock with us, man — and then everybody else who finds it from there, we’re grateful.

Awon: Now, your true fans and people who have been following you may know this, but you are also a producer. You’ve had sync placements in video

games, and when we first met, you had an instrumental album out that you produced. It was doing extremely well, and you seemed extremely happy in that lane.

So, I have to ask — with you producing for other people, as well as getting these placements and not having to be in the front — in this phase of your life and career, what do you enjoy more: the production or emceeing?

Substantial: I think the honest answer is — I enjoy the emceeing aspect more. I started making beats out of necessity, like a lot of emcees who produce. Eventually, you get tired of getting other people’s instrumentals, so you figure out how to make beats. So, the production always felt a little more like work, but these days, I still love the emceeing part more.

You know, this is where me and Marcus will butt heads sometimes — it’s called rap music, not music rap. The lyrics are always first.

What’s being said and how it’s being said — for me, that’s the foundation, bro.

Because the thing is, I can take those words and put them over any style of music, and now it’s a rap song.

However, with production, I’ve definitely grown.

I have a deeper love for it now.

I just produced half of these two volumes that the poet Anacaona Rocio Milagro is doing. The first volume is already out — it’s called "To Make an Island of a Street Corner," and it’s a spoken word project.

That’s something that a lot of people don’t know I’ve been producing — having spoken word artists come in the studio to record a cappella, and then I build music around them.

I’ve been doing that since maybe 2000. I love those challenges, man.

Yeah, I still love making beats. And quite frankly, I’m not trying to disrespect that craft at all — but of the two, it’s the easier thing for me — to emcee.

Awon: Yeah, for sure. I have a couple more questions for you, man. How has being a DMV native — the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area — shaped you? You know, this is a very diverse region that we live in. How do you feel being a DMV native, a DMV emcee straight out of Prince George’s County, Maryland — how has that prepared you to be an international artist? When you look at guys like Wale, Oddisee, yourself — you could be from anywhere in the world because it’s so diverse. What’s your take on that?

Substantial: As I’ve thought about it over the years, there are advantages to living in or close to the nation’s capital, right?

One of those advantages is that it draws people from all around the world who are coming here looking for a better life, looking for opportunity.

At a young age, I got exposed to different cultures early on. I remember the first Japanese person I ever met — was in kindergarten or first grade — and he used to bring a little bento box to school.

And I remember seeing that and us trading food — he wanted what I had, and I wanted what he had. Then one of my oldest friends — shout out to Asif, whose family’s from India — that’s my boy from second grade.

You mentioned Wale — there’s a strong African presence in this region too: people from Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia. I think certain artists from here just have this advantage.

For as small as the region is, it’s a lot more diverse than people realize, especially once you get out of the neighborhood a little bit.

So, getting that semi-global mindset before I left the region made me a bit more open to the possibility of, “Okay, this record company in Japan is interested, and they trying to fly you out.” And this was back when it was a lot harder to get all the info on folks via the internet, you know what I mean?

So, it was a huge risk — but I was open to it. And I think that was because of the exposure I had here, even before I got to New York, you know what I mean?

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Awon: Now, you’re a dad, and this is Words Beats and Life — and the goal is outreach and reaching the youth through culture and the arts. What advice do you give to all of the youth — from the ones you’ve taught to the ones coming up — on how to navigate this modern world as a musician, visual artist, or producer in this landscape of the internet, digital currency, digital streaming, and even digital art shows?

Everything is going digital. How are the youngins supposed to navigate that?

Substantial: I guess the two quick answers would be, one — there’s a quote that I used to keep on my office door that says, “You are as smart as the question you think to ask and the research you’re willing to do.”

The second part of the advice is this idea of being a lifetime learner and getting out of our own way — understanding that you can never know enough, because the world’s always changing. You might know enough to kind of get you through your day-to-day, for sure. But then the moment you step out of your comfort zone, you realize how little you know.

It’s about constantly finding the courage to step out of that comfort zone and allow ourselves to be uncomfortable, because growth and discomfort go hand in hand.

That willingness to break out of our box and expose ourselves to other things so we can keep growing as human beings and as artists is essential.

And going back to that first part — just remembering

you’re as smart as the questions you think to ask and the research you’re willing to do. We are in the information age. You have access to more information than any other group of people who have existed on this planet. So, our ignorance at this point is just that — it’s us making a choice to ignore this information that is at our fingertips daily.

If you feel like you could be a better producer, or more importantly, a better person — it’s a Google search away.

It’s about getting better at asking the right questions to help further our development as people and creatives.

Awon: That’s super dope, man. It’s been nothing but gems.

Substantial: Man, I appreciate you, brother. I think it was Regina Hall who just said this — when you meet an artist who’s amazing and they’re a great person, just a solid person — you won the lottery. I appreciate you for being both of those things.

Awon: Thank you, bro and likewise. I love the music, the culture and the art, and I respect it. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t really love the art. I guess that’s the cost of doing business for some. But for me, this is life. It’s a way of life. You know what I’m saying?

Rapping is something you do. Hip-hop is something you live.

Substantial: Thousand percent.

TO WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW SCAN THIS BARCODE OR HEAD TO YOUTUBE.COM/ WORDSBEATSANDLIFE

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, . .

P DCAST

STREAM NOW

The Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis at DMV Made 2025

Positioned between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument, on July 26, 2025, the National Mall was again the center of regional pride as the second annual DMV Made festival was held. Words Beats & Life, in conjunction with numerous community groups, filled the grounds with stages and tents spotlighting the best of D.C., Maryland and Virginia talent, activism and educators. Locals and tourists alike braved the intense summer heat to hear homegrown but internationally recognized artists such as the legendary go-go band E.U. with Sugar Bear; KAMAUU (a former Words Beats & Life student); jazz-rock fusion band The Messthetics, featuring former members of iconic punk band Fugazi; Navasha Daya; and more. In the midst of a politically tumultuous year, where democracy is under attack and social safety nets are being removed, organizations from Free DC to DC Water provided resources to make our voices heard, maintain health and stay educated.

This isn’t your ordinary summer festival. See how it went down.

Photos by Joe De Acosta

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Sugar Bear and E.U.

E.U.

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Capital City Mass Band (DC)

Capital City Mass Band (DC)

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New Generation Marching Warriors (VA)

New Generation Marching Warriors (VA)

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Muralists MISS CHELOVE (right) and Jazzy (left)

Artists MOUSE (left) and Trap Bob (right)

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KAMAUU

Navasha Daya

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Black Folks Don’t Swim?

Awon

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Oh He Dead

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azz &Blossoms April 2026 | Franklin Park, Washington, D.C.

AUGUST 2026 | The National Mall

December 2026

SAVE THE DATES AND GET MORE INFO AT THE EQ

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FROM TUMBLR TO DIOR: THE PROCESS, PRACTICE AND PURPOSE OF ARTIST

JAMILLA OKUBO

By Mazi Mutafa

O

ver the past 20-plus years, I’ve seen thousands of young artists move through the doors of Words Beats & Life.

They arrive with talent, questions and often the same challenge: How do I turn my interests — or need for expression, even my creative skill — into a career? The answers have always been multifold. There is no single formula; it’s a practice, and Jamilla Okubo sums it up well:

“Discipline is really important to develop for whatever it is you want to pursue.

You need to have routines, a practice, a schedule, time dedicated to building what it is you want to create or do.”

Few artists embody that practice better than WBL Academy alum Jamilla Okubo. Jamilla is a multidisciplinary artist based in Washington, D.C., whose vibrant figurative work has appeared everywhere from Dior to Meta, from Spotify playlists to book covers for literary icons. Her art, grounded in the African diaspora, merges fine art, illustration and textile design into a body of work that is both deeply personal and globally resonant. In our conversation, she offers her roadmap for creatives: how to identify purpose, how process creates opportunity, and how discipline sustains vision over time, as well as the importance of revising and refreshing these processes

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along the way.

For Jamilla, identity is the architecture of her practice. “My mom is African American, and my dad is Kenyan and Trinidadian,” she explains. That mix continues to inform what she studies, how she builds narrative and how she creates work inspired by the rich cultural tapestries represented by her identities and interests. “Exploring and trying to make sense of who I am culturally, and how I connect to my heritage, has been a central theme I’ve explored throughout my work.”

“They’ve inspired me to learn more about my cultures and heritages. It gives me a more open view about being of the African diaspora and having these three different places that represent who I am, where I’m from, or where my ancestors are from.”

This layered ancestry — African American, Kenyan and Trinidadian — doesn’t fragment her voice; instead, it broadens it. In a field where branding often flattens nuance, Jamilla treats heritage as inquiry and as a bridge to expand her visual lexicon. Her process asks questions first, offers beauty second, and lets research speak to histories, hearts and imaginations.

Jamilla was born in North Carolina but raised in Washington, D.C., a city that

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shaped her curiosity as much as any classroom. “Being in D.C., you tend to become a sponge. You absorb all the cultures and different activities going on in the city,” she says. For her, the capital’s density provided exposure to music, movement and visual expression. “D.C. is full of vibrant culture and people from all over the world, but it’s also political,” she notes. That duality taught her how to operate in both creative and institutional spaces.

She traces her range back to youth programs. “I was always involved in different programs. D.C. has a lot of great art programs for kids and teens.” At Words Beats & Life, she learned breaking, graffiti and DJing, each discipline shaping her composition and rhythm. “I even approached my art practice that way,” she reflects, moving fluidly between mediums, guided by curiosity rather than hierarchy.

That experimental openness later defined her college choice. At Parsons School of Design, she entered the Integrated Design program, which allowed her to merge fine art and fashion. “I wanted to do both,” she says. “Integrated Design was my way to do that.”

Behind every sustained creative career is a repeatable process. Jamilla’s begins the same way each time: research, concept, iteration.

“It always starts with receiving the information about what I’m working on and any backstory,” she explains.

From there, she builds a mood board, sketches variations, and refines ideas through dialogue with clients or curators. She doesn’t separate commercial commissions from personal work; both follow the same structure. “Even if I’m just working

on a body of work, I do research to inform that theme,” she says.

Her subjects, often drawn from folklore, fashion and collective memory, require context before composition. Emotion, too, is never an afterthought. “I’m thinking about what point of view I’m creating from, what emotion I want to evoke, what I want people to feel when they see the work.” That emotional clarity transforms every piece into a communicative act: art that feels authored, not accidental.

Jamilla’s palette is recognizable, but never random. “Sometimes it’s intuitive when I choose colors and patterns, and other times I think about the emotion the story might evoke,” she says. She approaches book covers like director’s cut trailers. They are visual teasers for the narrative ahead. “Book covers are like a trailer to what is to come.” Research into color psychology shapes her palettes; intuition refines them.

Her patterns also carry meaning.

“The designs and motifs are influenced by the theme of the project,” she explains.

For a Meta commission, she built a

cosmic Black funkadelic landscape; for diaspora-centered pieces, she pulls motifs from specific countries, knowing that textures, foods and fabrics ground the work. “I really play around with it depending on the theme and what I’m trying to say with the narrative.”

Before Dior and Spotify, there was Tumblr. Jamilla’s earliest professional audience came not from galleries but from sharing consistently online.

“I spent a lot of time on the internet,” she recalls. “I was uploading photos of what I was working on, my process, my paintings.” That transparency built discovery.

“A lot of clients that I worked with early on found me because they were looking up African art or Black art, and my artwork would pop up on Google or social media.”

Visibility became her first agent. “There is power in social media. If people don’t know about what you do, and they don’t see it, they’re not gonna know, and they’re not gonna be interested.”

Every post became a portfolio, every caption a breadcrumb leading to opportunity that could change her life forever.

As her audience grew, so did her influences and the demands for her work.

At the start of her career, Jamilla’s approach was expansive. “Early on, I was saying yes to all of the projects that excited me,” she remembers. “If I felt in my intuition that this is a really cool project, even if I wasn’t super experienced, I would take it on.” That openness accelerated her growth.

“I was in the mindset of building my portfolio and experience, and that’s the best way to create experience.”

Later, as she transitioned toward fine art, she recalibrated. “I struggled with balancing commercial projects while trying to build my fine arts career.

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“Once you know what you really want to do, you have to lock in and focus on that goal.” The maturing artist learns seasons: when to explore, when to refine. As her fans, we have been here to witness it all.

an honor.” These projects connect her to literary lineages while amplifying representation. “It’s important to be part of the process of telling our own stories. From the writing to the editing to creating the artwork.” In an industry where covers once defaulted to in-house illustrators, her presence is more than aesthetic. It’s corrective. “It’s really important for us to be part of how the stories get out to people.”

Jamilla is candid about the tradeoffs between commerce and culture. “Sometimes working on commercial commissions interfered with my art career,” she admits.

“Now I’m trying to figure out how I can do both and find balance.”

She recognizes structural barriers, too. “To a certain extent, the fine arts world is a little rigid in terms of accepting who is considered a fine artist.” Her current strategy is focused: building portfolios that align with institutional standards while retaining her authenticity.

When asked what sustains her, Jamilla returns to mindset. “You have to have the mindset of being a self-starter,” she insists. “It’s okay to feel defeated, but don’t give up.

It’s okay to take breaks, but don’t stop.” She values preparation and initiative. “Do your own research.

And if you can’t figure something out, reach out to people in your network or community who know.”

Her generosity is part of her ethic.

“If you ask someone for advice, offer to take them out for coffee or even give them a piece of artwork.

Let them know you value their time and expertise.”

Early in her career, mentorship was one of Jamilla’s strongest pillars. “Mentorship and community played a huge part in my growth as a young artist,” she says. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be as confident as I am now.” She names her mentors readily: “You, Mazi, because you created Words Beats & Life; Corey Stowers; MISS CHELOVE; my mentors from Girls Rock; all of my DJ instructors.” They remain active supporters. “Whether it’s them sending opportunities my way or encouraging me, they’re still part of my community.” As an adult, Jamilla has learned that digital reach cannot replace human presence. “Early on in my career, I did not network the way I should have. I’m relearning how important networking is now. I’m showing up to events, letting people get familiar with [my] presence.”

Few platforms extend an image’s life like a book cover. Jamilla treats each one as cultural stewardship.

“I’ve always wanted to help visually tell our stories,” she says. “To honor and grace the covers for authors like Zora Neale Hurston, Tayari Jones and Toni Morrison is such

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Her advice to emerging artists is both practical and affirming. “Embrace navigating multiple cultural identities. It’s a gift. Explore all the mediums that intrigue you. Don’t limit yourself.”

Jamilla Okubo’s path is neither linear nor accidental. It’s built from deliberate choices: research before rendering, process before polish, story before style. She balances identity and industry, intuition and iteration, visibility and introspection. Her voice offers a clear blueprint: root identity in research, treat the city as curriculum, build a repeatable process, let color and pattern speak meaning, share work consistently, say “yes” to learn and “no” in order to focus, invest in mentors and design for balance.

Her story is proof that a creative life is not luck; it is architecture.

And like all good architecture, it begins with a strong foundation — built one line, one color, one courageous yes at a time.”

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DMV MADE:

KAMAUU’S JOURNEY FROM THE WORDS BEATS & LIFE ACADEMY TO THE WORLD

Written by Mazi Mutafa from an interview by Stan Robinson "TO BE DMV MADE IS TO BE FROM A PLACE THAT REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATES MUSIC ON A GLOBAL SCALE. PEOPLE MOVE HERE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND BRING THEIR MUSICAL HERITAGE WITH THEM." hen KAMAUU describes coming home to Maryland, he calls it “a settling of commotion.” The phrase captures both the calm he feels returning to the neighborhood where he grew up and the creative balance he has learned to maintain over the years. His story is one of motion and return, rooted in the DMV region’s musical ecosystem and refined through discipline, curiosity, and a global vision.

KAMAUU’s sense of identity is inseparable from the region that raised him “The DMV is a place with a deep love of music in general,” he explains. “There’s an appreciation for live music and musical excellence that’s reflected in the school systems. I started band in fifth grade here.”

Before that, he attended Ujamaa Shule, the oldest THE EQ.

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Photo Credit: Arturo Olmos Courtesey of Sugar Water Management

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independent African school in the country, where students learned drumming and capoeira. “It was mandatory for all the boys to play the djembe,” he recalls.

“That was my first music community.” His father’s record collection introduced him to sounds from Japan, Senegal and beyond, while D.C.’s international neighborhoods surrounded him with rhythms from the Middle East, East Africa and the Caribbean.

“To be DMV Made is to be from a place that really, really appreciates music on a global scale. People move here from all over the world and bring their musical heritage with them.”

That global outlook became a foundation, not a diversion. KAMAUU didn’t grow up on go-go music, but he learned to love it and to see how local traditions connect to global ones. “We may drum differently, but we all use drums,” he says. “We sing differently, but we all sing.” The statement summarizes his creative philosophy: every sound is part of a larger conversation, and an artist’s responsibility is to listen deeply enough to hear the common pulse.

Brooklyn, where he was accepted for painting but switched to film during his foundation year. “That switch is one of the main reasons why I am still making music,” he says. Film taught him storytelling and self-reliance, the ability to produce and direct his own work.

“My relationship with film, which I got from Pratt, was very, very important,” he explains. The medium sharpened his sense of rhythm and sequence, helping him think about songs as visual experiences.

In 2015, he signed with Atlantic Records, an opportunity that exposed him to the inner workings of the industry. He describes that period with clear eyes. “When you sign with a major label, there’s a honeymoon phase,” he says. “There’s a lot of attention and investment into you as an artist. They shoot for the stars.” The early momentum brought visibility, but when the focus shifted, KAMAUU relied on the independence he had cultivated. “Words Beats & Life taught me THE EQ EQ.

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His formal creative education began at the Words Beats & Life Academy, the D.C. program that has trained generations of young artists in the elements of hip-hop culture. “My first experience recording music in a studio was with Words Beats & Life,” he says. “It pushed me toward production because I was there with my cousin, the first person who got me into producing.” What he found at WBL was not just technique but permission: the sense that his voice and imagination were valid sources of art. “Before that I was an enjoyer of music who would sing or rap to myself,” he remembers. “Words Beats & Life was the first time it became a public thing.”

The Academy gave him the freedom to experiment.

He learned to DJ, scratch and write verses. He tried graffiti and began to see connections between visual and musical design. “It was one of the first places that helped pry my introverted doors open,” he says. “It made me feel comfortable revealing myself as an emcee.” Those first sessions became the groundwork for everything that followed.

KAMAUU carried that confidence to Pratt Institute in

how to record myself. Pratt taught me how to shoot myself. Those are the two main things you need.”

When budgets tightened, he began creating on his own, developing a structure that would redefine his career. “I started doing this thing called KAMAUU Day,” he recalls. “Every Tuesday I would drop a song with a visual.” The series of short, self-produced pieces demonstrated how consistency could become both strategy and meditation. “Consistency has more to do with humility than we expect,” he says. “It’s about acknowledging that you don’t know what’s going to work. You just keep showing up.”

The results proved the method.

His first independent release after leaving Atlantic, a song called “Garden,” reached several million streams in its first week. “My first song out of Atlantic had the best first week I’ve ever had,” he says.

The success validated his process.

“It takes discipline, not inspiration,”

he adds. “Bruce Lee talked about doing something so many times that it becomes second nature.

That’s what consistency does for artists; it makes creativity automatic.”

That same consistency guided his expansion into global markets.

“You have access to the world at the palm of your hand,” he says.

“You’d be surprised how people from different places will embrace and champion your sound.” He remembers noticing early support from Australia and then a surge of listeners in Africa. “My first soldout headline show was in Kenya,” he says, smiling at the coincidence that his name already resonated there. “Just being present in different places, either physically or virtually, helps expand your business and connections in ways you wouldn’t expect.” Those experiences turned abstract ideas about “global mindset” into real partnerships and audiences.

“WORDS BEATS & LIFE TAUGHT ME HOW TO RECORD MYSELF. PRATT TAUGHT ME HOW TO SHOOT MYSELF. THOSE ARE THE TWO MAIN THINGS YOU NEED.” Photo Credit: Arturo Olmos Courtesey of Sugar Water Management

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“WBL WAS THE FIRST PLACE I REALIZED I COULD CREATE. EVERYTHING SINCE HAS BEEN AN EXPANSION OF THAT REALIZATION.” Photo Credit: Joe De Acosta

Throughout his journey, mentorship and community have remained central. “My relationship with my father has been mentorship,” he says. “Being able to trust and go to my mother and father in general is a privilege that a lot of people don’t have.” He also points to peers and elders who shaped his artistry, from his cousin and early mentors at WBL to creative circles in New York that “helped me sharpen my pen.” A chance meeting with DMV legend Oddisee became a defining moment. “We were biking in opposite directions and stopped to talk,” he remembers. That conversation led to a friendship, a management connection and professional guidance that would carry him through the next phase of his career. “If not for Oddisee, even if I still ended up here, it would have taken much longer,” he says.

The lesson, for KAMAUU, is that no artist succeeds alone. “Community is a deciding factor in whether you make it,” he says. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The sentiment echoes what he first learned at Words Beats & Life: creative excellence is collective, not solitary.

His philosophy for younger artists distills decades of experience into three simple principles: stay healthy, stay humble, stay hungry. “You can’t do it well without a healthy mind and body,” he says. “Even if you’re talented and disciplined, someone just as consistent but who can think clearly is going to outTHE EQ.

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last you.” Humility, he explains, keeps learning alive. “If you think you’ve got it, you stop growing,” he says. “If you’re getting it, you don’t have time to act like you’ve got it.” Hunger, meanwhile, sustains progress. “Don’t be too big for bite-sized things,” he says. “Every opportunity matters. Keep learning, keep working, keep collecting the crumbs until the feast comes.”

This formula is not about endless grind.

It is about alignment: making sure that discipline serves purpose. KAMAUU’s creative rhythm is steady but intentional, his growth measured rather than hurried. He continues to expand through music, film, and wellness experiences such as sound baths, which translate his sensitivity to frequency into healing practice. His newest project, “The Romantic Spirituals,” builds on that theme.

Recent singles like “Omnipresence,” “Anthem,” and “Garden” extend his musical palette while maintaining the intimacy that defined his early work.

He organizes his creative life with the same cadence that once governed KAMAUU Day. Tuesdays may no longer be sacred, but the principle remains: steady output, patient refinement, constant engagement. “Consistency actually is the acknowledgment of the reality that you don’t know what’s going to work,” he says. “You just keep going.”

For Words Beats & Life, having KAMAUU return to perform at the DMV

Made Festival completes a circle. The student who once stood behind the studio glass is now the artist onstage, showing the next generation what persistence looks like. The festival celebrates local talent, but for him it also marks homecoming and gratitude. The same neighborhoods that introduced him to the world’s rhythms now welcome back an artist who has carried those rhythms across continents.

“WBL was the first place I realized I could create. Everything since has been an expansion of that realization.”

The boy who learned the djembe at Ujamaa, who rapped at the Academy, who studied film in Brooklyn and who rebuilt himself after the major-label whirlwind is the same artist who tells young creatives today to stay healthy, stay humble and stay hungry. Those words sound like advice, but they function as a design for living. Health preserves clarity and endurance. Humility keeps growth possible and the work honest.

Hunger sustains momentum while the world catches up. Together they form a rhythm, one that begins in the DMV and continues wherever he travels.

“To be DMV Made,” he says again, “is to be from a place that really appreciates music on a global scale.” His journey proves that when you carry that appreciation into the world and pair it with discipline, curiosity, and community, you never really leave home.

Hip Hop has always been about performance.

The Peabody Conservatory’s undergraduate degree program in Hip Hop can help you take your skills to the next level. You’ll study with a world-class faculty of performing artists, including: Wendel Patrick

Associate Professor

Lupe Fiasco

Distinguished Visiting Artist

peabody.jhu.edu 667-208-6600 The Peabody Conservatory meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for domestic undergraduate students, with no loans. Learn more: peabody.jhu.edu/NoLoans.

LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE STREAMING PLATFORM

A podcast giving flowers to the creative visionaries working behind the scenes in the arts

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priorities

ARTS EDUCATION Our Arts Education programming exposes students to new knowledge, techniques and methods, as well as provides opportunities to grow their knowledge and networking through alternative Winter and Spring break activities. We support opportunities for young artists to practice what we teach through performances and public art making. As well as encouraging these students to manage their own projects and events by participating in our Arts Management program. Our work in schools has been with young people in middle school, high school and college, with participants ranging from 12 to 22 years old.

In community contexts, we work with people as young as 10 and with adults 23 and older. Despite popular misunderstandings about our culture, hip-hop is likely created, participated in, and celebrated by the most diverse set of people in terms of audiences, practitioners, supporters, and consumers.

Our teachers, students, audiences, and selected master artists are diverse not just racially, ethnically, religiously, and economically, but also in terms of age, gender, orientation, and ability status.

Programs include the WBL Academy, Like a Boss: Arts Management Program, Walk It Like I Talk It, and the Entrepreneurship Program. Finally, we have our college and career mentorship program, College Material.

CREATIVE EMPLOYMENT Our Creative Employment work focuses on engaging members of the larger creative community, to share their knowledge and experience as guest speakers, mentors, and potential employers. To that end, WBL hosts a regional Alternative Spring Break focused on Visual Arts and Performing Arts, and a national Alternative Winter Break speaker series focused on the media arts. Each year we also host an annual Creative Economy Internship and career fair by partnering with creative nonprofits in the D.C. metro area. We emphasize creative employment as one of our core values at WBL. By engaging members of the larger creative community, we bridge the gap between the experienced and new through our Regional Alternative Break series, career fairs, and Creative Economy Internships.

CENTERING MARGINALIZED VOICES

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY Since 2010, Words Beats and Life has been working to send artists abroad and bring overseas artists to the US. These collaborations have taken the form of master classes, musicals, dance performances, public art creation, and offering scholarships to pay for primary schools for students in partner organizations abroad. We are working to make more of these collaborations more focused in commerce. We want to develop cooperative agreements that allow for greater exchange and revenue generation for WBL and our international partners.

FOR THE CULTURE WBL creates work to reach outside the hip-hop community to continue to grow it across various demographics. We host events and create work that has the hiphop community and the process of building community, in person and virtually. These are done locally, nationally, and globally.

This is arts for community-building and expanding sake through culture. This work is critical considering how common knowledge of hip-hop ends at rap music on the radio. This is our effort to showcase the culture in all of its forms by lifting up the work of artists from all over the world..

There is power in the margins. Power to innovate, create, and tell stories that are new for many Americans. Our priority is to expand minds, knock down walls, and build bridges between communities. Our approach to this work is interdisciplinary, people of color and often women-led. It has included theater, gallery shows, mural making, poetry performances, publishing, and documentary work. This work has allowed us to share the histories of people and places through the arts that would not ordinarily attend a hiphop-based event.

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