Text by Codi Fant
Photography by Terence Philippe
Black Art Matters, created by musician and Moonvibes Music Festival founder Chasity Londyn, is launching the first show of its pop-up tour this weekend in Brooklyn. Similar to the inception of Moonvibes, Black Art Matters came about spontaneously and exploded via word of mouth. “I just started making flyers and eventually put up an event page and it went viral a week later,” Londyn explained. She is passionate about bringing her love of music and art to an audience and creating a feel-good, communal environment to share in the experience. Black Art Matters in particular is a platform where “artist of color can display their art and be heard, be noticed, and be recognized.”
Londyn has spent her whole life submerged in rhymes and lyricism. “I have to be listening to music or I'm just not a functional person.” she professed. As a child she loved words and began writing poetry. After seeing Tupac’s music video for “Keep Ya Head Up” on MTV, she delved into the world of music and began rapping, recording, and eventually performing. Her sound, an echo of the raw hip hop and R&B of the 90s, is reminiscent of the music played around her as a child by her mother. “I just wanna make beautiful music and be happy. Hopefully that shit rubs off on everyone who listens,” she explained.
The very first Moonvibes Music Festival was held at a friend's penthouse on a beach in LA. “Out of nowhere I was throwing underground festivals from scratch,” she recounted. “My very first festival was set up with a few phones calls. I called up all the homies and said, ‘If you want to perform, be here at this time’ and it ended up being a really big, ongoing thing.” The success of Moonvibes is what has lead to Londyn’s next endeavor: Black Art Matters. Londyn hopes to make Black Art Matters an international pop-up—she is aiming for Amsterdam to be the next stop on the tour. “My goal would be to keep it growing and establish it as an ongoing pop-up. I want to travel to as many states and countries as possible and keep inspiring the youth to become everything they want to be and accomplish whatever they feel like accomplishing,” she explained. “Don't ever feel like you're not talented enough or beautiful enough. Never let anyone categorize you or put you in a box.” Black Art Matters will be an environment promoting this ideal, shedding light on artists that the mainstream white media may ignore.
The Brooklyn show will be held on the 28th of October from 4-11 PM, so get your tickets soon. The event will be full of handpicked performers by Londyn herself and will feature vendors and visual artists all exhibiting and selling their work for sale. DJ The Elle will be setting the mood for the night. Be prepared for an amazing evening.