Join us for our next installment of AFRO WAVES, a CCCADI concert series that showcases the Black cultural evolution with vanguard artists of the African Diaspora.
This next wave will feature the poetic rhymes about gender, race, migration, and spirituality by Aja Monet alongside the sounds of Acoustic Trap Soul with Latin-Caribbean undertones by Cvgebird.
Join us for this celebration of musical & lyrical talent as we honor the spirit of Juneteenth. This event commemorates our ancestors who longed for and learned of their stolen freedom on this day. We continue to embody their legacy of resilience and ability to create music, art and traditions despite their enslavement.
Revisit this page at the time of the event to watch live. You can participate in the live Q&A session with the artists by viewing on our CCCADI Facebook or Youtube.
Aja Monet
Aja Monet is a surrealist blues poet, storyteller, and organizer born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She won the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam poetry award title in 2007 and aja monet follows in the long legacy and tradition of poets participating and assembling in social movements. Her first full collection of poems is titled, My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter on Haymarket Books. Her poems explore gender, race, migration, and spirituality. In 2018, she was nominated for a NAACP Literary Award for Poetry and in 2019 was awarded the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award for Poetry for her cultural organizing work in South Florida. aja monet cofounded a political home for artists and organizers called, Smoke Signals Studio. She facilitates “Voices: Poetry for the People,” a workshop and collective in collaboration with Community Justice Project and Dream Defenders. She is currently working on her next full collection of poems entitled, Florida Water. aja Monet also serves as the new Artistic Creative Director for V-Day, a global movement to end violence against all women and girls.
CVGEBIRD
Cvgebird (pronounced Cagebird) was born on the East Coast during the golden era of 90’s HipHop, Soul and RnB. A child of the diaspora by way of Puerto Rican, Cuban and Brazilian descent, she was raised by her father who was a DJ & latin-caribbean percussionist, and her mother, a latin dancer. Growing up, Cvgebird’s house was always stirring with different colorful-blends of music where she quickly recognized her passion for the art at an early age. Starting from freestyle cyphers to late night venues and venturing off into world-wide tours, Cvgebird has unearthed her artistic identity and is ready to soar. With a sound ranging from Acoustic Trap Soul often with Latin-Caribbean undertones, Cvgebird channels her creative energies into an organic yet authentically ‘street’ vibe, often utilizing performance activism to advocate for social justice, especially working specifically with young artists and families impacted by incarceration. Her activism and artistry combine as Cvgebird spends her day-to-day creating a space for incarcerated youth to engage in socio-emotional transformative practices through music, self-expression, poetry and performance. According to Cvgebird’s artistic statement, “Existing in a culture that tries to put us in cages of conformity, Cvgebird’s music empowers listeners to break free and fly with open wings.”