Celebrating both Juneteenth and Black Music Month, Urbanime – a culture x comics company that creates authentic experiences that empower multicultural audiences through imaginative storytelling – is highlighting the interaction of Black music, culture, and comics with a month-long celebration. June is when we recognize both Black Music Month and Juneteenth as powerful moments to celebrate the contributions of Black culture, people, and experience.
Founder Chris Walker shares how important it is to have imaginative representation during the celebration of Black Music Month.
“Imaginative representation is important throughout the year because we need our stories told by more of us, authentically, and in expressive ways that Teletext the nuances of Black life. Black Music Month is a powerful time to celebrate the impact Black music, people, and culture have on society at large. Music is part of who we are as Urbanime and inspires so much of what we do from transforming a preview comic into a culture zines that explore the culture (i.e., the mixtapes), to our listening parties which take a note from album release events that give a behind the scenes look at how a creative project comes together. For Urbanime, it is extremely important for us to highlight the influence that hip-hop, house and the home of Black music have on our brand, and culture overall.”
In partnership with Sway’s Universe, Vince Lawrence, Digiwaxx, and The Apollo, Urbanime’s celebration, dubbed, “Our Music. Our Story.” will pay homage to hip-hop, house, the home of Black music, and more through storytelling, creativity, and dialogue.
Urbanime’s Black Music Month celebration included:
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DIGIWAXX ‘New Music Wednesdays’ Takeover: Urbanime takes the mic each week during DIGIWAXX’s ‘New Music Wednesdays’ to share the latest releases with an elite audience of DJs from around the world to give the culture exclusive access to the future of Black Music. (June 2-23)
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ClubHouse Master Class Music Career Series: Music Journalist Bobby Pen (Root, The Grio) and CL Llewellyn set the stage for essential conversations that cover music rights, distribution, social media, and branding to help emerging artists preserve their legacy and navigate their careers. (June 5-27)
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Urbanime Style EP – Dropped on National Air Max Day Juneteenth Virtuous Con Comics X Music Conversations: Urbanime will host two-panel discussions about the creative intersection between comics and Black music on Juneteenth as part of Virtuous Con’s celebration of independent Black sci-fi, fantasy, and comics creators elevating Black music’s role in inspiring the culture across mediums. (June 19-20)
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Mixtape Drop + Listening Party: Urbanime is diving deep with music legends and emerging artists, changing the game with exclusive comic stories featuring Apollo Theater, Vince Lawrence, and Schoolly D along with live performances, DJ sets, and interviews as part of a virtual listening party to bring the month of festivities to a close. (Drop: June 22/ Listening Party: June 30)
You can catch the listening party on https://www.twitch.tv/urbanime at 7pm EST. Visit https://urbanime.com/black-music-month to find out more.
