The Advocate Profiles J Mase III, Founder of awQward
5 Artists You Need to Hear Right Now
Written by Sunnivie Brydum for The Advocate
February 10, 2015
These spoken-word artists are serving up unapologetic realness about being a trans or queer person of color in America. Sit back, listen up, and prepare to be blown away.
After decades of making noise, kicking ass, and fighting for queer visibility, the iconic record label known as Riot Grrrl Ink fell silent in November. The self-proclaimed "largest queer record label in the world" has represented roughly 200 artists over the past 15 years, including Indigo Girl Amy Ray's solo projects, Bitch, Staceyann Chin, and Nervous But Excited.
But in the wake of escalating national tensions over police use of force and deadly interactions between law enforcement and communities of color, the label's founder and CEO, Gina Mamone, decided the energy she spent promoting bands was misplaced. And so the leader of the company that has "never pretended to be a traditional record label" took the website offline in November — shortly after a grand jury decided not to indict white former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown. Today, clicking on the URL RiotGrrrlInk.com shows viewers a "parked domain" notification, complete with a GIF of a sleepy kitten.
"We are closing for the rEvolution," wrote Mamone in an email sent to Riot Grrrl Ink supporters in December. "Being an ally is a verb, only you know your strengths and resources. This is us acting with ours."
Instead of promoting the bands on its roster, Mamone redirected her efforts — financial, legal, and otherwise — to supporting awQward, a new talent agency started by and for trans and queer people of color.
As founder J Mase III eloquently explains in a Huffington Post Gay Voices article, Mamone's decision to shutter the iconic record label garnered almost no media attention. But this decision wasn't about attention, he learned. It was about solidarity.
"Suddenly, here I was talking to someone who was an expert in her field (now my field), that wanted to make sure I had the support I needed," writes Mase. "In the weeks that followed, we spent hours talking about radical capitalism, legal supports, benefits for my employees and what my 10-year financial goals are for every artist on our roster. This felt like a revolutionary moment."
Here we present five of the most compelling spoken-word performances from artists currently on awQward's roster — which the organizers hope to expand in the near future. These artists have voices — and they're ones we should be listening to.
Read the rest of the original article and more about the other four artists profiled here.
Check out the video of J Mase III performing at Leeway's 2014 Trans Literary Salon.
