The vocal bliss of Solomon Thorne: Born and raised in Philadelphia, Solomon Thorne grew up in a Gospel and Soul singing family called The Eason Singers. By listening to the creative stylings of his family members and friends, he developed an ear for music and began pursuing different genres of music. Around the age of 14, he started to listen to jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan. This lead Solomon to the infusion of Jazz and Soul music as one sound. This discovery began Solomon's quest to create a sound that is uniquely his own. Today, he continues to lend his musical abilities to projects that inspire greatness in others.
LYRISPECT is an award-winning lyricist, author, educator and voiceover artist whose work empowers, challenges and inspires through the compelling marriage of multiple art forms! Based in Philadelphia, she is an activist and advocate for girls, women, people of color and marginalized communities.She has performed around the world and with organizations such as BLACK GIRLS ROCK!, Array Now and the NAACP, and has shared stages with Yassin Bey (Mos Def), Saul Willams, Ursula Rucker and others.
LYRISPECT's teaching and performance art are informed by grit, pulchritude, justice, honesty, humor, love, inclusivity and cultural pride. She infuses in all of her work the belief that earnest art with intelligent and thoughtful execution can heal, liberate and transform!Having received classical theater training from Baltimore School for the Arts and a B.A. in Film and African-American Studies from Temple University, LYRISPECT specializes in voiceover, accents, education, performance and event curation.
Just back from Italy, we are honored to have Ms. ALEXANDRIA “BRINAE ALI” BRADLEY
Born in raised in Flint, Michigan is an interdisciplinary artist who believes in using the power of the arts to transform the conditions of the human spirit. When she is not traveling and performing, she is giving back to young people and grass-roots organizing. Currently, Bradley is the assistant artistic director of Tapology, Inc. a youth-based outreach program in Flint, that believes in preserving the art of tap and jazz culture through education and performance. As a teaching artist/facilitator, she has collaborated with After School Activities Partnership, East Park Revitalization Alliance, Philadelphia Clef Club of Performing Arts, Raise It Up! Youth Arts and Awareness, Flint Youth Theatre, Mural Arts of Philadelphia, Young Audiences of New Jersey, Queens College, Long Island University, and was an artist in residence at the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She also traveled with a team of tap dancers to Russia for a tour in 5 cities working with the U.S. Embassy for its cultural exchange program celebrating National Tap Dance Day. She was the assistant dance captain for the Broadway show “Shuffle Along the 1921 Sensation And All That Followed”, STOMP, and was apart of a two-week tour in Italy for a celebration of Ella Fitzgerald’s centennial.
A closer look at one of our performers for the night, WORDZ:
Under the mentorship of an underground North Philly rap group named, Beautiful Black Children aka BBC, WORDZ began his professional recording career in the mid 90s at the age of 15. His first album, 'Mental Replays', was released in 2003, where he gained popularity by selling his music on street corners in downtown Philly.
With the release of 10 albums total currently, WORDZ is featured in numerous showcases and concerts throughout the US and continues to provide listeners with music that is artistically pure and organic. He has shared the stage with Legends such as Black Thought, Sonia Sanchez, Guru and The Floacist and has performed on 106th and Park.
Today, the talented artist is dedicated to putting the art back into HipHop, with dreams of touring internationally. WORDZ continues to Iive his life spreading a message of peace, love and HipHop 'by any means necessary'.
Joining us on Friday night with her amazingly beautiful vocals, 25-year-old singer/songwriter Ms. Noel Scales.
The African American Museum in Philadelphia
701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
Free admission, but you must register
here
