Logic Amen Discusses the History of The Griot Party with Trae Holiday
Watch the full interview below
Recently on The Day with Trae, Logic Amen, an Artist, advocate, writer, and educator, came to the Black Media Matters Studio to talk about the work and history of his organization, the Griot Party. The Griot Party, founded in 2016, is a 'hip hop spoken word storytelling theatre' and collective made up of storytellers and artists focused on community healing, which most recently invited attendees to partake in the 'The Griot Party Experience' at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute this past January.
"Griot is the French word for storyteller," Amen said. "One of the strategic things that the colonizer used to do when they came into our communities is the first thing they wanted to do is neutralize the storyteller because within them is the oratory history of all the people. So we wanted to bring back the Griot Party experience to the people to say we're still here. We're still here as Black, Copper, Brown, Indigenous, Aboriginal people representing this soil."
As for the word 'party,' Amen uses the term politically.
"Let me go ahead and confess I did that to trick people, especially our people. Culturally, when they see 'party' automatically, it's festive," Amen said. "But party actually means like the Black Panther Party, like the Democratic Party, like the Republican Party. It's a group of people that come together for a political cause or a common cause to create some kind of growth."
Amen highlights what the Griot party seeks when finding other griots to share their stories alongside them.
"I have a saying that the strongest in our community are truly strong when they protect the most vulnerable in our community. So that's where we got to go and say, who needs to voice the most," Amen said. "Who are the most vulnerable in our community that don't have a voice? We usually start with the women, the children, and people with disabilities or different abilities. We got the LGBTQIA community who don't have a voice. If it was strategic not to let them have a voice, then it should be strategic to allow [to have a voice] and provide opportunities for the most vulnerable in our community to speak."
Amen also explains the importance of sound within The Griot Experience, which utilizes aspects of Hip-hop, storytelling, spoken word, and meditation to create a safe environment focused on healing.
"Anchoring in culture is the culture of sound. We get so distracted by social, political, and racial issues that we forget that the whole point is to bring it back to one," Amen said. "When you go through these different channels, and you know, this maze of life, and you get distracted by all these things. The griot brings you back to the story, and it brings you back to the sound."
From this, Amen has come up with the slogan, 'Sound is our ancestor.'
"So, the culture of sound is what's going to bring people together. They see that's the reason why hip-hop is so influential and so powerful. It's because that sound is something that is indigenous to life on this planet," Amen said.
The Griot Party has many exciting events lined up for the upcoming season, with the first being at Bulldog News & Cafe on February 24. This next experience, titled 'Black is Life,' is a curation of artwork highlighting Black history and culture and showcasing milestones and accomplishments. Further down the line, on March 28, The Griot Party will partner with the Tacoma Art Museum to create an environment showcasing storytelling, art, photography, music, and more.
Purchase tickets for the upcoming Griot Parties events here.
To hear more conversations about culture and healing within the community, tune in to The Day With Trae live at 11 am Monday through Friday on all Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae's YouTube Channel.
