Tradition and Artist Overview 

Hip hop is the latest iteration of black music in America. Its roots lie in the ancient traditions of the West African griot or storyteller, brought to the US during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Enslaved Africans kept the oral traditions of song and poetry alive and created new forms of music. During slavery and in the century that followed, the lineage of African American music grew to encompass spirituals, jazz, blues, rock, soul, R&B (rhythm & blues), and in the late 1970s, hip hop. Pioneered by African American, Latinx, and West Indian teenagers in the South Bronx, hip hop continues the West African practice of telling the stories of the people through rhythm and voice.

AJ uses his education in history and southern heritage to tell stories of Savannah and growing up in his music. His role as an educator and mentor is connected in his music where he strives to empower his listeners to find their own creativity and inspiration for positive change and personal expression.