Juke Joint: unity through performance

Part of the 800-member audience at Juke Joint (Razak Diallo/ The Black Explosion).

The crowd was waiting in anticipation. The homecoming Juke Joint was sophomore Rachel Odumade’s second performance at a Juke Joint event. After a few exceptional ad libbed fillers of popular songs with co-host LJ - during which Odumade showed teases into her undeniable vocal talent - LJ whispered something into her ear. LJ walked off, she turned to the crowd of over 800 students and said, “I’m going to have to do this acapella, so I need y’all to support me.” 

During her performance, the DJ's laptop froze. Recalling the moment, she said, “At first, I was like, ‘Oh dang, since my audio isn’t working, I probably wouldn’t be able to perform,’ which was a bummer.” Despite the setback, Odumade was encouraged to move forward with her performance in acappella.

“When they found a solution to that technical issue, I was just like, ‘okay, that’s fine.’” As Odumade began - in a moment with so much uncertainty - she fearlessly began the opening line of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” 

The audience, recognizing her talent and bravery, began clapping in unison, providing a rhythmic backdrop for Odumade’s performance. Sprinkled through the claps words of encouragement flew around the room: “That’s right!” “Let’s go!” The energy in the room reached its peak as Odumade closed the song with the words “Don’t you bring me down, today.” The audience erupted into a grand applause. 

The performance was a testament to Juke Joints dedication to supporting and uplifting Black performers on campus. "I feel like when the audience supports a performer, especially when they’re solo, it helps a lot,” Odumade said. 

The Nyumburu Cultural Center’s 26th annual homecoming Juke Joint was held on Oct. 12. It featured great acts such as UMD STEPP, Maryland’s Gospel Choir, spoken word performances by Jodi and Jade, YungSeriki, Afrochique, BDX The Don, 242, Diazporic and many more. 

Since starting Juke Joint in 1997 under the name of Third Thursday, Anne Reese Carswell, the Nyumburu Cultural Center’s associate director, has created a space to allow students to showcase their talents.

“People are like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know students at the University of Maryland community was like that,’” Carswell said, speaking on the community creation of Juke Joint. “So we call this our ‘HBCU at a PWI.’”

From humble beginnings in the Nyumburu Cultural Center with 10 people sitting on pillows performing spoken word to a full-fledged concert with 800 people in STAMP’s grand ballroom, the community-building aspect of Juke Joint is key to its success. 

“It was a lot of unity, a lot of love, and people supporting each other. I thought it went very well,” Carswell said.