Though it鈥檚 relatively new to Brown鈥檚 arts scene, the 鈥� an in-development hub that works to amplify both artists on campus and beyond 鈥� has already managed to establish its presence on College Hill.
Currently housed within the Brown Arts Institute, the lab was founded in fall 2022 by , the project鈥檚 faculty director, and , an ethnomusicologist who has taught at Brown and is now an assistant professor of music at Harvard.
鈥淲e noticed or recognized that there were so many amazing programs happening on campus in terms of Black musical performance and study, but it was kind of dispersed,鈥� Lumumba-Kasongo said. Forming the lab was a way to both amplify artistic projects occurring on campus and connect them to creative work being done in the greater Providence community, she added.
To help connect artists across Brown and Providence, the Black Music Lab holds mixers at the beginning of each semester that are open to all community members. The lab also hosts and sponsors events such as artist talks, performances and symposia throughout the semester, and works to support Brown faculty members in their studies of Black music.
Past programming has featured guest artists like rapper and interdisciplinary artist and scholar , who visited Brown and while working on her new book 鈥淲hy Willie Mae Thornton Matters.鈥�
Lumumba-Kasongo described the lab鈥檚 first semester as the beginning of a three-year incubation period. She said that the lab鈥檚 focus was mainly on making connections within Providence鈥檚 vast music scene.
鈥淚 really wanted to take my time and figure out what are the needs on campus and needs in the community, and how can we show up in a way that supports all the work going on,鈥� Lumumba-Kasongo said.
She also stressed the importance of the term 鈥渓ab鈥� in defining her work: 鈥淭his is kind of an experiment in thinking about how 鈥� (to) create something that鈥檚 precious enough to grow and expand but that also has some shape to it.鈥�
Equally important to defining the lab鈥檚 work is its focus on 鈥渂uilding community around the study (and performance) of Black music,鈥� Lumumba-Kasongo added.
鈥淚 just want people to have a sense that there are all these conversations happening, and there are unifying themes and ideas鈥� across time, the diaspora and discipline, she explained.
The Black Music Lab has also worked to provide financial support to student artists, currently funding three Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards for undergraduate fellows.
Makayla McPherson 鈥�24, one such fellow at the lab, is 鈥渃urrently planning a live-music event centered around music as a tool for mindfulness and meaningful community building,鈥� she wrote in an email to The Herald. She also collaborates with the other award recipients 鈥� Jade Hardwick 鈥�26 and Jemima Alabi 鈥�24 鈥� to help compile and disseminate the lab鈥檚 weekly .
Hardwick uses the lab鈥檚 support to combine her love of music with her passion for dance. This past Friday, she hosted a in collaboration with Brown鈥檚 Students of Caribbean Ancestry, during which she fused Bacardi and Calypso styles of dance to create an Afro-Caribbean piece.
鈥淧eople who are very uncomfortable with dancing 鈥� let alone dancing with their hips 鈥� they gained some confidence while they were learning my piece,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of part of the Black Music Lab 鈥� exposing people to different cultures and different styles of music.鈥�
As far as upcoming projects go, Hardwick also plans to choreograph and teach a hip-hop piece for students at local Providence schools, hoping to form lasting connections with dancers from the local community.
The lab has also provided financial support to Marcus Grant GS, a third-year Ph.D. student at Brown studying musicology and ethnomusicology. With the lab鈥檚 funding, Grant organized a last spring highlighting the work of Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone.
Grant also credited the lab with helping promote his arrangement of 鈥溾�� 鈥� part of the University Library鈥檚 on Mumia Abu-Jamal 鈥� this past September.
鈥淚n pretty much any project I have, they鈥檙e very much involved in showing support and literally just 鈥� pulling up to the project,鈥� Grant said.
In the future, Lumumba-Kasongo said she hopes the lab will continue to provide support for student performances, carve out a regular meeting space for anyone who鈥檇 like to be involved with the project and create more opportunities for artist talks.
From speaking with students, Lumumba-Kasongo said she has also gathered that many want to better understand professional paths in music. She hopes to 鈥渦se the lab to actually arm people with practical tools for navigating life as a musical artist, so we鈥檙e not just thinking about music in theory but really invested in what it means to sustain a life as a Black artist.鈥�
鈥淭here is a social justice piece to this,鈥� Lumumba-Kasongo continued. 鈥淗ow do we empower people? How do we give people resources? How do we support the work that鈥檚 going on so that we can resist systems of exploitation that often are attached to Black artists and Black artistry?鈥�
鈥淚 love the fact that it鈥檚 called the Black Music Lab 鈥� that it focuses on the work and the art of Black musicians 鈥� but it doesn鈥檛 necessarily alienate any other folks from being involved and other folks from supporting,鈥� Grant said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of collaborations happening.鈥�
McPherson similarly praised the Black Music Lab鈥檚 鈥渃ommunity-driven perspective.鈥�
鈥淭he lab works to expand notions on what community means through collaboration that extends beyond the confines of the Brown bubble,鈥� she wrote. It offers 鈥渕usicians an expansive perspective of (what) community is and how to offer and find support as a creative.鈥�
Rya is an arts & culture section editor from Albany, NY. She is a junior studying English and Literary Arts, and her favorite TV show is Breaking Bad.
