The national art and music tour, ‘Jack Honey Art, Beats + Lyrics has now taken its iconic roadshow across the country for 20 years. To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of AB+L, DRES Tha BEATnik – long-time Host and cultural ambassador – catches up with Grammy-nominated rapper and previous AB+L performer, Rapsody as they discuss shaping the culture.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00♪♪
00:05Yo, Trez, what's up, baby?
00:07What up, girl?
00:09Good to see you, love.
00:10Good to see you, too.
00:11Got me in Brooklyn.
00:12Well, hey, this is one of my favorite places.
00:14Remember that friend I was telling you about?
00:16This is his spot.
00:17And every now and again, I come here for a drink.
00:20Come on. I'm thirsty.
00:21You thirsty, want one?
00:22Yes, I do. I would love one.
00:23All right, so here's what I'm gonna do.
00:25Okay.
00:26I'm gonna make you one of my favorite drinks, right?
00:27Okay.
00:28It's a Jack Honey and Lemonade.
00:29You ready?
00:30I'm so ready for that.
00:31Okay.
00:32What you like about it?
00:33What I like about it?
00:34Yeah.
00:35It's sweet.
00:36Okay.
00:37It's smooth.
00:38And it's brown like me.
00:39Okay.
00:40I'm so excited about this year.
00:41Yeah?
00:42Yeah.
00:43Man, you and me both.
00:44Seriously.
00:45We toasting life tonight.
00:46Wow.
00:47Wow, that looks amazing.
00:48Well, I can't have you leave here with just a drink.
00:49You know we're gonna have to talk.
00:50We gotta catch up.
00:51So let's take our drinks to the lounge,
00:52and then we'll talk.
00:53All right.
00:54All right.
00:55All right.
00:56All right.
00:57All right.
00:58Let's go to the lounge,
00:59and then we'll rap a little bit.
01:00No pun intended.
01:01You know what I mean?
01:02I see what you did there.
01:03Okay.
01:04Honestly, thank you for taking the time to sit with me.
01:07Come on, we family.
01:08It's good to build, catch up.
01:11So with everything that's been happening in hip hop in 2024,
01:16the year ain't even over.
01:17You know what I'm saying?
01:18And you know, you got albums, you got classic artists
01:22making new material.
01:24How do you see the culture?
01:25Period.
01:26It's exciting for me.
01:27Yeah.
01:28Right?
01:29Like, this is what hip hop is,
01:31and I think it's a beautiful spectrum.
01:33With all the creativity that's coming out with new albums,
01:36like, it's exciting to me to continue to see the culture grow.
01:40What word do you use to describe how you show up in your art form?
01:47Authentic.
01:48If I can't show up as me, what's the point of going to work?
01:51Absolutely.
01:52Like, I love my job.
01:53Mm-hmm.
01:54I promised myself when I first started,
01:57I would give the same energy to it for free
02:01than I would for a fee.
02:03Man, if I could describe my style in one word,
02:06it would probably be genuine.
02:08That's what the culture is about,
02:10making space for your individuality.
02:12Mm-hmm.
02:13And your light to shine.
02:15Jack Daniels, Tennessee Honey, Artbeats and Lyrics
02:17has been around for 20 years.
02:19Essence Fest has been around for 30 years.
02:21Mm-hmm.
02:22What do you think, in your opinion,
02:24is the key to such longevity?
02:26People have to feel a connection with what you're doing.
02:29They both are very culture-centric,
02:32and I think it's a lot that people can relate to.
02:35The significance of Jack Honey, Artbeats and Lyrics,
02:38to me, is it's a celebration of creativity.
02:43Mm-hmm.
02:44The entire 20 years of AB&L.
02:46Yeah.
02:47What is your most memorable moment?
02:50The idea of being able to pour into people
02:53is one of the things that I take
02:56and cherish the most out of everything.
02:58Mm-hmm.
02:59You know, because I feel like everybody
03:01needs a space to feel safe and feel heard.
03:03For me, my most memorable moment,
03:05because I got to perform at, like, five or six dates,
03:08was having the opportunity to go and invest in artists.
03:12The thing that distinguishes Jack Honey
03:15from what everybody else is doing
03:18is that they actually care and contribute.
03:21You know, to have a brand that's just as authentic
03:24as our culture, and that's there,
03:26and they want to help to celebrate it,
03:28you know, with the event, the celebration.
03:30Yeah.
03:3120 years.
03:3220.
03:3320 years is gonna be hot.
03:34What do you...
03:35I know.
03:36What do you hope attendees get from AB&L?
03:39We want you to not only just enjoy Jack Honey,
03:42but we also want you to invest in art.
03:45In art.
03:46Man, that's amazing.
03:47Let's take a toast.
03:4820 years.
03:4920 years.
03:50Jack Honey, AB&L.
03:52Friendship.
03:53Culture.
03:54Love.
03:55Timelessness.