TMOTTGoGo
Having grown up in this community, I take pride to have been a recipient, as well as contributor in the achievements that has been accomplished throughout the many years. This is a very historical community that has furnished such historics as the Black Rep, The Howard Theatre, Dig-It, Rap Inc., Lorton, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington Redskins, Washington Wizards, Marshall Hall, The Wilson Line, The Shrimp Boat, Haines Point, Malcolm X Park, The Senator Theatre (and its all night movies), The Uptown Theatre, Annacostia, Shaw, The Metro Club, The Club Lebaron, Northwest Gardens, RSVP, Chapter's II & III, Triples, Ibex, Panarama Room, The Atlas Theatre, The Washington Coliseum, Moonlight Inn, Tip-Top Club, The Room, The Maverick Room, The Black Hole, The Classics, Eastside, The Chateau, Dance Connection, WOL, The Soul Papa, Moon Man, Petey Green (remember in 1973 when he said that if the Redskins go to the Super Bowl he would ride a tricycle up East Capitol Street? -- the rest was history), Street Theatre, The Show Mobile, Rock Creek Park, Georgia Avenue, Vender’s Market, Children's Hospital, Walter Reed, UDC, Howard University, Children's Museum, Stuff, Newsbag, Galludet, Columbia Hospital For Women, Southeast House, Job Corp, etc. I mean, the list goes on and on. And lets not forget about the music that has paved our way, such as, Duke Ellington, Bo Diddley, The Orioles, Charlie Byrd, Stanley Turrentine, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Stacy Lattisaw, The Ambassadors, Simba, The Soul Searchers, Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, Experience Unlimited, Fate’s Destiny, The Stratocasters, as well as others. Go-Go is a music that has been contrived from all of the above. Therefore, it’s more than just music -- a lot more. It's part of a culture. That’s why it’s so spiritual. There is no other music like it on earth. I, myself, have been able to participate in many of the community activities over the years. As a child, I performed with the company CUE (Children’s Urban Arts Ensemble). I have danced with companies, such as The Bren-Carr Dancers and The TNT Poppers. I have played in such bands as Pure Elegance, Little Benny & The Masters and Proper Utensils. I have even written a play, at the age of 17, about the Go-Go Community that was not only performed here at the Market Gallery, but also won an award for the late Joseph Papp’s "Young Playwrights Festival" and performed on Off-Broadway New York. Basically, let me just say that the Go-Go Community is an essential part of my life, and I am blessed to have been/be a part of it. That’s the purpose of TMOTTGoGo -- to educate, uplift and promote our culture with the positiveness that it deserves. The bottom line is, I don’t care what you are doing in life -- whether you've moved away and are doing well with movies, such as "What’s Love Got To Do With It" or television programs, such as "In The Heat Of The Night" -- whether you’re performing on shows On Broadway, Las Vegas and across the world -- or whether you’re performing on tour with such acts as, Maxwell, Gloria Estifan, Carlos Santana, Rashawn Patterson, Boys To Men, Jean Carn or Roberta Flack, if you’re from this culture, you’re from the Go-Go Community. Bottom Line! Just as if you were from the New Orleans culture, you would be from the Jazz Community. That’s why it bothers me to have other cultures dumped down my throat, while my own culture gets disrespected. You would not go to Jamaica and dump Country music down their throats while disrespecting Reggae. You would not go to Nashville and dump Reggae music while disrespecting Country. TMOTTGoGo is here to be a part of that body into making the community a whole. That’s our purpose. One Love, Kato
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