DJ Bembona Played An All-Black Set In Solidarity With Pride Eve And This Is Why It Matters!
Yes indeed, on Friday, June 26th (Pride Weekend Eve 2020) we had one of our very own NYC-based beloveds bless the IG Live for a very raw and impromptu music set. As fate and spirit would have it, that set stands in solidarity with blackness and queerness as only they could deliver it. We’re talking about the multi-faceted, multi-dimensional mami revered to as DJ Bembona. Many of us in the BIPOC party community have already had the honor of gracing Xiomara’s jams for years now and if you know, you know. Her’s aren’t just fly-by-night gatherings that you forget the next day. Not Vibras NYC or Orisha Party. No, no, no, a Bembona party is a guaranteed sweat fest, for one. It’s also an emotional, prideful, joyful gumbo of black latinx celebration with all the ancestral trimmings. We’re talking shoutouts on the microphone in Spanglish, sing-a-longs to Selena, and, of course, the end-of-night-vein-cutters that all of our aunties and abuelxs would harmonize their elder hearts to. Could you ask for a better night? We think not!
Now, if for whatever reason you haven’t had the privilege of checking our dear Xio in person yet, please let this monumental recording be testament to everything we’ve written here and more. Brace yourself because you’re going to witness Bembona’s signature charisma that just exudes out of any platform she’s gracing. The lady’s got a swing and excitement to her global-reaching art form that we have yet to see anywhere else behind the digital booth. And we’re talking about a very male-dominated industry of music and nightlife where its just so easy for cisgender and hetero norms to be so damn mediocre that it hurts. Respect to the architects and originators, yes, but for Obatala’s sake, let’s stop with the space consumption! Which is what makes this moment in party (and political) time so precious. Here we have a natural-born black femme by way of Panama and Puerto Rico taking up all the damn space she and all black wimmin should be on this planet and in this way, 100% authentically. This amidst a very COVID summer, global uprisings, and NYC’s Pride Weekend.
So cheers to that and cheers to our dear Bembona, who may not be spinning vinyl (just yet) but is doing the damn thing much harder and more socially-conscious than so many of the status-quo selectors out there. And we’re incredibly grateful for that. Grateful that this Brooklyn diva is proudly holding it down despite even her own self-admitted setbacks.
“I’m sorry I’m just feeling SO much right noW. To even stand here and still bring joy. It’s been such a crazy f*cking time for me as a black woman. I didn’t even want to play music [because] I’ve been so far removed.”
“…All my marginalized folks, we are here. This is the time that our ancestors didn't even get to see. Take that sh*t in. seguimos pa’lante! (keep moving forward)”
The DJ revealed on her stream mid music. Reminding us that being bad-ass and boss doesn’t mean you can’t be vulnerable and sensitive too. That’s right mama, you rock on with your funky self and that divine green and red fit that looks straight out of the rainforests of BLACK PRIDE!
It’s also critical to note that DJ Bembona’s selections for this gifted mix begins with music from the very first established black republic, Haiti, or Ayiti if you really know what time it is. Those that know their herstory can appreciate that for real. The music then hop-scotches all along the diasporic lineage of tunes and modern renditions. Give thanks because the complete set is two IG Lives worth aka two hours long. We’re attaching the audio below for your listening pleasure too. You’re welcome!