Ear To The Street
The Void - A Time to Fill
Every now and then someone comes along that makes life an escape for a couple of hours. In this hard, stress filled life, we all need an escape from the critical times that we experience. Sadly, those people who give us those releases from the problems we face are like vapor in a parch desert breeze. They grace the airwaves at the height of their careers, then like all fallible humans, they fall from grace. When we witnessed the decline of Muhammad Ali, it was painful, and many just didn't want to let go. Howard Cosell was fired from Monday Night Football, and no one has since been able to give us the same highlight reel thrill. 
And how many of us have ever recovered from Mike Tyson going down for the count? Then, of course, the biggest void of all time came twice. MJ retired. Though basketball has produced many who have risen to extreme greatness, there is still no 'Michael Jordan of basketball'. These falls from grace create voids in people's lives or in industries that such like people are involved in.
Washington D.C. experienced the loss of an icon in the past couple of years, and the city has not recovered from its loss yet; neither the people who loved this person for what he did for them, nor the industry that is still reeling from his sudden exit off the scene.
In D.C. culture, the greatest heritage is not H St., not the Chocolate City legacy; it's not Georgetown, not even Howard University. Some would argue that it's the government and its many edifices. But, since when have buildings and statues shaped human lifestyle? So, no it's not the White House or the Capitol. And, no it's not the grand treasure of the Masonic order where Albert Pike is buried on 16th St. In two words, or maybe one word depending on how you see it, the greatest heritage of Washington D.C. culture is Go-Go. Go-Go music is not only a D.C. born sound, but it has shaped the lifestyles of several generations of inner-city and outer-city youths in the area no matter what background or neighborhood they came up in. The Go-Go circuit has been a career option for scores of men and women for decades and has generated millions of dollars for an industry that only exist in the Nation's Capitol.
The art form was a creation of Chuck Brown, who is known as the undisputed "Godfather of Go-Go". There has never surfaced so much as a rumor that gives credit to someone else as being responsible for the sound that Chuck Brown has become known for. With that said there will never be another person that can equal Chuck Brown's legacy when it comes to Go-Go music, but just as Michael Jordan didn't create the game of Basketball, he did come along and match, even surpasses those who did. Will there ever arise a 'Michael Jordan of Go-Go'?
Like every other form of entertainment, there are multiple stars that shine on the same star gazers. In Go-Go, the numbers of gazers are limited to mostly Washingtonians. Outside of the District of Columbia Go-Go is at best a well received art form hailing from the streets of D.C., at worst a novelty appreciated around the world for having a beat that makes people dance. Producers have been sampling this music since the 70's and have scored many platinum hits by doing so. Unfortunately, none of Go-Go's stars, including Chuck Brown, have been able to lift the native genre out of the tributaries of 'noveltilism' to the massive rush of the mainstream where the deluge of product sales and concert attendance would not only feed the families of Go-Go industry professionals, but will even make its celebrities international stars with banks accounts to match. Go-Go needs a true overhaul if it will ever be able to contend with the likes of Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, John Legend, and so on.
Chuck Brown was on the right track but was unable to transition the sound adequately. Now with Chuck gone, will there ever arise a leader with a band that can approach the door that Chuck was knocking on? Does D.C. have anybody that can fill the void left by Chuck Brown? In the next article we will explore the answers to those questions and the state of Go-Go overall.
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