A hip-hop legend is heading to Highland Park for community performance.
Rapper KRS-One will headlining an outdoor concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Avalon Village, a nonprofit known for its work to restore a block in the Detroit enclave by creating spaces and offering support for the community.
Avalon Village Founder and CEO Shamayim “Mama Shu” Harris said she’s expecting 3,000 people to attend the concert, which would make KRS-One the first major artist to perform a show of that size in the village.
“To be able to provide the hood a space to be entertained and have quality entertainment is just an awesome thing,” she said.
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Regarded as the “teacha,” KRS-One started his career in the 1980s with the hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions in his hometown The Bronx, New York. In 1993, the socially conscious rapper began recording under his own name, releasing songs like “Sound of da Police,” “Step Into a World,” and “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know.”
Harris told BridgeDetroit the concert came together with the aid of Derrick Kearney, who owns the company 2D Productions and Entertainment.
The concert promoter said KRS-One has been part of lineups for previous concerts Kearney has helped organize, like the 50th anniversary of hip-hop concert last year at the Fox Theatre. So, when he talked to the rapper and his wife/manager Simone G. Parker about performing at Avalon Village, they were excited to do it, Kearney said.
“This perfectly fits KRS-One’s personality. He’s a hood guy, a neighborhood guy,” he said. “He’s real.”
Kearney said the roster will also feature local artists like DJ Los, Miz Korona, Awesome Dre, Dahilla The Poet and Alius Pnukkl. The event, being hosted by radio personalities Billy T and TJ, will also feature poetry and spoken word with Sofull Poetry, Friz Allen and Big Foolay.
Kearney hopes that the concert will be the first of many of this scale for Avalon Village and that it becomes a destination for music performances.
“It’s gonna change the game,” he said. “The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre – all those places that do outside venues – they’re gonna have to move over because Avalon Village is going to be able to get just as many people.”
Harris said a portion of the concert’s proceeds will benefit the Avalon Village Homework House as well as fall music programming for Highland Park students.
The group’s Homework House offers kids a place to gather after school to get a warm meal, assistance with school work, engage in recreational activities and have access to spaces like the village’s music studio.
She also wants to expand the organization’s Sun Boy Records Music Camp, a free, four-week summer program for children and teens ages 10-18.
“What I want to do is expand that for two more weeks next year and to have more music in our after school programs and on Saturdays for the children in the Homework House,” Harris said.
She added that children in Highland Park often don’t have the opportunity to attend a music camp because their parents can’t afford it or they don’t have reliable transportation. The municipality, located within Detroit’s city limits, has a population of more than 8,600, with a median household income is $30,341, according to the U.S. Census.
“That’s why I feel that having these types of creative projects and programs in our very own backyard will help,” Harris said.
Harris founded Avalon Village in 2008 a year after her 2-year old son, Jakobi RA Harris, was killed in a hit and run. The spot where the concert will take place, Jakobi RA Park, is named in his honor.
The 58-year-old is on a mission to transform vacant and abandoned lots and structures into a sustainable community on Avalon Street, between Woodward and Second avenues. Avalon Village also includes a marketplace for women entrepreneurs, a basketball court and a community garden.
Harris’ work for the nonprofit has earned her national recognition, as she was named one of CNN’s top 10 heroes last year.
Future projects for the village include the addition of bleachers and fencing around the basketball court as well as opening the Avalon Village Healing House. Operating out of a house donated by the Wayne County Land Bank, Harris plans to provide alternative health methods and programs to the community, such as massage therapy, yoga, meditation and Reiki, a form of energy healing that has its roots in ancient Japanese healing practices. Harris hopes to have that space open by next summer.
She’s eager to show off the progress in the community to the big-name act.
“We’re very excited for KRS-One to come and see our space and just to be able to bring something wonderful like this in our own neighborhood,” she said.
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased on Avalon Village’s website. The tickets increase to $50 at the door.