“Roots to Rap” Spotlights African American Musical Heritage

Roots to Rap: A Musical Conversation hosted by The Beast’s Pierce Freelon will bring African American music including original songs as well as standards from the spiritual, jazz and hip-hop canon to the N.C. Museum of History, Friday, Jan. 27 from 7–9 p.m. Michelle Lanier, acting director, N.C. African American Heritage Commission, will host the event, which features poet and spoken word artist Shirlette Ammons. Freelon, founder of Blackademics.org and of The Beast is an adjunct professor at N.C. Central University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Tickets to the program are $11 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information or to buy tickets, visit http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/aacc2012/friday.html.

The event takes place the evening before the 11th Annual African American Cultural Celebration, a free festival at the museum on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. featuring more than 75 musicians, storytellers, dancers, playwrights, re-enactors and others celebrating the contributions of African Americans to North Carolina. For a complete schedule of events, visit: http://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/aacc2012/schedule.html.