Go-go could become the official music of DC

Chuck Brown, are your ears ringing? Have you heard?

Go-go might become the official music of D.C.

“To me and so many other Washingtonians, go-go has become so much more than just a musical genre,” Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said upon introducing the Go-Go Official Music of the District of Columbia Designation Act of 2019 on Tuesday.

“Go-go is woven into the cultural fabric of Washington, D.C,” McDuffy said.

The entire council supports the proposal, which will be considered next by the Committee of the Whole. 

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WATCH: Musical protest on U Street after Metro PCS store ordered to silence go-go music

T-Mobile recently told a local shop owner to shut off the go-go music that he’s been playing for 25 years on the block, reportedly because someone who moved into a new luxury apartment building threatened to sue.

“In every beat of the conga or groove of the drum, the story of the District of Columbia is being told,” McDuffie said. “Go-go music encapsulates the range of personal experiences and local communities around the District and expresses them in a unified, peaceful, respectful force.”

The bill proposes that a program be created to support and promote go-go and to archive the music and documents related to its history.