Experience the dynamism and diversity of our local hip hop scene at Sounds of the DMV, a new showcase of today’s top talent including “Hip-Hop Polymath” Dior Ashley Brown (The Washington Post), emcee/vocalist/actress Nia Dinero, gold-certified rapper and host Nonchalant, multi-genre producer/songwriter/DJ Von Vargas, and rapper Fly Zyah—recently recognized as one of the Kennedy Center’s Next 50 cultural leaders. Nonchalant also hosts the evening. Sounds of the DMV is curated by the Hip Hop Committee of the DC Chapter of the Recording Academy.
Sat. Mar. 25, 2023
Upcoming Dates
Sat. Mar. 25, 2023
7:30p.m.
Sat. Mar. 25, 2023
9:30p.m.
Upcoming Dates
Production Information
Genre
Hip Hop
Runtime
TBD
Program
Experience the dynamism and diversity of our local hip hop scene at Sounds of the DMV, a new showcase of today’s top talent including “Hip-Hop Polymath” Dior Ashley Brown (The Washington Post), emcee/vocalist/actress Nia Dinero, gold-certified rapper Nonchalant, multi-genre producer/songwriter/DJ Von Vargas, and rapper Fly Zyah—recently recognized as one of the Kennedy Center’sNext 50 cultural leaders. Nonchalant also hosts the evening. Sounds of the DMV is curated by the Hip Hop Committee of the DC Chapter of the Recording Academy.
Dubbed a “Hip-Hop Polymath” by The Washington Post, Dior Ashley Brown is an award-winning artist and living legend. Her many creative roles are united by a single mission: to maintain the soul of music, empower all people, especially Black women and girls, and leave a legacy of positive change. Her latest single “Vernacular” is hard-hitting, soft-centered, and unmistakably political—a bold call-to-action that treads down any attempts to use language as a way to divide and shut out others. She is the founder of the DC Music Summit, a premier music conference and exchange hub featuring industry leaders, artists, influencers, and high-profile brand sponsors who join forces to help grow the music industry in the nation’s capital.
A proud D.C. native raised across the globe, Dior is a Duke Ellington School of the Arts alumna. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Maryland. At her core, Dior Ashley Brown is about changing atmospheres, breaking down barriers, and sparking a movement, revealing the ways diversity lends beauty and greater understanding of what it means to be human.
Among the artists who have most resisted easy categorization is fresh to the scene recording artist Nia Dinero. The emcee, vocalist, and actress from Dumfries, VA (DMV) has put out multiple remakes of quality and varying tones since the early portion of 2015. Nia’s raw talent has been expressed on many local stages such as The Filmore in Silver Spring, Maryland and Union Stage in Washington D.C. In 2022, she performed at The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s celebration of the first Anniversary of the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip Hop and Rap.
Nia’s music has gained over 85,000 YouTube views and has been featured on popular DMV radio stations like 93.9 WKYS and WPGC 95.5. Nia has been a featured artist on Great Day Washington’s “DMV Sound Check” and received airplay for her latest single and visual “Birthday,” featured on BET JAMS.
Merging genres of hip hop, pop, and R&B, Nia Dinero brings a unique, cunning, and clever perspective in the art of rap that she calls Hip-Pop. From metaphoric punch lines to an added comedy and sense of truth, Nia Dinero plans on taking Hip-Pop to unprecedented heights with the fuel to land on top.
Nonchalant is an emcee, singer, songwriter, producer, engineer and DJ.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Nonchalant is known for delivering intelligent lyrics and giving voice to the community through her music.
She released her album Until the Day in 1996 and it quickly rose up the charts with the standout single “5 O’Clock,” which peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Top 10 Rap Singles, #20 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold making her the first rapper from the DMV to land a major label recording deal and sell over 500,000 records.
She completed two world tours including the Ready or Not Tour with the Fugees. Nonchalant has worked with some of the best known names in Hip Hop culture including MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and Bahamadia to bring you jewels such as the song “Keep On Pushin’” for the sound track of the feature film Dangerous Ground.
She went on to become a celebrity radio host, finding a home at D.C.’s WPGC 95.5 radio station, as one half of the Home Team. Radio is also the platform she utilized in honing her voice-over skills. Since her days at WPGC, she has gone on to produce and record commercials for large corporations like Giant Foods and Walmart. Always expanding her brand and utilizing her creativity, Nonchalant can also be found behind the 1 & 2’s, providing the musical backdrop for a variety of clients ranging from the DIVA’s half marathon to Cadillac.
Giving back remains a vital part of who Nonchalant is. She started Spin Like A Girl, a program rooted in providing motivation and mentorship to young ladies and girls. In 2014, she launched her brain child RPM (Record Pool Mixes), an event that features three DJs solely spinning the music of DMV artists, signed or independent.
She is also the owner of ARALC Entertainment, LLC® and is currently pursuing ventures in music, radio and television, all of which will inevitably solidify her legacy as one of the most successful rappers to hail from Washington, D.C.
Von Vargas is a multi-faceted Music Creator. He is a hip hop artist, multi-genre music producer, songwriter, and DJ. He’s passionate about creating hip hop music that highlights solutions to the social ills that plague America’s inner city communities. A champion of justice for uplifting and betterment, Von Vargas is proudly preparing to release his new album Cocked Crowns exploring stories of brokenness, tragedies, defeat and triumph.
Von is most recently responsible for creating music cues for the Peacock TV Original Series True Stories. He has also composed music for hip hop ds, music marketing campaigns, and music sync placements on ESPN, CBS Sports, CNN, HBO, Vice TV, BET, United Healthcare, American Cancer Society, and Dickies Workwear, to name a few. His music has aired on numerous radio and television networks. He shares a Stellar Award Nomination and was rated with one of the top albums of the year in the Baltimore Paper. The 2021 Baker Artist Award Winner has been featured on many national and international media outlets for music.
Von currently serves as a National Trustee of the Recording Academy known for Grammy Awards® and as a community curator for The Digilogue, a global community-driven music and tech platform connecting and educating music creatives across the world.
Fly Zyah is a groundbreaking young rapper who is showing the world that young people are keenly aware of the world around them, and ready to stand up for what is right. Covering topics from social justice to the youthful joy of riding bikes with her friends, Fly Zyah’s music reaches across generations. She began her musical journey at age two, and at age six, she released her debut “Ride My Bike.” In September 2021, she received the D.C. Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Youth Creativity. Having graced the stage with artists such as Rapsody and Big Daddy Kane, she has received praise outside of the music industry as well—from actress Viola Davis to activist Tamika Mallory. In 2022, Zyah was recognized as one of the Kennedy Center Next 50 cultural leaders.
The “Fly” in Fly Zyah stands for “First Love Yourself.” It is a gift to see the myriad ways that the young D.C. rapper has been loving herself, her family, her friends, and her community by tending to her gift and sharing it with us all. Fly Zyah has been and continues making herself seen and showing the world that she is a force for change.
Sponsors
Universal Music Group
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