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Oral history with Djinji Brown, recorded on January 10, 2024, as part of the "Uptown Rumble: Heavy Music in The Bronx" project at The Bronx County Historical Society and shared with The Bronx African American History Project. Among other distinctions, Djinji is the son of famous jazz musician Marion Brown and was vocalist for the short-lived but influential New York hardcore band Absolution. The interviewer is Steven Payne, director of The Bronx County Historical Society. In his oral history, Djinji speaks about his family roots in Georgia and The Bronx, his parents' meeting in Paris, his time growing up in New England before moving to The Bronx in 1980, his experience adjusting to The Bronx in the Soundview section in junior high and high school, his immersion in the borough's entire "hip hop" culture (before it was marketed by the name), getting into heavy metal and eventually punk and hardcore, his close friendship with Sergio Vega, the hardcore scene in the Lower East Side in the late 1980s, formative bands and moments for him, joining Absolution and their memorable shows, racism in the scene, the dissolution of the band and his movement away from hardcore, reuniting with Absolution in 2008, and much more.

LINK TO VIDEO RECORDING: 

Disciplines

African American Studies | Public History

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