March 2014 - The Draze Experience

Every time I go to South Seattle and the Central District, I see more and more homes being renovated and new apartment buildings under construction. This city changes fast.

But homegrown hip-hop artist Dumi Maraire, best known as Draze, sees something my eyes have missed: The forces of gentrification are uprooting the black community.

“These used to be all black families and black-owned businesses,” Draze told me as I sketched him on the steps of his childhood home on South Orcas Street. “Nobody is here anymore.”

Including Draze, who now lives in more affordable Renton. I reached out to him after I stumbled upon a video of his most recent song, “The Hood Ain’t the Same,” on YouTube. Since he posted it less than a month ago it has been viewed more than 25,000 times.

Draze’s lyrics mention many black-owned businesses that no longer exist. What once was Sammie’s burgers on East Union Street is boarded up and covered with graffiti. The Silver Fork restaurant on Rainier Avenue South closed the day after he brought his crew to shoot the video last summer.

As he drove me around his old haunts in Rainier Valley and the CD, Draze shared his view of gentrification as eloquently as he does in his rap song: “The city is thriving,” he said, “but my community is dying. That doesn’t feel good.”

‘The Hood Ain’t the Same:’ Draze Brings Seattle Together on Gentrification

Press

50 Next, Experieince Music Project, the hood ain't the same, The Skanner

The Skanner Newspaper – ‘The Hood Ain’t the Same:’ Draze Brings Seattle Together on Gentrification

Draze, also known as Dumisani Maraire Jr., has an unequalled lineage in the Pacific Northwest: Born in Seattle, he is the son of Dumisani Maraire (1944-1999), the marimba superstar from Zimbabwe who became a University of Washington ethnomusicologist while igniting a musical movement throughout Oregon, Washington and beyond.

His mother, Lora Lue Chiorah, is a multi-talented educator, musician and dancer. His sister Chiwoniso Maraire (1976-2013) was the celebrated mbira artist and singer-songwriter behind the celebrated “Rebel Woman” and “Ancient Voices” recordings — she was called the “Zimbabwe Mbira Queen.” His brother, Tendai “Baba” Maraire, currently tours the globe as half of the Sub Pop experimental hip hop group Shabazz Palaces. Draze’s 12-year-old daughter Nya-J is already making a name for herself with original hip hop music performances and music videos.

Seattle Magazine – Who Will Do the Right Thing in the Central District?

Press

50 Next, Experience Music Project, Seattle Magazine, the hood ain't the same

In November, I moved from Wedgwood to Mount Baker, city-side near Massachusetts Ave. I moved for many reasons—to be closer to work and in a more urban setting, near better transit options and with great walkability, and, yes, for a more diverse experience. Among other things, I wanted to live somewhere where everyone did not look or live like me—and to be stretched and enriched by these new relationships. My husband and I focused our home search mostly in the Central District, and by chance, landed further south. Everywhere we looked was in the midst of neighborhood gentrification—which raised many questions for us including whether we would we be making life harder for the neighbors we would chose to live among? And what was our individual responsibility in these larger demographic shifts?

As the inner city development boom shows no sign of lagging, the issues of gentrification in the Central District are on the minds of many. Writer Naomi Ishisaka wrote “Saving the Soul of the Central District” in this month’s issue, looking into the current community and city efforts to preserve “Africatown” in the area along 23rd and MLK between Union and Jackson. It’s clear much is being lost as African-American and African immigrants and their businesses are priced out of the neighborhood. Protecting what makes the area unique is a murkier enterprise.

Only a couple weeks ago, local hip-hop artist Draze debuted his song and video “The Hood Ain’t The Same” during an event at EMP. It’s a pointed and moving lament about gentrification in the C.D., where he was born. It’s long on loss but makes no prescriptions.

Monthly Archives: March 2014

Seattle Times – The pain of neighborhood change reflected in the lyrics of hip-hop artist Draze

‘The Hood Ain’t the Same:’ Draze Brings Seattle Together on Gentrification

The Skanner Newspaper – ‘The Hood Ain’t the Same:’ Draze Brings Seattle Together on Gentrification

Seattle Magazine – Who Will Do the Right Thing in the Central District?