Having lived in Washington DC for five years, I love the unique mix of musical culture and history of that city as well as Maryland and Virginia: Shaw Neighborhood, Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, U St. Cardoza, Takoma Park, Mt. Ranier, hip-hop, R&B, 9:30 Club, Black Cat, Blues Alley, spoken word poetry, salsa, Afro-beat, Bossa Nova, and punk rock just to name a few. The birthplace of Duke Ellington also has a thriving jazz movement. DC was the place I discovered Bluegrass; many nights I fell asleep listening to “Bluegrass overnight” on NPR. And of course the ubiquitous Go-go beat!
It is from this richness that Ladybug Mecca rose up, and later made the move to New York where she was part of Digable Planets, who had one of the most recognizable and influential songs of the 90s, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool like dat).” She later went on to release a solo album and guest spot on too many artists’ albums to name. In her latest creative incarnation, she’s working out her DJ skills, going by DJ LadybugMek.
Here’s a video of her rapping with another DC native (who I saw at the Black Cat by the way and he blew me away), Raheem DeVaughn:
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