Read the transcript here.
The Bay Area has a vibrant and eclectic music scene, but when Jessica Kariisa moved here last year she couldn’t find many places playing the African dance hits she loves. She’d spent time in big East Coast cities like Washington, D.C. and New York that have large, visible African populations, so she was surprised that she didn’t see many people that looked like her in either San Jose, where she lives, or San Francisco, where she works.
But African music is her passion, so Jessica went on a mission to find it. Her first clue that there was something in the Bay Area came from a line in Fireboy DML’s hit song, “Peru,” when he croons, “I’m in San Francisco jamming.” Anyone else might have heard that as a throw away line, but to Jessica it was a clue.
Jessica soon found out that while not as visible, Africans have been spinning music they love and hosting dance parties for decades. Check out the amazing dance parties, clubs and community Jessica found in from San Jose to Oakland and back to San Francisco. Through the love of music, DJs and fans paint the picture of a community willing to go to great lengths for that next hot track.