Jooselord launches free Durham festival honoring his son
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Discover Durham
Rapper Jooselord is bringing a new music festival to his hometown of Durham next month.
Why it matters: All Onyx World is designed to honor Jooselord's son Onyx, who died this spring of brain cancer. Onyx was 5 years old.
What they're saying: "My son was everything I have. My music career and my son," he tells Axios. "Everything that I do will have his name attached to it from now on."
What to expect: Jooselord planned the festival to resemble a night at Hopscotch, with overlapping shows across multiple clubs.
- The lineup drops Oct. 1.
Zoom in: On the night of the festival — Friday, Oct. 30 — 33 performers will take over eight downtown Durham venues. They're all North Carolina artists.
- "It's homegrown, purposely," he says.
- Shows are planned at The Fruit, Durham Central Park, Motorco Music Hall, Pinhook, Rubies, Bull McCabe's, NorthStar Church of the Arts and Boom Club.
- It's free, with venues donating their time and space.
The vibe: A live show by Jooselord — the Moshpit Messiah — is memorable.
- "It's all about emotion and feeling," he says. "Take a break from everything that's going on in the world and just feel, fust feel for a little bit. Every show, we cry. Every show, we scream. Every show, we laugh, and we get our anger off about whatever."
Zoom in: All Onyx World is a celebration and an opportunity to be together. It's not a fundraiser.
Yes, but: Jooselord is working to launch a nonprofit to support families with sick children — "Onyx Is Hope."
- "I was helped a lot by the community through Onyx's time with cancer. They found out he was sick and they jumped into action," Jooselord says. "Like, 'We gotta help Joose. We gotta make sure he's good.' And they did that. But everybody with a sick kid is not Jooselord."
What's next: For the latest, sign up for email updates or follow Jooselord on social media.