NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – All of the cousins … uncles … and aunties will fill the Norfolk Scope grounds for a new one-day festival.
The Cousinz Festival, powered by the RnB Block Party, will take over the Scope on August 31.
“The lineup for the current festival is incredible! First and foremost, understand that it’s built off the back of the RnB Block Party,” said Hampton Roads native Pusha T, the co-founder of the Cousinz Festival. “Of course, we’re going to have our celebrity DJ pool [including] Jermaine Dupri. We’re going to have DJ Envy. We’re going to have The Art of Noise, Mad Skillz and DJ Lonnie B. We have Jae Murphy. The host of Cousinz Festival is Chico Bean the comedian. The headliner for Cousinz Festival will be Erykah Badu.”
Pusha T grew up in Virginia Beach, often traveling to New York to get his start in the industry.
“I would much rather the new pool of artists and the new talent pool to not have to go so far. If we could build that community here and that infrastructure here … I think we’d see a lot more artists coming out of the area,” Pusha T said.
It’s all about bringing people from all of the seven cities together.
“With all the greatness that has been spawned from the area and all the support that we’ve gotten. This being the foundation for all of us artistically. It’s only right to come back home, give back and try to boost it up even more. It’s not necessarily our time. It is the next guy’s time. It’s the next generation’s time and these events help build that up,” added Pusha T.
Nathaniel “Fam-Lay” Johnson was born and raised in the Huntersville neighborhood in Norfolk.
“I grew up less than a mile away from the Norfolk Scope. When I was a kid, I would cut through the [Scope] Plaza to go to Waterside. There was a moment, at one of the RnB Block Parties. I was sitting there, and just seeing all the people having a good time around me … dance and having fun. [I was thinking] We really got an event where people can see it’s ours! I felt like it was important to do and a blessing to be able to do it.”
Fam-Lay adds: “When you see events like this taking place [with] the support from the community, it shines a light on us and a brand. It lets brands know that we have a market, we have a thirst for it here… it’s not only just for music or just for everything.”
Antonio Dowe, another co-founder of the Cousinz Festival & RNB Block Party, now serves on the Norfolk Civic Facilities Commission Board.
“To me, it was an opportunity to have somebody that looks like us, have a voice on live entertainment in the city. That was intentional,” Dowe said “The Cousinz Fest is intentional. RnB Block Party was built out of opportunity and need with a lot of things that were going on at the time.”
The tickets go on sale on Friday morning on sevenvenues.com.
Be sure to watch the Hampton Roads Show on Monday. Fam-Lay, Antonio Dowe, and Pusha T sit down for a full interview about the festival.
