RAGGA NYC is proud to partner with Refuge Worldwide for a radio show revamp to bring you the sounds of RAGGA and a look into the past 10 years of how this project has grown! 2023/24 is RAGGA’s 10 year anniversary so we have tapped into the many artists who have helped make RAGGA special and a pioneer in the space where Caribbean tunez and electronic music meet.
The sound of Ragga can be defined as the pairing of music from the greater Caribbean with electronic music originating in Detroit, being remixed across the African diaspora, and returning to the queer night clubs of New York City. At the nexus of these genres and various sub-genres is a shared lineage/universal narrative that, by allowing the marriage of, RAGGA expands the notion of what scenes can be in community with one another. RAGGA is the setting where queer folks can openly enjoy dancehall and reggae, where Black people can rejoice and re-stake claim to electronic music, and where the embrace of countercultures further inspires innovative sounds that reflect the multitude of identities in which they stem from. At no point does the sound reflect a basic exchange or one-to-one trade off of dancehall to techno, soca to club, kompa to house, etc. When properly conducted/curated, the sound of RAGGA echoes an arrangement of acknowledgements of the identities and their associated music that encompasses the community that RAGGA strives to serve.
RAGGA NYC Radio Episode 4: 10 Year Interview with Founder Christina part 1.
RAGGA NYC is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year! Listen to this intimate peek behind the curtain of how this platform, project, family, and party came to be with founder Christopher Udemezue aka Christina along with RAGGA NYC supporter Christopher Cinqué. Part 1 of this conversation gets into what queer nightlight and NYC looked 10 years ago for Christina and why he start RAGGA NYC. In this talk we hear about how personal yet communal the project is that now has roots across the U.S., Canada and Caribbean today.
RAGGA NYC Radio Episode 3: "A love letter to Baile Funk” | YOUNG WAVY FOX.
Young Wavy Fox been apart of the family for a minute and I still think back to our Ki/ Ragga NYC interview hang in the BX at her studio in 2021. I’ve always been inspired by Young Wavy Fox’s passion for history, community, art and how they fuse into music. This mix is beautiful reflection of that passion. Thank you Young Wavy Fox for your continued sisterhood and contribution to the RAGGA NYC family soundscape over these 10 years!
RAGGA NYC Radio Episode 2: "It’s time to WAKE THESE HOES UP!” lol | BEBE. A while ago someone encouraged me to be booking people I vibe with. Book people who get what Ragga is about. So when I re connected with Bebe in New Orleans March 2022 on a quick vacation pop out I knew I had to have him come bless Ragga. Bebe left NYC a while ago for LA and the NYC dance floors needed his energy back! From RAGGA’s inception Bebe has been there reminding me and the girls that “Techno is a vibe but NYC is home to so many sounds! ITS TIME TO WAKE THESE HOES UP!” - Bebe. Lol. Thank you so much for keeping my fire alive to do this thing called Ragga and for your sisterhood. Love you down Bebe. - Blessings Neon Christina (RAGGA NYC Founder)
RAGGA NYC Radio Episode 1: Bearcat Dweller mix 23': Bearcat RAGGA NYC family who I have known for over a decade and who played the 2nd RAGGA party way back in the day. One of the early entries into the RAGGA family. BEARCAT believed in this lil project I dreamed up all those years back and toke the time to sit with me and share her story. She believed in not just the parties which we all love but the community building and archiving. It seems like a million years ago that we did the interview in her backyard and she opened up to me about her journey through owning her heritage (as so many of us 1st generation kids battle with in relationship to assimilation/ racism) and how music has been that avenue for her. "In infant school, when parties where thrown for Christmas or charity, dancehall music would be played and I would literally lose myself, I had felt the music like nothing else before" - BEARCAT in her RAGGA interview. Sending you so much love sis - Blessings Neon Christina (RAGGA NYC Founder)