Event Info
SAT, JUNE 24
Doors 5:00 PM / Show 5:45 PM
**This is a ticketed Benefit Show that supports BRIC’s free programming. Sign up for our newsletter to get the first look at our full season announcement!**
Public onsale opens Fri, March 17 at 10AM ET
**Please note that all tickets are General Admission. Event is rain or shine. Seating will not be available at this show but you are permitted to bring your own chair.**
About NxWorries:
Anderson.Paak and Knxwledge are NxWorries. The collaboration began with “Suede.” By the time their debut album Yes Lawd! in 2016, Paak was well on his way to pop stardom, and Knx had picked up a Grammy Award for his production on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.
About Robert Glasper:
Robert Glasper is the leader of a new sonic paradigm with a career that bridges musical and artistic genres. To date, he boasts 5 Grammy wins and 12 nominations across 11 categories, an Emmy Award for his song for Ava Duvernay’s critically hailed documentary “13th” with Common and Karriem Riggins, and a Peabody Award for his Composition of “Mr. Soul!”. His work and accolades bridge all aspects of the music business, from live touring to film scoring, composing and producing.
Evolution is his hallmark. Glasper’s breakout crossover album Black Radio changed the face of the genre and set a new expectation for what popular music could be. The album won him the Grammy for best R&B album and established him as the musician of choice for some of the world’s most iconic artists; notably playing keys throughout Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, winning another Grammy for the elastic track “These Walls”. The ongoing Black Radio series has since become Glasper’s calling card, upholding a place at the heart of a trailblazing community: from long-time sonic brothers Mos Def and Bilal, to legends including Ledisi, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu.
It’s been a long time coming for BJ the Chicago Kid, and not just because, after four mixtapes and one indie classic, he’s now dropping his major-label debut on Motown, the modern yet deeply soulful In My Mind. You’ve been hearing his voice everywhere though, on the songs by some of the greatest artists of our era (punctuating tracks by Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, Kehlani and ScHoolboy Q’s Grammy Award-nominated smash “Studio.”) Notable Collaborations include Vic Mensa, Chance The Rapper, Dom Kennedy, Freddie Gibbs, Ty Dolla $ign, Xzibit and, most recently, OG Maco, Joey Bada$$ and Hannibal Burress. But go back even farther and you’ll find BJ was fated for this life.
Bryan James Sledge cooed his first note to an audience when he was 5-years-old. His mom was a choir director and his whole family was in the congregation: BJ the youngest of three boys who all sang on Sunday. Yet outside was the constant backbeat of his youth: trunk music, rap and old school soul, the same thump that he’d hear falling asleep at night, and at the whole-block cookouts that happened every Saturday. His dad, though also a choir director, exposed him to that secular inspiration firsthand. By night his father did concert security, and he took his boy to gigs. Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation Tour (the one with the panther) changed BJ forever, and the experience got swirled up with the stuff he heard at home: the Chi-Lites, Luther, Curtis, even Babyface.
The kid wrote his first song as a teen. He’d been focused on drums, and you can still hear that in the way his voice clings to the pocket, but, as happens, he caught feelings for a girl and wrote a poem about it. Producer Kevin Randolph, a family friend, saw promise in BJ’s pen and mentored him in the ways of song. And when it was time, he helped BJ secure his ticket to Los Angeles. That first job, singing backup with gospel duo Mary Mary, led to studio time (vocals, songwriting) with Lalah Hathaway, Musiq Soulchild, Joe, Mario, and Mary J. Blige, among others. In 2005 alone he went into the booth with Stevie Wonder and onto the Grammy stage with Usher and James Brown. A year later came the big one: Kanye West’s “Impossible” for Mission: Impossible III.
It’s understandable if you’ve heard BJ and not known it—the man’s melody is classic and his voice is elastic; he sounds like a sample. But he proved his knack for present-day soul on 2012’s self-released album, Pineapple Now-Laters, a diverse collection of songs that moved from a cappella excellence to swaggy rap ‘n’ blues to the heartfelt “His Pain,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. Call it a favor returned—BJ’s on Lamar’s 2009 EP, and works with the whole T.D.E. family. ScHoolboy Q’s single “Studio” followed, capping an impressive run of collaborations with West Coast legends like Warren G and Xzibit, and Chicago new-schoolers like Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa. BJ’s M.A.F.E. Project tape in 2014 broadcast the message: “Music Ain’t for Everyone.”
Of course, BJ was destined for the winner’s circle, and just as he came up in a supportive Chicago ‘hood, he’s been building up his music community steadily. He even pitched in on Dr. Dre’s long-awaited Compton on the way to now, but it’s his time to shine, and for fans of all those guys to realize they’ve been fans of BJ all along. In My Mind is the first true open door to his world, to a place where the Bible comes first, but Belly might be second. Where blunts burn and oxtails simmer. It’s a window into the psyche of a soul man who watches Tom & Jerry regularly, but keeps up with the bangers from around the way. This man who sings “Church”—with a hook that so perfectly illustrates the line he walks: “She said she wanna drink, do drugs, and have sex tonight/But I got church in the morning”—is not so far removed from the so-called kid raised on the Windy City’s South Side. Most of all, In My Mind is a set of staggeringly great songs from a man who knows The Classics as well as he does The Now.
Take his James Brown flip, “Woman’s World,” where vintage sound meets modern perspective. Or “Heart Crush,” which connects a timeless sentiment (fast love’s slow fizzle) with an atmospheric, alt-R&B sound. There’s the steamy stuff like “Turnin Me Up,” which finds BJ channeling both D’Angelo and Marvin Gaye while leading his live band. And romantic fare like “Shine,” a piano ballad tailor-made to weaken knees on deployment. “New Cupid,” especially, crisscrosses generation and genre with ease, borrowing the iconic “Oh yeah!” from “Mr. Big Stuff,” sampling a Raphael Saadiq cut, and featuring a heartbroken Lamar.
In My Mind transcends basic classification—it’s as imaginative as its title implies, but as real BJ the Chicago Kid’s love for this music.
Glasper’s eternal pursuit to further his sound has been consistent in challenging and transforming his creative horizons across the board. Whether producing a remix album with Kaytranda or as a bandleader, Robert consistently defies the limits of the genre. This is evident in a portfolio that ranges from his acoustic jazz trio; which simultaneously defies and elevates the traditional idiom by uniting it effortlessly with electronics from visionary DJ Jahi Sundance, to August Greene; a collaboration with Common + Karriem Riggins, to R+R=Now; a supergroup at the crossroads of hip-hop and Jazz.
In the last year alone, Glasper has seen a staggering diversity of success. He released Black Radio III and Black Radio III Supreme Edition on Loma Vista Records; with features ranging from Jennifer Hudson, Killer Mike, and the late Mac Miller. On screen he created the original score for Run The World Season 2 and The Best Man television series. In July 2022 he was the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the first Blue Note Napa Valley Jazz Festival, which brought to the stage a plethora of iconic artists; from Chaka Khan to Maxwell and Glasper’s Dinner Party project featuring Snoop Dogg. October 2022 sees him back in New York for his now-legendary month-long residency at the Blue Note NYC, with the usual array of star-studded appearances from the likes of Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Questlove, Alex Isley and Miguel joining him both on and off stage.
With boundless innovation and elite technique as his signature it’s no surprise that Glasper has an avalanche of accolades, awards, and achievements to his name – most recently being asked to play at the 2020 March On Washington with Derrick Hodge and funk legend, Sir George Clinton. In August of 2020, Robert released ‘Better Than Imagined’ which won the Grammy for Best R&B song in 2021; the first taste of his Black Radio 3 album. Featuring H.E.R and Meshell Ndegeocello, the song advocates for Black love and the power, and responsibility, we have to improve our world; again demonstrating that, above all, Glasper is an artist at the heart of a moment – and a movement – to champion Black music, Black people, and the possibility of a better future.. The hip-hop-head-nod ballad is a dedication to just that: the beauty and brilliance of a heritage that is as much Kendrick as it is Coltrane, and which seeks to empower and uplift with every offering. Glasper later went on to win the Grammy for Best R&B Album for Black Radio 3 in 2023.
In his own words:
“Black lives matter and so does black love; no one wants a life without love, but we have generations of people in our community who haven’t had the tools to actually be in healthy relationships. It seems like people are finally ready to open their eyes to systemic racism in this country, and if we’re going to talk about it, we have to also talk about how it affects our relationships — how we communicate, how we see ourselves, how we treat each other. It’s not always good, even though maybe it could be.” – Robert Glasper
About BJ The Chicago Kid:
It’s been a long time coming for BJ the Chicago Kid, and not just because, after four mixtapes and one indie classic, he’s now dropping his major-label debut on Motown, the modern yet deeply soulful In My Mind. You’ve been hearing his voice everywhere though, on the songs by some of the greatest artists of our era (punctuating tracks by Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, Kehlani and ScHoolboy Q’s Grammy Award-nominated smash “Studio.”). Notable Collaborations include Vic Mensa, Chance The Rapper, Dom Kennedy, Freddie Gibbs, Ty Dolla $ign, Xzibit and, most recently, OG Maco, Joey Bada$$ and Hannibal Burress. But go back even farther and you’ll find BJ was fated for this life.
Bryan James Sledge cooed his first note to an audience when he was 5-years-old. His mom was a choir director and his whole family was in the congregation: BJ the youngest of three boys who all sang on Sunday. Yet outside was the constant backbeat of his youth: trunk music, rap and old school soul, the same thump that he’d hear falling asleep at night, and at the whole-block cookouts that happened every Saturday. His dad, though also a choir director, exposed him to that secular inspiration firsthand. By night his father did concert security, and he took his boy to gigs. Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation Tour (the one with the panther) changed BJ forever, and the experience got swirled up with the stuff he heard at home: the Chi-Lites, Luther, Curtis, even Babyface.
The kid wrote his first song as a teen. He’d been focused on drums, and you can still hear that in the way his voice clings to the pocket, but, as happens, he caught feelings for a girl and wrote a poem about it. Producer Kevin Randolph, a family friend, saw promise in BJ’s pen and mentored him in the ways of song. And when it was time, he helped BJ secure his ticket to Los Angeles. That first job, singing backup with gospel duo Mary Mary, led to studio time (vocals, songwriting) with Lalah Hathaway, Musiq Soulchild, Joe, Mario, and Mary J. Blige, among others. In 2005 alone he went into the booth with Stevie Wonder and onto the Grammy stage with Usher and James Brown. A year later came the big one: Kanye West’s “Impossible” for Mission: Impossible III.
It’s understandable if you’ve heard BJ and not known it—the man’s melody is classic and his voice is elastic; he sounds like a sample. But he proved his knack for present-day soul on 2012’s self-released album, Pineapple Now-Laters, a diverse collection of songs that moved from a cappella excellence to swaggy rap ‘n’ blues to the heartfelt “His Pain,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. Call it a favor returned—BJ’s on Lamar’s 2009 EP, and works with the whole T.D.E. family. ScHoolboy Q’s single “Studio” followed, capping an impressive run of collaborations with West Coast legends like Warren G and Xzibit, and Chicago new-schoolers like Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa. BJ’s M.A.F.E. Project tape in 2014 broadcast the message: “Music Ain’t for Everyone.”
Of course, BJ was destined for the winner’s circle, and just as he came up in a supportive Chicago ‘hood, he’s been building up his music community steadily. He even pitched in on Dr. Dre’s long-awaited Compton on the way to now, but it’s his time to shine, and for fans of all those guys to realize they’ve been fans of BJ all along. In My Mind is the first true open door to his world, to a place where the Bible comes first, but Belly might be second. Where blunts burn and oxtails simmer. It’s a window into the psyche of a soul man who watches Tom & Jerry regularly, but keeps up with the bangers from around the way. This man who sings “Church”—with a hook that so perfectly illustrates the line he walks: “She said she wanna drink, do drugs, and have sex tonight/But I got church in the morning”—is not so far removed from the so-called kid raised on the Windy City’s South Side. Most of all, In My Mind is a set of staggeringly great songs from a man who knows The Classics as well as he does The Now.
Take his James Brown flip, “Woman’s World,” where vintage sound meets modern perspective. Or “Heart Crush,” which connects a timeless sentiment (fast love’s slow fizzle) with an atmospheric, alt-R&B sound. There’s the steamy stuff like “Turnin Me Up,” which finds BJ channeling both D’Angelo and Marvin Gaye while leading his live band. And romantic fare like “Shine,” a piano ballad tailor-made to weaken knees on deployment. “New Cupid,” especially, crisscrosses generation and genre with ease, borrowing the iconic “Oh yeah!” from “Mr. Big Stuff,” sampling a Raphael Saadiq cut, and featuring a heartbroken Lamar.
In My Mind transcends basic classification—it’s as imaginative as its title implies, but as real BJ the Chicago Kid’s love for this music.
The Lena Horne Bandshell at Prospect Park is home to BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, New York’s longest-running, free outdoor performing arts festival. Named to honor the legendary singer, actress, dancer, and Brooklyn native Lena Horne, the Bandshell is transformed into a venue every summer that can accommodate over 8,000 people.
BRIC is committed to welcoming people of all abilities
The facility is completely wheelchair accessible. If you require special seating arrangements, please ask any staff member to speak with the house manager on the day of the performance when you reach the gate, and we will happily accommodate you. If you have any other questions about accessibility, please contact Benno Orlinsky at [email protected] or (718) 683-5637.
