When individuals speak about Appalachian music, banjos and fiddles are sometimes the primary issues to come back to thoughts. However what about hip-hop? Hip-hop lives throughout, together with in small cities and hollers throughout Appalachia. On this episode of Inside Appalachia, we’ll meet hip hop artists in southwest Virginia. People like Geonoah Davis, aka geonovah, who found rapping by means of poetry. “I at all times needed to sing, however I used to be additionally a extremely shy child,” David stated. “Then poetry turned an outlet for me to get my emotions out.”
And we’ll hear why natural treatments are experiencing a renaissance. However these treatments have been a convention in Appalachia for hundreds of years. “Appalachia was once the pharmacy of the US,” stated Crystal Wilson, who grows herbs on her farm in East Tennessee. “That’s at all times been a part of who we’re right here. We simply forgot it.”
We’ll additionally learn the way Blenko Glass, a historic West Virginia artisan enterprise, primarily based in Milton, West Virginia, managed to remain open throughout the pandemic by retooling a legendary monster into artwork.
In This Episode:
Hip-Hop Appalachian Artists
When individuals speak about Appalachian music, banjos and fiddles are sometimes the primary issues to come back to thoughts — however what about hip-hop? In the US, rap and hip-hop are often related to huge cities like New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. However hip-hop lives throughout, together with in small cities and hollers throughout Appalachia.
Folkways reporter Nicole Musgrave spoke with a group of hip-hop artists within the coalfields of Sensible County, Virginia. The group is drumming up consideration for the music, however they’re additionally supporting different artists within the scene.
Poetry Out Loud Finalist
Ben Lengthy from Clarksburg, West Virginia is one among 9 nationwide finalists to compete this yr in Poetry Out Loud — a contest for prime schoolers the place they recite the phrases of traditional poets. He’s a senior at Notre Dame Excessive Faculty in Clarksburg. West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Eric Douglas spoke with Long to be taught extra about this system and the way an uncommon yr of pre-recorded performances and masked audiences has made issues totally different.
This week on the present, we hear Ben Lengthy learn Edith Wharton’s “An Autumn Sundown.” Poetry Out Loud just lately introduced Rahele Megosha as the 2021 Poetry Out Loud champion.
Natural Treatments Supply Path To Wellness
Natural treatments are experiencing a renaissance with business trackers reporting an explosion in gross sales — and costs — final yr. These treatments have been a path to wellness and independence in Appalachia for hundreds of years. Folkways reporter Heather Duncan brings us the story from Tennessee.
Blenko Glass Groups Up With Native Artist
The pandemic has made it extraordinarily laborious for companies to remain afloat over the previous yr. In line with a report from Facebook and the Small Business Roundtable, practically 1 / 4 of small companies nationwide had been closed as just lately as February. Regardless of this, a historic West Virginia glass-blowing firm has managed to remain open. Blenko Glass is predicated in Milton, West Virginia. Initially, the corporate took an enormous hit and needed to lay off practically all of its workers. However due to a federal mortgage and a few intelligent advertising, it has rehired nearly everybody again and had one among its most worthwhile years in a long time.
Unexpectedly, Blenko’s comeback concerned a collaboration with a graphic design artist primarily based in Morgantown. Liz Pavlovic is regionally recognized for his or her creations that includes cryptics — legendary characters like Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster, a West Virginia cryptid that’s thought, based on legend, to be inexperienced with a fiery crimson head.
Freelance reporter Molly Born recently wrote an article about the collaboration for The Washington Post.
Needle Change Sparks Controversy
There’s an HIV epidemic in West Virginia, and there’s controversy over whether or not needle alternate packages are the reply. To know what’s happening, we have a look outdoors of Appalachia for context. Six years in the past, a rural Indiana county discovered itself in an outbreak of HIV. Native leaders in Scott County responded by establishing a needle alternate program of their group — and it helped. Public well being officers studied the case and so they discovered that many Appalachia communities are additionally inclined to the sorts of outbreaks that occurred in Indiana. Additionally they say the needle alternate program was the principle purpose Scott County was capable of cease the unfold of HIV. However now the program is closing.
HIV Epidemics Share Struggles
The state of affairs in Indiana mirrors the outbreak of HIV in Appalachia. In line with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, Kanawha County, West Virginia presently has probably the most alarming HIV outbreak within the nation. Like in Indiana, needle alternate packages right here have grow to be controversial.
Amid public outcry, Kanawha County’s well being division closed the Charleston needle exchange program in 2018. Then, West Virginia lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that roughly made needle alternate packages unlawful. The legislation restricts what number of needles could be distributed, and a few say that places up a whole lot of limitations to getting individuals examined for HIV. Now, a small group from the CDC is spending time in Kanawha County finding out the outbreak of HIV. The CDC recently released a report outlining their preliminary findings from the examine. The investigation identifies limitations related to companies locally together with low entry to sterile syringes, challenges in accessing substance use dysfunction therapy and other people at highest threat for HIV not frequently receiving HIV testing.
Remembering Francis Fisher
We additionally take time to recollect one among our colleagues at West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Mountain Stage chief engineer Francis Fisher handed away earlier this month on the age of 79.
Fisher was the person backstage of Mountain Stage. What most listeners don’t know is that Fisher was accountable for constructing West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s community as everyone knows it at this time.
To those that knew him nicely, Fisher was really a singular human being — a person of wit and kindness who helped construct up WVPB and its flagship present, Mountain State. West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Dave Mistich has this remembrance.
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Different music this week was offered by Dinosaur Burps, Blue Dot Periods, geonovah, and RK Mitch.
Roxy Todd is our producer. Jade Artherhults is our affiliate producer. Our govt producer is Andrea Billups. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi additionally helped produce this episode. Yow will discover us on Twitter @InAppalachia.
