An upcoming musical event on September 1, Southern Oracles, will celebrate the South Side, an area of Columbus that is historically and artistically rich, vibrant and diverse.
Through music and poetry, artists will pay tribute to beloved spots – from Boyd's Barbershop to Golden Donuts to Mae's Market.
Guests:
- Scott Woods, poet, writer, author
- Jason Rawls, musician, DJ, and assistant professor of hip hop at Ohio State University
- Trek Manifest, musical artist and rapper
Transcript
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Amy Juravich: Welcome to All Sides with Amy Juravich. It's an area of Columbus that is historically rich, vibrant, and diverse, culturally and artistically. It's the South Side of Columbus, home to a patchwork of neighborhoods and a point of pride for those who grew up there. What better way to celebrate all that is the South side than with a free concert on September 1st, showcasing homegrown performers? We're spending the hour talking with three of them. Joining us now is poet, writer, and author, Scott Woods. Who conceived this idea. Welcome to All Side, Scott. Thank you so much. And we also have musician and DJ, Jason Rawls, who performs as Jay Rawls. He's also a professor of hip hop at Ohio State University. Welcome, Jason.
Jason Rawls: Hello, thank you very much.
Juravich: And we have musical artist and rapper Trek Manifest. This is his stage name, and when he's not performing, he teaches fourth grade at Shepherd Christian School. Welcome to All Sides Trek.
Trek Manifest: Thanks for having me.
Juravich: So Scott, what inspired this idea? So on September 1st, the concert is called Southern Oracles, a celebration of the South Side. Where did the idea come from?
Scott Woods: Growing up on the south side, and decades of not seeing it well represented. And so anytime you kind of see where you come up not getting it shine, you really, if you can, you really want to put that into the world, put it up for display, make sure people are aware of it.
Juravich: And why the word oracles? Because I looked up the word, an oracle is a person, shrine, or divine message that provides wise counsel, foresees the future, or acts as a medium for a God. So why did you choose the word Oracle?
Woods: Not, uh, I will tell you it was not for its strict dictionary definition.
Juravich: Okay, yeah, that was the dictionary definition.
Woods: Sure, but mostly because to me the South Side is still very representative of Columbus. Everything that Columbus kind of is, the South side still has it. Much of the city is developing very fast. It's losing a lot of things that it used to have, but the Southside is still holding on to a lot that character, a lot those personalities, a a lot values. And so to me it's very if you want to kind of know what Columbus has been, it's the South Side.
Juravich: Jason, what compelled you to get involved in this project?
Rawls: Well, first of all, Scott Woods. Anything Scott Woods does that I can be involved in, that's it. But also because I'm from the South Side, I grew up there, I love it. My mom still lives there, so I'm there every week, right? And as Scott said, the character, it remains, and the feeling that you get. I think for me, the South side represents home, and I think that's why I wanted to be involved with this project.
Juravich: What did you think of the use of the word oracle?
Rawls: I think Oracles, for me, talks about the stories. Anytime you speak to someone who's from the South Side of Columbus, they always speak about it with pride. They look up and they say, oh, yeah, and you get that kind of feeling. Anybody I speak to, and they're from the south side.
Juravich: Hmm. And Trek, what about you? Why did you get involved?
Manifest: Aw man, to Rawls' point man, Scott Woods man, he's honestly.
Juravich: You must be powerful, Scott.
Manifest: He's a living legend around here. So, and you know, it's, on top of that, like even some of the names that he even spoke of that will be a part of this, like that was another reason, like just hearing that.
Juravich: You wanted to be on the list with those names.
Manifest: Absolutely, yeah, so and and I am I mean respectfully I feel like I'm a hometown hero of being from that area you know and you know Scott telling us you know this is more of a celebration whereas a lot of rappers that I know that are from there they want to talk about you know the negative things and all of that and it's like I mean I came up I didn't deal with a lot of that but also seen it but also want to celebrate the things that were part of. You know, where I'm from and what, you know I represent, so.
Juravich: And you want this to be a celebration, right?
Woods: Oh, absolutely. And my experience was much like Trex, like it was, you know, all of the things that I was, like I was in the Cub Scouts on the South Side. I went to elementary school on the south side, you know, I played baseball on the south side. Yeah, sales. You know, wasn't in a gang. I wasn't, you know, whatever, like that's not what it was. Exactly.
Juravich: So Scott, you'll be performing two poems at the concert and you prepared to read a little bit of one of them for us. But before you read it, do you wanna tell us a little about it?
Woods: Oh, absolutely. So I'll be reading more than two, actually. Oh, okay. But this piece, I'll just read a piece of it. It's an ode, right? So it's kind of a love poem to what we call hood chicken. So there are certain chicken spots you go to. They dice it up with a real nice salt. And that is just the standard. Right. So this is a note to hood chicken, dusted, you fingerprint me back. I beg of you, preserve my history and my block, but not my tongue. Make that sting from the absence fulfilled, mourning the time spent away, trying to live in accordance to good living. I never want to be healthy, crunching your skin into my maw, puckering my mouth. I may never brush my teeth again.
Juravich: Oh, I like that. That's a piece of that. Okay. Yeah, you both are smiling. Tell me about, you know, tell me about the chicken. What does that bring for you?
Manifest: I mean it's I don't know man if there's so many spots in on the south side where you can get that descriptive type of chicken yeah I mean yeah
Rawls: And I'll be honest, the chicken, the pizza, I remember, for me, I remember when Donato's was one store on Thurman. Yep, and it's still there. Yeah, but that was the only one. And so like.
Juravich: And so you guys own, Southside own that, yeah. So that was.
Rawls: Yeah, so that was our pizza and so once everybody else started getting it. I was like, wait a minute But you know, shout out to jane and everybody they they did good but i'll be honest like It's that feeling. It's like it's that hometown Feeling and that that's what it is
Juravich: So, Scott will be performing poems, Jay Rawls, what are you going to be performing?
Rawls: I'm going to perform some music and I'm gonna have actual like dancers and all kinds of things going on as as we're performing it's gonna be a life like an amazing performance.
Juravich: Is it an original piece you made for this? Definitely.
Rawls: Yes. Okay.
Juravich: And Trek, what about you? What do you have prepared?
Manifest: Man, this is crazy, because it's kind of a bucket list for me. So when I said I want to, when I heard about the names and stuff, I was like, oh, I have to do this. So I will be part of a cipher, an original piece. I mean, I let Scott hear it. I heard amazing feedback. But it's going to be over a production of J-Rawz. And again, being a rapper from the South Side, just being a rapper in general, we look at Jay Raw as again, one of those living legends around here. So to be able to rap over one of his beats, and I got about seven, I think I wrote about seven verses for real, for awful. But I was able to come up with one, and it's gonna be a couple other performers as well that are gonna be. .
Juravich: Is this an original piece just for this event too? Yes, yes.
Woods: I require original pieces. Okay. Actually, because of the funding, I almost have to.
Juravich: Yes, we'll get into the funding, but it's the new music foundation, and so it has to be new, right? This is All Sides on 89.7 NPR News. We're talking about a September 1st free concert celebrating the South Side with writer Scott Woods, musician and OSU professor of hip hop Jason Rawls, as well as musical artist and rapper Trek Manifest. So this is a matter of a little bit of debate, the geographical boundaries. What is the South Side? Why is it hard to reach a consensus? Tell me the boundaries that you think the South side are. What streets, what neighborhoods are the Southside, Scott?
Woods: So for the purposes of discussion and my life, the south side is essentially Livingston Avenue on the north, roughly Parsons on the west, Parsons Avenue. And on the east, it's mostly the driving park area. And then on the south part of the southside, that's where it gets really contentious. Because they're like, well, how far south do you go? I go all the way down to Sills ballpark, which puts you right at about Williams Road.
Juravich: So is that as far as Obatz? I don't have a map. Not quite. Not quite, okay. See, that's where the debate comes in because I also saw a map that took it all the way to Reynoldsburg, so we're not going that far east either. Okay, everyone says absolutely not. Okay, do you agree with Scott's boundaries?
Rawls: Definitely and and there's there's a lot of different neighborhoods But some of the neighborhoods that I grew up you had like and and I'm gonna say these and you'll have no idea what I'm Talking about with people from the south side have heard you like the brook. Yeah, the road and the gates, right? So it's like Freibus lock-borne all that area headed back down and Southfield like when you cross the train tracks That's Southfield and that is definitely Southside
Juravich: Yeah, so Parsons Livingston Kelton Driving Park Lockborn that whole area. I got it.
There isn't agreement in what to call the area. I wanted to play some audio from Columbus Neighborhoods. This is a segment that WOSU aired a few years ago.
Columbus Neighborhoods speaker: I call it south end, but a lot of people call it South Side as well.
Columbus Neighborhoods speaker: South end. It was the end of Columbus. Columbus ended at the viaduct. That's where the streetcar ended. South end, that's right, see? I don't know, I always considered this kind of the east side. The story goes that if you were born in the south end, then you called it the south end. If you moved into the south, then it was called the south side.
Columbus Neighborhoods speaker: We are the south side. This is not the end. This is the beginning.
Juravich: Mm. I like that. Scott, what do you call it? Have you ever called at the south end?
Woods: No, that is reserved for certain communities. And by that, I mean it's that conglomeration of definitions is fascinating because it's very telling. How people define the South Side is largely by use, right? The things that they go to, the things where they live, the people that they know, that's how they define the south side. It's very territorial in that way, right. And so the South End... And you can hear somebody on there, she was very offended. This is not the South End.
Juravich: It is not the end. It is the beginning. I mean, I like that phrase. Everyone should use that. Yeah. So so none of you have ever called it the south end.
Rawls: Not once in a while, I didn't know, never.
Juravich: Okay, that's not even an option. Okay So who calls it the south end people who don't live there? No people who do or then or is it like the news like the local news calls it? The wrong thing?
Woods: No, no, there are people who have been here a long time who call it that.
Manifest: Yeah, I couldn't even tell you. I don't even know people that this was kind of breaking news to me I've heard that term. I've hurt the term but
Rawls: Nobody that I know would say South End, they all say South Side.
Juravich: Okay. All right. Well, I think we'll declare it Southside, definitely. Yes. Back to the event. This is a free event and it's in partnership with local philanthropists, Zoe and Jack Johnstone. And they have the Johnstone Fund for New Music. The publication, a publication by the Columbus Foundation has a quote from Zoe Johnstone that sums up why she and her husband are such generous donors locally. And she says, We both believe that giving close to home is the best thing. You can't fix all the world's problems, but you can start in your neighborhood. So Scott, tell me about this funding and where it came from and how you got this partnership. Sure.
Woods: So I have been working with the John stones on different programs for about the last seven years. I would say They've been the fund was created in 2008, but I've only been working them since about the past seven years and We've done lots of things lots of music. Obviously. They're always generally music And right now we kind of plan on doing at least one big concert a year. So this is this year's big come And they were just kind of looking to see what I was doing, right? They were kind of watching from afar. And then when we were introduced, it was an immediate engagement. They love the energy, and I love having people who understood what I trying to create. I'm trying to make Columbus better. Culturally better, artistically better, literally better. And they are all in on it. They've never told me no on anything.
Juravich: Yeah, Trek, you're nodding along. Do you find that funding to get things going tends to go to the symphony, the ballet, the operas of the world and not your type of music?
Manifest: Definitely, I will say, as of late, the past five, maybe six years, a lot of artists have taken more advantage of those opportunities, though, as they've came from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and they provide a lot a grants. I've received those things, those fundings for a lot my projects and things like that, so, but yeah, at times it does do that, but I also think a lot our artists lately are actually like doing their research more now. Now they're trying to figure out different ways with the height of like a lot of people being independent. It gives you more of that choice. Like, okay, I really need to check into these things. And a lot the times it's just more where you look as opposed to just, ah, I just need a handout or something like that.
Juravich: Yeah, Jason, what are your thoughts on like where funding can come from?
Rawls: Definitely agree. I think as more people are exposed to what we are doing. I think more opportunities will arise and I think to what we're doing at the Ohio State as an Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop and African American and African Studies and the School of Music. We have created a Hip-hop Studies minor at Ohio State right now. It starts tomorrow.
Juravich: Yay. Fall of 2026. Thank you. It's taken three years. Well, I can't imagine I work at Ohio State as well. Yes, you know, right?
Rawls: So we have got that going, students are, I can't even abuzz, like they're like, oh my gosh. And I think as we bring more opportunities like that to conservatories like the School of Music and bringing it to the Ohio State University, places like that, R1 institutions, I think more opportunities for funding and things like that will arise and I think people will be able to more advantage.
Juravich: Scott, you had a Facebook post recently about a newer funding initiative. It's called Zoe's Fund for Black Artists. Can you tell me about that? Just, I hadn't heard of it. Sure.
Woods: Well, no one really had. Okay. So for the past, I think, almost a year, Zoe Johnstone took it upon herself to create a fund specifically to give money to local black artists. And I will say, you know, that's something that, you know I've been making a case for, you probably my entire career. But Zoe really took that personally, like she's just worked with a lot of artists that she hadn't worked with before in the last several years. And she was just amazed at the level of talent, the commitment, the commitment to craft. And she just wanted to support that. So she created this fund and so she set aside $100,000 a year and she gives like 15 $1,000 grants. And then several project grants, which vary from, you know, like three to $5,000. And then recently, one very large individual artist grant called the Oshun Award, which is $50,000 for one artist. And the recipient of that three weeks ago was Richard Duarte.
Juravich: Oh, wow, $50,000. It's the lor-
Woods: It's the largest individual artist grant in the state. That's amazing.
Juravich: What does ocean did you call it the ocean ocean? What is that?
Woods: That is a Yoruba deity. I'm pretty sure that she didn't come up with that name. I am pretty sure Mark Lomax at the Columbus Foundation came up with the name. But in any event, Oshun was a deity who represents health and wealth and water and all these beautiful things.
Juravich: All right. I want to learn more about that award. Well, I don't want to digress too far. So let's get back to your concert before we have to take a break. The concert will be at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, September 1st. Is there anything special about the day you picked or just it was it worked?
Woods: No, the Johnstones think that there's something special about Tuesdays at 7, like everything they do is like Tuesday at 7.
Juravich: And you're holding it at Weigel Hall, which is on Ohio State's campus. So I have to ask, why is it not on the south side? Because OSU can't.
Woods: Us. Oh, okay. And so Lisa over at the, what's the department she's at?
Woods: Lisa Florman? Yes. I can't not remember her. That's okay. Lisa Flormann had been coming to the concerts that we'd been doing. Okay.
Woods: And was like, I would really love it if you did a concert up here, you know, for the community, but also for the students and to kind of get everybody at OSU aware of what Columbus is capable of and what it is. And I said, sure, I can do that. And so that's how we ended up at OSu. It's to me, it generally starts with the venue and then I figure out what to do with.
Juravich: Right, right. I mean, the venue is probably like the hard, expensive part. You got to have a date that it's open and be able to afford it. So is this is this space meet your meet your price?
Woods: Well, I don't deal with that part. Okay, yeah. You talk to the Johnstone.
Juravich: Great, great. Okay. So it is Tuesday, September 1st at Weigel Hall on Ohio State's campus. And coming up, we're going to talk about some of the historic places that people on the South Side know and love and miss. We'll talk about Boyd's Barbershop, May's Market, Golden Donuts, and more. That's when All Sides continues on 89.7 NPR News.
You're listening to All Sides. I'm your host, Amy Juravich. We're talking this hour about the South Side of Columbus and an upcoming musical tribute to the area. It's called Southern Oracles, a Celebration of the Southside. And it's a free one-night concert at Weigel Hall on the Ohio State University campus. It's Tuesday, September 1st at 7 p.m. We're taking this hour with writer Scott Woods, who conceived the idea and will perform original works of poetry. Thanks again for being here, Scott.
Woods: Thank you so much for having me.
Juravich: Musician, DJ, and Ohio State hip hop professor Jay Rawls will also be performing at the event. Thanks for being here, Jason.
Rawls: Thank you.
Juravich: And musical artist and rapper, Trek Manifest, is also an elementary school teacher and will be performing. Thanks for being here, Trek.
Manifest: Thanks for having us.
Juravich: So some of the places that turn up in the original works that are gonna be a part of this event are no longer in business. Boyd's Barbershop, May's Market, Golden Donuts. One of them closed this summer after being around for 30 years, right? Yeah, tell me about that.
Woods: So yeah, Golden Donut closed. It just, one day there was a board on a window so we thought maybe just the window was broken but then it just did not open.
Juravich: Oh, no. Yeah.
Rawls: Didn't that become like a Chinese restaurant or something? It added hibachi. It added Hibachi, that's what happened.
Woods: The Sausage Fried Egg Sandwich and Hibachi. And Hibach.
Juravich: Well, and then May's Market. Scott, you posted one of the original compositions that the audience will hear on September 1st, and it's related to May's market. I wanted to play a little bit of it. Here is cellist Sam Johnson performing his original composition for May's Market. That sounds beautiful. Can someone tell me about Mays Market?
Woods: You want to? Yeah, I got you. So that was a fascinating, essentially, a vegetable and fruit stand on Marion Road, I think it was, on Parsons. And it was like, as soon as you come off 104, you pretty much hit it. And she, Mae, was there for many, many years and she just never met a stranger, right? She would always slip a banana in your bag. Um, and, uh, you know, one time I went there and she was like, somebody had like bought a pack of bacon or something and she was cooking it in the back to make them a sandwich before they go to work. And so she was just the sweetest character, right? You know, just a beautiful person. And then, um, COVID happened and she just couldn't get it back open after that. Oh, okay.
Rawls: That takes me to Georgia's market on Lockbourne in Lawrence and that's Similar similar experiences and we went there my whole life growing up Right across from Golden Donuts
Juravich: Okay, y'all got me. Is George's not there anymore? It's a tire shop now. What about Boyd's barber shop? That was another one I mentioned.
Rawls: That's where I used to get my haircut. Yeah. I thought that was the only barber shop in town as a child because that's where, because my grandmother lived in the neighborhood near that and so when I would go to my grandmother's I could walk over to Boyd's because that church, right, there didn't used to be a church, it was a field. So I'd walk through the field, get to Boyds, get a haircut from Charles, right? Or Boyd, but usually Charles was my guy. I was a Boyd man. You was a boy, man. Charles was my guy. And it's crazy, like when he first said that, I was like, oh, that was another reason I was in. Like, it was just like, we were just sitting there reminiscing about, you know, because think about a barbershop. That's just where all the talking happens. You learn the community. And so as a young person, that's where I have my community. That's where grew up. Yeah.
Juravich: Is there a piece dedicated to voids in the performances or is it just come up in talking?
Woods: Actually, there's a musical piece for Boyds. So yeah, that'll be performed by the Mark Lomax Trio.
Juravich: Okay. Tell me a few other things on the roster. Who else is performing and does everyone who's performing have a tie to the south side in one way or another?
Woods: So no, everyone that's playing is not attached to the south side, but I gave them all very distinct notes. Okay. Right. So I said, this is what you're going to compose a thing to. Right? And then they did the research or we had conversations. I think somebody even visited the area. And so, but for the most part, everybody has some relationship, but there are some who do not. Okay? And so for instance, Trista Hill will be playing harp. She'll be doing a piece called The Golden Liar. The Liquid Crystal Project will be doing a piece called Devils and Bulldogs.
Juravich: Oh, I've seen them perform before. It's been a long time. I forgot about them. Okay, continue. You made me smile.
Woods: No, they're doing two pieces, but the Devils and Bulldogs is, uh, Mary Franklin's Me Scout and South Highs.
Manifest: Hi, Mr. Masked Guy.
Woods: They are two very contentious schools, like they are, what's the word? They don't mix.
Manifest: Yeah, and there's oil and water right there. Okay, wait what?
Juravich: Okay, wait, what are the two mascots again? Say it again. It's so Mary Franklin's red devil. Okay. Bulldogs, red devils and bulldogs. Okay, all right. I'm just I'm trying to picture it.
Rawls: And they're both on the South Side, but it's just, no. Mm-hmm. That's like OSU Michigan, for real. And the thing is, you know, it's funny, because if you're not from the South side, you may not really know that, because there was, at one point, because I used to work for Columbus City Schools, at one time, they were talking about merging those two schools, and I worked at Marion Franklin at the time, and we were saying, No, no, that's that's not a good idea. You must not live over here. That will not work. Those kids would have been a problem. No.
Juravich: OK, good thing that didn't happen. This is All Sides on 89.7 NPR News. We're talking about the South Side for an upcoming free concert called Southern Oracles. It's Tuesday, September 1st at 7 at Weigel Hall on the Ohio State University campus. And with us today are three South Side artists, poet and writer Scott Woods, hip hop musician and professor Jay Rawls, and rapper Trek Manifest. I want you each to tell me how you got started musically. Basically in childhood. So Trek, let's start with you. I mean, tell me about growing up and how you ended up deciding like this was gonna be part of your career.
Manifest: Man, so I'm five years old. We were living, at the time I was living in Poindexter Village. So around that is now like the Lincoln area and all that. So we moved to 800 South Champion when I was like eight years old and Criss Cross was out at that time.
Rawls: Ciao, ciao.
Manifest: Yeah, I'm seeing kid, a kid that looks like me, like, oh wow, now I'm not swagged out like they were, but yeah, yeah, I got introduced to that. But you know, we were, you know me and my brother, we would go, you walking down Livingston, there was a rishis at the time over there.
Rawls: The original rich is like.
Manifest: Yes, yeah, yeah. So we were always, you know, walking in those areas, but as we were walking, you just always rapping and reciting and doing that kind of, you know, freestyling and whatnot. So for me, it was just a lot of that. And then as I got older, I started taking it serious like in college. Like it was cool in high school, like yeah, we went to get record deals and stuff at that time. But it was like, it very hit or miss. Fun fact, one of the songs, the albums that we were listening to at that time was produced by this guy right here, J-Rawz. Like, Talib Kweli'i and Mos Def. That album, the definition and all of that, I was listening to that stuff. He produced a brown skinned lady. So, you know, long story short, the more I did stuff in college, took it a lot more serious, started just going to different venues in the city and.
Juravich: Where'd you go to college?
Manifest: So I went to Capital University and also Otterbein University
Juravich: Yeah, both great music schools.
Manifest: Yes, yeah, yeah. So, but you know, I was always doing things there, performing in, you know college and all that I just kind of just took me to where I'm at today.
Juravich: Jason tell me a little bit about where you got your start. Are you gonna start back at five years old too?
Rawls: Um, I could, but, um, I mean, at four and five years, three years old, I got my first record player for me. Everything's based on vinyl and sound like this is why this is so important to me. The South side raised me. I mean. I'm going to say a name and everybody's not going to know this, but if you from the South side, you're going to be like, wow, Robert's records.
Robert's Records was a walk in my neighborhood. We had a record store in our neighborhood. What? So we would go there, and that's where we would get our vinyl. And hip hop producers sample usually old records, right? So for me, that became the foundation. And so walking to Robert's records and buying those vinyl records and using my whole allowance or like my lunch meal. I was at a point where it was so bad that I was like, mom, I'll pack lunch. I need to buy this vinyl. So we would go there and we get James Brown records, Coolin' the Game, you know, that's the foundation for me. So yeah, that's how it really started, going to Robert's Records.
Juravich: So earlier I had Scott read a little bit of his poetry. So I wanted to play some music from each of you as well. So we'll start with J-Rolls. This was featured on Jimmy Fallon in 2024. This is a piece, Native Sons. It features you and artist Tlaib. Tlaab Kweli. Okay, thank you. And before I play it, can you set up the piece, what inspired the message and the collaboration?
Rawls: Definitely, Native Sons is just an ode to cultural icons in hip hop and they were a collective. So the groups are De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Jungle Brothers, Mony Love, Black Sheet. These groups were a collective called the Native Tongues. And so we were saying that we are descendant from them in our style of hip hop, in our culture and what we believe hip hop to be. And so we called ourselves the Native Sons and that's what Kweli and I did with this song.
Juravich: Yeah, let's listen.
Manifest: I've been to the mountaintop like it was all a dream I'm over loving that of course a thing 5,000 bourbon clocks
Juravich: And it was featured on Jimmy Fallon? What was that like? Yeah, what was that like?
Rawls: That was amazing. We performed on Jimmy Fallon. I mean, I'm from the South Side of the Columbus, so to be on Jimmy fallon, I was like, eyes big. I was, oh my goodness. So it was a great experience to represent the South side.
Juravich: And Trek, you have a new album out. Here is a bit from one of the songs. I believe the title is Love Like This. Yes. So is there anything you wanna tell me about it before we play a little?
Manifest: Uh, it's just one of the 12 amazing records off my album, to whom I may concern. But, uh, it is just a cool, clean, fun, you know, love record.
Juravich: Let's listen.
Manifest: I said I never met a lo-lo-lo like this Had to be something for me to write with Bein' right, this is me to right with This is me, I-I-I, I'm-I'm-me to right Hey yo, stand up, hands in the air, stand in ovation Beauty in the room, no matter the location Love never replacing, all about elevation No longer come
Juravich: So in your bio track, you write that your art has transcended within the education space, too, as an elementary school teacher, which you've done for 15 years. I mean, talk to me about that connection, your art, with the teaching of these young people.
Manifest: Um I think the biggest thing is that like. Music is like the most, it's a language that everybody can like translate. And one of the things I pride myself on as an educator is my transparency. And you know, a lot of the kids, you know they see somebody who's an artist, but they kind of see it from a different view is like what the industry might think. So it's like, oh man, are you on this or you on that or you're on TV? But then I have kids that'll say like, Aw, man. I just saw you perform at the Jazz and Riff Fest on a big old stage, I was like, that's Mr. Thomas. So when they see, oh wow, not only am I doing something that I love, but I'm also doing something else that I loved, which has always been to inspire and reach young people. And it's like, to be in an educational space and they see an artist that can do that, but also like, wow, I can not only be smart, but also create and things like that. That's always been a big thing for me in these last 15 years.
Juravich: Yeah, tell me about teaching your students that you have more than one dream.
Manifest: Man, it's, I'll put it like this. There's no such thing as a plan B or C or D. Like, everything you wanna do, you can do it. I've been like a huge proponent of, you can have all the time to do it, how you manage it is on you. So I was just talking to them in the green room, I'm like, you know, I'm teaching. I'm a husband, I am a father of two. I coach soccer, like I'm, you I play at my church, you know as a musician as well. Like I. There's so many things and they're all things that I love. And if there's one thing, especially with this new group of children that I'm teaching this year, because I was doing special education for 14 years, now I'm in a different space. But what I really wanna teach them is that, they're gonna know Mr. Thomas is an artist, Mr.Thomas is also a teacher, but more than anything, like my character. And I think as an artist when you dream big, how I've been dreaming, you can make a living out of your living.
Juravich: Yeah, I was gonna ask you about your identity because you're sitting here wearing a hat that says soccer dad. And so I just, that made me have more questions. So is that one of your many identities?
Manifest: Many yes. Yes. Yes, my wife tells me I'm like the ultimate like introvert But when I get in these spaces, it's like oh good. It's so but you're a performer
Juravich: But you're a performer, so are you an extroverted, no, you're an introverted extrovert or something? Probably. Which one comes first, you an extraverted introvert?
Manifest: My wife gave me some name for it. If I had to, I'll put it like when I'm at home, I'm curled up, chilling, binge watching whatever show she's watching. But then when I am on the stage, it's still me, but it's just a whole different person that I really want people to enjoy and learn from. And then when am off the stage like, I'm gonna chill, you know, hang with my wife, do whatever I need to do with the boys and go about my day.
Juravich: Jason, talk to me about when you were listening to Trek talk about talking to young people who see him at the Jazz and Rib Fest and then realize he's, you know, it's like, it's seeing your teacher out in the wild, but instead of seeing your teacher at Target shopping, they're like, Whoa, wait a second, he's on the stage. That's a different experience. I mean, tell me about that for like talking to college students.
Rawls: It's the same. I taught at Columbia City Schools for 17 years. So I had the same experiences. And for me, when I first started teaching, wow, that long ago, I was going to say the year like, but it was, it was like hip hop and education weren't a thing yet. Right. And so I always thought that hip hop would be a distraction. If my students knew that You know, on Monday through Friday, I'm sitting there with them and I'm teaching them. And then on Saturday, I'm flying to New York or Los Angeles and doing shows with Talib Kweli or whoever I'm with, most deaf. And it's like, then I'm back on Sunday and then Monday morning, I'll back with you. I thought it would be a distraction. And I thought, eh, I need to keep that away from them. Right, you know what I'm saying? And it was like, ugh, but the students are so introspective. They were just looking at me like, Mr. Ross, something ain't right. You hiding something.
They knew it, they sniffed it out. And eventually I had to tell them, okay, this is what I do. And I started sharing who I was. And once I started giving them my authentic self, I noticed that they started to open up. And I realized that through relationships, right? Through sharing who was, I was building my teacher-student relationships with my students. And that was the most important revelation for me. So I, you know, Now in college, now that I teach in college I do the same thing. I'm transparent, the words you use. I let them know who I am and what I do and it just makes us closer. And once you trust somebody you're more willing to learn from them. And I know that sounds like, it's almost like duh but that's not how education is presented when you're studying to be a teacher. You're kind of taught to, you know, you're up here. And they're down there and so that has been changing in the last ten years or so uh... The idea is to build relationships with young people with your students and and that uh... Helps build that connection so that you can teach them
Juravich: Scott, I'm not sure. I mean, you have a whole list of artists who are participating, but I think you can have these two just talk about teaching young people for the whole time. I don't know.
Woods: Amy I think you should go for it.
Juravich: Cut where you're listening to all sides on 89.7 NPR News and coming up. We're going to talk about the south side as it is now we're going To talk about some development in the area and we'll learn more about the free concert on September 1st That's when all sides continues on 89 seven NPR news
You're listening to All Sides, I'm your host Amy Juravich. We're talking this hour about the South Side of Columbus and an upcoming musical tribute to the area. It's called Southern Oracles, a Celebration of the Southside. It's a free one night concert at Weigel Hall on Ohio State University's campus. It's Tuesday, September 1st at 7 p.m. We're taking this hour with writer Scott Woods who conceived of the idea and will perform some original works. Thanks again for being here, Scott.
Woods: Thank you.
Juravich: And we are also talking with musician and Ohio State hip hop professor Jason Rawls, known as Jay Rawls. And he will perform at the event. Thanks for being here.
Manifest: Thanks for having me.
Juravich: And also musical artist, rapper, and teacher, Trek Manifest. Thanks for being here, Trek.
Manifest: Thanks for having me.
Juravich: So I wanted to talk more about the distinction of the south side of Columbus. I mean, 71 divides part of it, right? And so we're talking about everything basically on the east side of 71, is that correct? Yes. Yes, so whenever we talk about the southwest side of Columbus, which is the area on the other side of 71 you don't consider that a part of the South side. Is that a different neighborhood as far as you're concerned?
Woods: It's definitely different neighborhoods, yes. And it's always important to kind of see whatever the South Side is as a conglomeration of neighborhoods, right? But yeah, again, the South side as a term is very meta, right, so there's a downtown definition of that, and then there's the people who live in it's definition of that.
Juravich: So do you feel like 71 coming in divided the south side or did it just distinguish and give the southside more of an identity? Both.
Woods: Right? Yeah. Because just because you divide it doesn't mean the people go away. I mean, some people went away, right? Yeah. But whoever's left behind still has to build a thing. They still have to build businesses and restaurants and entertainment and they have to live. They have to survive in whatever is left. I think about this all the time whenever I drive past like Hanford Village, right. Which is literally just like a couple of blocks Underneath, you know, 70. Right on Livingston and just this kind of pocket neighborhood that was just sliced in half. Yeah. But yeah, it's a fascinating way to see a city.
Juravich: I wanted to talk about a longtime fixture in the area around Livingston Avenue and Parsons Avenue, and that's Nationwide Children's Hospital. The development of children's has really changed the landscape of that part of the neighborhood. It has its expansion, there's housing developments. I wanted get everyone's thoughts on what Nationwide children's hospital has done for the area, the good, the bad, the ugly, I don't know.
Manifest: Anyone who wants to start Yeah, so it's it's interesting for me because the memories of that area in particular like from you know parking lot which was once a Kroger like Yeah, mohawk Like all of those things where we would literally walk like to those areas so to see the expansion like it's it's very weird for me more than it's like a oh, why are they doing this, or why are you doing that? It's more of a weird, surreal thing, like wow, this is really happening, and then it takes me back from a time because as a kid I would have to go to Children's Hospital at times. I had a sister who had sickle cell, so she was in there frequently. So just seeing the growth in that area, in that particular pocket, it's just kind of a real surreal thing for me to see.
Juravich: From that perspective, you could be happy that it was so close to home.
Manifest: Very close, yeah, absolutely. But again, I don't look at it in a bad way or a good way. It's just kinda like, wow, this is really like.
Juravich: Like. This is a lot of development. Jason, what do you think whenever you think of how Nationwide Children's Hospital has transformed that corner? I can't even call it a corner.
Rawls: Yeah, it's a lot, a big area. I think for me, I'm reminded of the old adage, the only thing constant is change, right? And so, weird is a good word, right, because if you grew up on that side and to come back and see that, it's so different, but for somebody younger who hasn't been around as long, that's the way it's been. I think, for me it's like, because I knew people that lived in the houses, like across the street, like where the Ronald McDonald house is and. Like there was a lady who used to sell vinyl records to us who lived in one of those houses. And so I used to go over there all the time and just to see the transformation, you know, it's tough sometimes, but like I said, it happens. So there's no getting upset or anything like that. This is just a part of the process. The whole city has changed, you know. I couldn't imagine Mohawk High School not being there. And now if you say mohawk, some people don't even know what that is. They're like, what are you talking about?
Juravich: I thought you were talking about the restaurant. Sorry. And that's okay. Yeah.
Rawls: And that's all right. And but that's that's what we're talking about. It's like, you know, those things used used to be there and they're gone. And that the only thing constant is change.
Juravich: Scott, what do you think of whenever you think of the development in the area and how it's changed the neighborhood?
Woods: Well, being me, I'm obviously going to take some issues with it, but it's really hard to argue against a hospital for children, right? Yeah. When you kind of look at what it is, it's like, okay, sure. You need all those buildings for all the research and all of those things. But Children's Hospital is not just a hospital, it is a campus. And when you have that much business and that many buildings you need housing. And so they are in the housing business as well. And that is where you start to see, I think, market issues with maybe some of that development. I mean, I don't know that there's anything you can do about it. I don t hear anybody ever campaigning against that, except for people who used to live there. Right. But
Juravich: You know, what are you gonna do? It's interesting to think about a hospital being being in the housing business. It's gotta be yeah
Woods: Yeah, it's got that size. It's got to be and look anything within three miles of downtown is going to catch some change eventually Probably two three four times over and so this is just Children's Hospital's version of that. Yeah
Juravich: Before we run out of time, I also wanted to talk about the Church for All People. It's a beacon for many in the neighborhood. It also speaks to the religious diversity that sprang up in the area. Can anyone talk to me about the work of the Church For All People in the neighborhood? Yeah, Scott.
Woods: Yeah, so I work at the library on Parsons. So I'm always in that area. And I've been there for many years. And so the Church for All People is like a key hub of services and a place for people to be. And there are other places along that strip. I'm thinking of the open shelter specifically. But, you know, it's a trip to see... Like I drive up and down Parsons every day for like the last, I don't know, 10 years or whatever, longer really. And I was at the old branch as well. And so it's been a trip to kind of see the people who have needs multiply. Like you can literally see how the city is really doing, or how the other Columbus is really by that strip, right? How many people are there every morning all day.
Juravich: Based on the line outside. Yeah. Wow. And I wanted to ask you about libraries because you wrote a piece in Matter News and it was titled The Other Columbus Never Cut Money for Libraries and in it you call libraries cradle to grave providers. I mean tell me about that. Tell me about the importance of libraries to you.
Woods: Listen, there's almost nothing I can tell you about libraries that no matter where you live, no matter what your status is, that you don't already experience. But to be clear, all libraries are not the same. Libraries have changed so much since the internet, right? We've had to find new ways to be of service because that is what libraries are. They are service centers. And that used to be books and that used to be knowledge and it still is books and knowledge, but depending on where your library is, like if you're on the south side, your librarian is doing more than books. Your librarian is helping you with a resume. Your librarian watching children, right? These are not jobs we signed up for, but they are jobs we do.
Juravich: We have two minutes left, and I want to have pitch the concert one more time. We've been talking about the Southside in the upcoming free concert, Southern Oracles. It's Tuesday, September 1 at 7 PM at Weigel Hall on Ohio State's campus. Tell me why people should come.
Woods: Scott because even if you know nothing about the south side you should want to celebrate your community Trek why should people come?
Manifest: Man, incredible artists, an incredible message. This is gonna be a great time.
Juravich: Yeah, yeah, Jason. Why should people come?
Rawls: The main word, community. You know, if you live in Columbus, this is a great chance for you to learn about the South Side. It's a great change for you to experience some wonderful artists and to come to Ohio State campus. So, pull up.
Juravich: I want to thank you all for your time today, musician and DJ Jason Rawls, who performs as Jay Rawls. Also a professor of hip hop at Ohio State University. Thanks Jason. Thank you. And musical artist and rapper and teacher, Trek Manifest, thanks for your time today Trek.
Manifest: Thank you for having me.
Juravich: And poet, writer, and author Scott Woods who conceived the idea for the concert. Thanks for being here Scott.
Woods: Thank you, it's been an honor.
Juravich: And again, it is called Southern Oracles. It's Tuesday, September 1st at 7 p.m. Weigel Hall on Ohio State's campus. This has been All Sides on 89.7 NPR News. I'm Amy Juravich. Thanks.