The summer of 2020 in D.C. was filled with strong emotion coming from countless protests, pandemic developments, and legal developments — this passion was manifested in a number of ways including the sound of snares, hi-hats, and congos. These are all essential to the unique D.C. musical experience provided by Go-Go. Though it was only signed into law as the official music of the capital last year, Go-Go has been part of the city’s culture since the start of its inception in the mid-1960s when funk and jazz artists changed their sounds to eventually produce this regionally unique genre. In his book “The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C.” Kip Lornell, a professor of ethnomusicology at Georgetown University, analyzes that Go-Go has an “essential beat characterized by a syncopated, dotted rhythm that consists of a series of quarter- and eighth notes (quarter, eighth, quarter, (space/held briefly), quarter, eighth, quarter) which is underscored prominently by the bass drum and snare drum, and the hi-hat… [and] is ornamented by the other percussion instruments, especially by the conga drums, rototoms, and hand-held cowbells” highlighting the technique and composition behind the exciting and invigorating sound behind the origins of the name “Go-Go”.
Swamp Guinee is a D.C. born drummer and percussionist who says that “Go-Go is a language, and sometimes it’s hard for people from other places to understand that language” – while this may seem like a negative, he reflects the view that locals appreciate how uniquely regional the music is – it represents D.C. culture and is described by artist DJ Breemz as “the heartbeat of the city.” Two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant, known for representing the D.C. area, said “I looked so stupid trying to explain [Go-Go], it’s such a unique sound […] everyone knows what it is, it’s deep in our culture.” Even Mayor Muriel Bowser agrees, saying “Today we’re going to let the world know that Go-Go is D.C, Go-Go is our native language” during her public address following the signing of Go-Go as the city’s official music in February of 2020.
Clearly, the influence of the genre is incredibly large and is ultimately transcendent of labels or superficial characteristics – it brings together people of all sorts of backgrounds and statuses and unifies them under the proud identity of “Washingtonian” while equally providing funky rhythm and an energy that reflects the culture and personality of the city it is unique to.
