In spaces across Columbia, Black creatives aren’t showcased as often as their White counterparts, said Kwasi Brown, who describes seeing this problem for years in his hometown. Persons of color who are musicians, spoken-word poets and artists are routinely pushed the city’s edges, far from the downtown core. 

A few years ago, with a little goading from his son, Brown decided to change that. He launched Black Nerd Mafia as a business that aims to promote, support and showcase Black and marginalized artists in Columbia. 

It’s grown from a Facebook group to a place for Columbia artists, musicians, poets and content creators to play at events, seek support and promote their work. 

For Brown, Black Nerd Mafia’s regular slate of events, shows and multimedia productions do the work that traditional venues and media don’t. 

“There’s so much talent here and we don’t need to go to Charlotte or Atlanta or New York,” Brown said. “We just promote the people we have, who people don’t even know about. Quite frankly, if you guys were doing your job, people would know about these (artists).”

When one door closes …

While the Mafia began as a branding firm supporting businesses and artists through photography and videography, it evolved quickly. Brown’s car was broken into, and the perpetrator stole his camera equipment, along with all the work he’d been doing in the community. But from that loss, came opportunity. 

A conversation at Curiosity Coffee led Brown to host Black Nerd Mafia’s first-ever showcase at the locals’ haunt on North Main Street in 2021. 

“They really gave us a lot of leeway to do what we wanted to do and give us a space to create,” Brown recalled. “That was really the genesis; everything started started with one show.” 

Now, Black Nerd Mafia puts on regular concerts with local musicians, hosts open-mic nights for spoken-word poets and has a podcast focused on conversations with Black creatives. A members-only collective, The Cool Table, has also grown out of Brown’s business. The Cool Table is made up of artists of color in the Midlands and serves as a support system. 

“We’re all connected,” Brown said. “The more eyes on each of us, individually, the more eyes are on us collectively.”

Most recently, Black Nerd Mafia played the Rosewood Arts Festival, and Brown said they’ve already been booked for the festival next year. 

The Tribe

Brown doesn’t run things alone.

Artist and videographer Darius Dior handles much of the visual branding for the company through his own branding firm, Thinking Kingdom. He began learning video editing and production to promote his own music, but quickly saw another path. 

“I thought I would do a video for myself,” said Dior, who describes himself as a “Christ-centered” musician. “I just had a revelation. You’re not the only person who needs this. You need to open up the floor for other artists.” 

The synergy between Brown and Dior’s goals merged with their collaboration on Black Nerd Mafia. Dior said their work has helped further fuel him to keep spreading the word on Columbia’s independent artist community, especially since he sees so few spaces for Black artists to come together.  

“Just for the sake of the creative community here, it’s dry. It doesn’t exist unless we exist,” he said. 

Along with Dior, rapper/hip-hop artist Tam the Viibe has performed and hosted Black Nerd Mafia’s branded events since the business’ first 2021 show.

Tam’s been rapping since she was 16, more than 20 years ago. She said the past two years with Black Nerd Mafia have opened doors that have long-been closed for her, and introduced her to a new side of her artistry. 

“So many people in this state, they’re so talented,” she said. 

Tam calls the artists involved with Black Nerd Mafia “the tribe,” and qualifies their music tastes as neo hip-hop/rap. 

“Doing the shows at (Curiosity), we’re able to show a community of people that probably wouldn’t wouldn’t have tuned into us that there’s so much more out there than just trap,” she said. 

Trap music is a subgenre of rap that’s become popular in the mainstream and focuses on bombastic lyrics and production. Transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, violence and drugs are part of the litany of negative connotations often associated with the genre. 

“Because people associate rap in that way, they think every rapper is that way,” Tam said. Because of the stereotypes affixed to rap, several venues aren’t as welcoming to hip-hop artists in town, she said, which is why Black Nerd Mafia is making their own spaces to perform. 

“It has been frustrating,” Tam said of the rejections she gets from venues. “Especially when you know you’ve already been on these stages.”

Brown, though he doesn’t like to take the spotlight, has worked the past two years to break down those barriers for artists like Tam the Viibe. 

“He’s a silent hero.”