Rich Medina
From Jump N Funk to Afro Disco + Beyond
by Brent Crampton | Published April 2008 | Features Archives

FROM PRODUCING AND DJING a myriad of genres, spoken word performances or popping up in clothing ads or independent films, singular paradigms don't exist for this forerunner within music culture. You may have come across the buzz surrounding his name, whether it be a moment had with his Connecting the Dots artist album, his avid reputation for commanding dancefloors or his baritone voice encrypted on a record.

What sets this Philly resident apart from many is his humility and hustling DIY ethic. From speaking about the end of his famed Jump N Funk party, mixing business and pleasure, to his new beginning as a father, we were able to catch up with Rich Medina for a phone interview one afternoon in between him tending to his son.

RICH MEDINA: It's a welcome addition to what I have going on. If anything, it makes life a lot more meaningful and I'm completely ecstatic about it.

As for it slowing me down... No. You got to do what you got to do in your responsibilities as a parent. If anything, I hustle more now because I have another mouth to feed. That raises the stakes on everything, so nah...

Is my child going to slow down my creative world? Not at all. Will it make me make sharper decisions? Absolutely. It's only going to make me better.

5: What's your baby boy's name?

RICH: His name is Kamaal Nasir Medina and he was born January 10th at 4:10 pm in Philly. As for the name, Kamaal was a very prominent leader in Egypt and I took an interest in that story when I was in college. It also happens to be the name of my two favorite MCs - Q-Tip and Nas. So we chose that between the royalty, the beauty of the name and those two guys. Especially Tip, who I've come to be friends with over time.

5: What's the story on Jump N Funk? I think there may be some confusion there with your new party, Afro Disco.

RICH: I had a beautiful run with Jump N Funk for five years. Some issues had come to grow between my business partner and I, so we went our separate ways. I could have been a hard ass and taken the name. But even though the name was catchy, people were coming to the event at the end of the day to hear me. So it came down to: Do I keep this internal energy, or rename it and start with a clean slate?

I made a decision to start with a clean slate, so basically it's a renaming, which allows me to broaden the scope of the presentation.

During Jump N Funk, I had come to research the hardest West African records, and we did a good job of that. But I became so pigeon-holed in the Afrobeat range, so the new party also delves into a wider range of selections from the African musical diaspora. So I'm taking this opportunity to reclaim the music - Zouk, Highlife, Ju-Ju, other world music forms and American Funk forms that fit the theme of the party will be explored. So it really makes sense for a rebirth.

5: How'd NYC go?

RICH: NYC was brilliant. We did it on Fela's birthday and people were really receptive. Last Friday in Philly, the place was sold out. Leonard "Doc" Gibbs and J. Carlos Izzaguire performed with me - two of my favorite percussionists in the world. I think initially people were confused with the title and what it all meant to the die-hard followers, but over time we'll drive the point to people that it's essentially the same party, just with a different attitude, better video presentation and broader music that just steps everything up.

5: And you're still doing Little Ricky's Rib Shack every Wednesday at APT in NYC? That's been going for a minute.

RICH: We're about to have our seven year anniversary. The crowd has been coming for seven years because it's a small party that doesn't follow a program. It's a relief, really. Whether it's my peers, clubs kids, Hip-Hop or Househeads, people get refreshed by the idea of a jock playing with a sensitivity to the crowd rather than a program. That allows us to really dig our nails into it deeply. The people who come are so open minded, and that's what has been the key, enabling us to carry along.

5: Where's your spoken word work standing these days? Did you first get your start in that arena before music?

RICH: I think they were two totally separate lives, and at a point in the late '90s my music and writing merged when I was asked to do recordings and get my voice on their records. And at the same time, the slam circuit grew into its own monster, and I was a participant in that. So I was able to maintain two lifestyles that were able to feed off of each other. But as for actual performing, I haven't done any stage performing for a year and a half, two years now. I plan on approaching that in due time, but I don't feel I have a loss in that scene since I've had so many cameo appearances on people's records.

5: You seem very diversified within progressive culture in general. I remember seeing you in a clothing print ad and you had a recent cameo in James Spooner's movie, White Lies Black Sheep.

RICH: I've been in ads for Live Mechanics and Undrcrwn and I used to do a little bit of modeling and art with Echo Unlimited so I always try to keep my eyes open for those opportunities. If you pigeon-hole yourself, you limit your opportunities. If you're not hustling, you limit yourself to a particular pocket. Basically some of us opt to be a specialist, but then there are others like myself who like to keep it spread out. My interests are very varied and at the same time, people have an interest in a number of my talents, so I've been really blessed that I've been able to do that.

5: James Spooner's film has been gaining some great press and he's noted as a forefront figure in the Afro-Punk movement. How did you hook up with him?

RICH: I've known James as a dancer for many years. I met him through Brett Cook-Dizney. I knew him as a club kid and began to see him at my events. He started talking to me about Afro-Punk and thought it was a dope niche and they felt as though my niche was just as appealing to what they were doing. So it was a cool fit and I was thankful to be approached about it. Adding the segment of House Music culture was a great sidebar to their presentation, but I haven't seen the final edit.

5: With all these different mediums you utilize, what's your approach on being diversified within music culture?

RICH: I've always been a bit of sponge since I was a kid, so I get turned on by different things. One day I might feel like mixing my emotions, drawing them or writing my thoughts out. It just depends on the moment, and I've been lucky enough to go into any of those chambers at a drop of a dime. Thank God it's been able to become a lifestyle for me.

5: Because of your diversity within music culture, what sorts of trends do you see emerging?

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