A music and dance collective has grown beyond day parties into a full-fledged cultural community, bringing its unfettered energy to Miami Art Week each year.
Everyday People originated out of New York City over a decade ago, hosting daytime hip-hop and R&B events. It’s since blossomed into an international community with tour stops ranging from Brazil to South Africa.
And now the rhythm is flowing this year at the Wynwood Marketplace.
”Everyday People is something that started out with no gimmicks,” said co-founder Mohamed Hamad, a Sudanese-American musician who goes by DJ mOma.
“Our tagline was ‘Good food, good music, good people.’
mOma, who grew up in Queens, New York, said the parties have been “underpinned by the Black American experience because it's a New York party.”
”So I have this duality that informs a lot of what I do,” he told WLRN. “A lot of our team members travel quite a bit, whether they're dancers or hosts. So I think what really separates us, in my opinion, is when we go to other places we're able to adjust.”
The tour spans more than 23 cities around the world, April through December.
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Everyday People events blends well with Miami's "fun, young and dynamic" community, with its Caribbean and Latin American flair and "access to a plethora of entertainment," mOma said.
“ It's really an adult amusement park," he added.
Black music and dance trends
Lately, the collective has been tapping even more into a Black diaspora still in love with hip-hop and R&B, yet increasingly connecting through diverse genres — from Jamaican dancehall and Trinidadian soca to South African amapiano, afro house, and Haitian konpa and raboday.
“ A lot of people are bemoaning the lack of hip-hop that's cutting through and connecting with the overall mainstream,” said mOma. “ So if we're getting more genres from the African diaspora, more genres from Haiti and the Caribbean. I think it bodes really well, you know, for the state of Black music globally.”
Recently, no hip-hop songs appeared in the Hot 100’s top 40 for the first time since 1990, after Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” dropped out. The decline, experts say, signals reduced chart dominance, but not a disappearance.
The culture continues. Everyday People is also known for its recap stories that archive cross-cultural moments, from new dance moves to fashion, joy and love, said longtime photographer and videographer Elliott Ashby, a former DJ and radio host who worked at stations in Seoul, South Korea, before joining the cultural platform.
It’s about “authenticity, community and connection,” Ashby told WLRN. “And I'm seeing people meeting boyfriends, girlfriends — people getting married who met at a party because it felt like it was an open space where everyone could vibe with each other.”
Through Ashby’s lens, each event in every city exudes an “eclectic, artistic vibe” that sparks curiosity about local culture. Cities like Miami and Chicago are no different.
“You're in Chicago, sharing South African culture while picking up on the Chicago scene and their whole dance culture, which is so specific,” Ashby said. “And it is like you're sharing different parts of the diaspora with different groups of people and then you realize like we're all the same.”
Just in time for Miami's festivities, Everyday People recently launched a dedicated app by the same name to sustain its growing community. And their next project, mOma told WLRN, may include a photography exhibit or a coffee table book.
“We know that ultimately this has to culminate in some form of art project,” mOma said. “I feel like we've created a stock photography database for Black joy.”
IF YOU GO
What: Everyday People
When: Saturday, December 5, 8:00 PM 8:00 PM
Where: Wynwood Marketplace 2250 Northwest 2nd AvenueMiami, FL, 33127
For more info here
