Virginia-based rapper and entrepreneurFam-Layhas been making waves with his RnB Block Party alongside business partner Antonio Dowe.
Hes since expanded into event organizing.
The party also made it to Vegas as a component of the Lovers and Friends festival.
“The goal is to give it a face, give Virginia the backing to back all of these artists and scream out loud, ‘Yeah, this is us.'“Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
Community has been our number one word from the beginning.
The festival also offered free tickets to public school teachers.
Cousinz Festival is vying to be a departure from large-scale, capitalistic festivals, emphasizing a neighborly atmosphere instead.
Nothing too cool, Fam-Lay says.
We dont have no velvet ropes or whatever.
Its all about the music, the energy, and having a good time.
And lets blow this thing out of the water, Pusha T recalls.
They came to me with the idea.
And Im big on, I can win with my friends, I can lose with my friends.
It was a no-brainer.
And I was doing a lot of shows at home, just trying to find my way.
It was dope and I was always chasing him.
And thats what we did with the RnB Block Party.
Fam-Lay:Appreciate that, man.
Antonio, how are you feeling about the shift from concert promoting to festival promoting?
This is a much bigger event.Dowe:Theyre kind of the same depending on how you look at it.
If we broke down the mechanics of it, to be honest, theres no real difference.
The RnB Block Party was the best party to me.
People were having fun, actually dancing, actually singing along, actually having a good time.
Im out every night, Im in the clubs, Im next to the bottle poppers in the sections… Fam is my brother for 20-plus years, and he came to me with this idea of being involved.
And knowing he had a great idea, knowing him and Antonio had been successful…
They had done 14 block parties.
Im probably there [when it was] 800 people; the last one is 7,500 people.
Im watching it grow.
We work with a lot of them and weve been successful, and theyve been great partners to us.
This is still a first-year festival.
It still has a base to build.
So we didnt want to jump out there.
The RnB Block Party is signed to CAA.
But with the festival, weve been trying to create something first before you talk about large partnerships.
And we [were] talking about the state of the city at that time.
It was getting scarce at the time.
We were trying to figure out something that we can do to help in the area.
Its basically a historic monument from where we grew up.
The opportunity to do something there was special.
Pusha T:We used to go see Ric Flair, WWE wrestling [laughs].
I seen Dusty Rhodes there, I seen [wrestlers] there live and in living color.
Can you take me into the branding of the Cousinz Fest specifically?
Im assuming its a play on your name, Fam-Lay.Fam:Yeah, sort of.
We say Cuz a lot, me and my friends.
My cousin, you know how that is in our community.
Your friends, your next-door neighbor, your moms best friends kids is your cousins.
So it was natural.
How smooth was that process for you?
We have an energy and standard to what we tolerate or demand from the people.
So I would say it was easier than I expected.
Dowe:Yeah, I would say so too.
On the city official side, its just dealing with the city of Norfolk where we are.
Theyre really big on supporting what has economic impact.
It doesnt matter what it is.
And the city played a major part in making sure that they opened the doors as quickly as possible.
So it was a little different at that point because we didnt have live entertainment.
Dowe:It got easier.
Fam:Because he gave us a super booster.
Cara Lewis, shes been my agent forever.
She reached out to Erykah Badu.
Larry June I had just seen in Tokyo, and I went to one of his shows just randomly.
I admire what he does in an independent space.
Out here in Norfolk, the fan base that he has out here is super serious.
So it was just a call, reach out.
Ive been seeing them like Norway, Sweden, wherever we at.
So the ask is just the ask, man.
So many different parts of Virginia have their own identity.
What is the ultimate goal for the festival?
Virginia has a deep lineage of legendary artists.
You got Shaboozey, you got Tommy Richman.
And listen, thats been going on damn near all summer long.
Fam:Pretty cool.
I dont know if they attribute it to that, but I think we should …
I think we got a cool lineup, man.
Imma enjoy the whole festival, man.
We got Envy, we got Jermaine Dupri closing outside.
Its going to be crazy.
Pusha:DJ Envy in the 757 is big…
He went to Hampton [University], he was a DJ then.
So we get that college nostalgia that we all were around for, and his expertise.
You got Jermaine Dupri, whose R&B discography, its crazy.
