A Night for Funky Ned, Ju-Ju, D.Floyd, Sweet Cherie, TSE, and Jason

The TMOTTGoGo Honors were established in 2007 to grace the lives and outstanding achievements of luminaries from the Go-Go Community and Culture.

During the first TMOTTGoGo Honors, we recognized the achievements of Big Tony, Sugar Bear, Jas Funk, and Little Benny.

On March 27, 2014, we’re doing it again. This time, the TMOTTGoGo Honors recognizes, Funky Ned, Ju-Ju, D.Floyd, Sweet Cherie, Thomas Sayers Ellis, and Jason Lewis.

This event, which will take place at the Historical Howard Theatre, will be hosted by Go-Go Michelle Smith, and contain presentations and musical selections from artists such as All 4 U, Bootsy Vegas, Obsession, and the cast of DIVAS DC – Cream of the Crop… (which consists of Maysa Leak, Shawn Allen, Teri S, Deborah Bond, Sweet Cherie and Sylver Logan Sharp).

Tickets now available at TicketMaster

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Willliam “Ju Ju” House, is a well-known and seasoned artist with a career that spans over 30 years. He has toured/recorded with, and/or produced:

Arrested Development, Chaka Khan, Grace Jones (Slave to the Rhythm), Chuck Brown (from Washington, DC), EU (Da Butt, and “Do The Right Thing” and “School Daze” soundtracks), Dionne Farris, Kurtis Blow, Salt n’ Pepa, Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross, John Sacada, Natalie Cole, Dean Brown, Trouble Funk, Questionmark Asylum, and the Voices of the Project.

He has worked with Greg Philingaines, Peabo Bryson, Bernard Wright, Marcus Miller, was awarded one of the Top 10 in the “Drummer” Magazine, and has appeared on T.V. shows (Saturday Night Live, MTV Unplugged, David Letterman, Soul Train, and many, many more).

He is an experienced producer, writer, engineer, manager, and musician.

Check out video clip Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUwLD0xQWUE

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Michael “Funky Ned” Neal, along with three of his childhood friends at St. Thomas Moore School, started a band in 1976 calling themselves the Young Dynamos. As they grew on the local music scene, they later changed their name to Rare Essence. Widely known as a bassist with such clean, clear, precise and funky precision, Funky Ned created some of the most recognized bass lines in songs such as Body Moves, One on One, Get On The Wagon, Do It On Down, RE Express, Backs Up Against The Wall, Take Me Out To The GoGo, To The Beat Everybody, Roll Call, Shake It Don’t Break It, Everybody Wants To Boogie Down, Umm mm Good, RE Get Busy One Time, and many many others.

In fact, his intonation set the standard for the bass guitar that has impacted generations of musicians that watched and followed. It has been said that just hearing Funky Ned’s work is actually only half the treat, because watching him in action actually performing sets and even more appreciation to the gift that he shares.

Funky Ned has recorded/toured with and/or produced many such artists as: Rare Essence, Citizan Cope, Maxwell, Meshel Ndegeocello, Doug E Fresh, Irene Grándì, an international Italian pop staramong many many others.

In addition, he has done the recording and engineering of DJ Kool, DC Scorpio (“Stone Cold Hustler”), and Vinnie D (“$55 Motel”). Along with the engineering of other local artists, such as Phase II, and Suttle Thoughts.

Earlier this month, Funky Ned was in DC producing, engineering, and performing on Tony Wood’s “Tribute To Chuck Brown” with Milton “Go-Go Micky” Freeman, Milton “Lil’ Milton” Smith, Byron “BJ” Jackson, Fèderico Gonzales Peña, Jaques Johnson, Greg Boyer, Rory “DC” Felton and others.

Check out video clip Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iom3csCGLx0

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Although he’s played the saxophone since the fourth grade, he didn’t fall in love with it until the 10th grade when he started attending Duke Wellington School of the Arts. That is also when he joined the infamous Rare Essence (RE). He performed with RE from 1983 to 2001. During his long stretch with RE, he recorded songs with such greats as Doug E. Fresh, Heavy D and Redman. Floyd is famously known for such classics as “Work the Walls”, “Lock It” and “Overnight Scenario”. In 2001, he decided it was time for him to spread his wings and to explore his talents to newer heights. He then spent the next decade with Familiar Faces (formerly 911), performing with national recording artists greats, such as Montell Jordan, Tony Terry, Fantasia, Marsha Ambrosius, and R. Kelly.

With over two decades of experience under his belt, and major success with Familiar Faces, Floyd developed quite a reputation for himself as the premier performer in the D.C. Metro area, always bringing an explosive and entertaining performance. He grabbed the attention of the legendary, “Godfather of Go-Go”, Chuck Brown and was invited to join the stage with his band, becoming a marquee performer at venues nationally, as well as internationally. As Floyd continues to please his fans musically and artistically, his ambition is to help develop new talent and be behind the push for music worthy of Grammy nominations.

Check out video clip Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZRPFkGNUHY

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“Sweet” Cherie Mitchell-Agurs began playing the piano at age 5. Her mother and grandmother played the piano, so she would imitate what they were doing. And her father plays the bass so that’s where she gets all that FUNK from.

Over the past 18 years, she has Artists such as: Pieces of a Dream, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Chuck Brown, Sugar Bear w/ EU, George Duke, Jean Carne, George Clinton, Stephanie Mills, Prince, Raheem DeVaughn, Reesa Renee, Melanie Fiona, Avery Sunshine, Jill Scott, KeKe Wyatt, Lil Mo, Erykah Badu, Goapole, Wynton Marsalis, Maysa Leak, Big Tony(TroubleFunk), Maiesha and the Hiphuggers, Anwan Glover, Buggs(JYB), Little Benny/ Whiteboy & Jas Funk (Rare Essence), Betty Wright, Dwele, Kindred, Betty Wright, Chrisette Michele, Patti LaBelle, Omar Hakim, Gerald Veasley, Ben E King, Lloyd Price,Tavares, Gene Chandler, Ronny Jordon, Najee, Eric Benet, Kim Waters, Marc Dorsey, Angela Bofil, Phil Perry, Allyson Williams, Marcus Miller, Tony Terry, Deborah Cox, Miles Jaye, Irene Cara, Maxine Nightingale, Rose Royce, Ylanla Vanzant,Thelma Houston, Anita Ward, Chaka Khan, Lenny White, Taylor Dane, Richard Smallwood, Kid Rock, Sugar Hill Gang, Howard Hewitt, Case, Christopher Williams, Stevie Nicks, Chico DeBarge, Sir Elton John, and Michael Bolten.

As a Songwriter, she has landed three songs on Jazz Recording Artist Pieces of a Dream’s cds such as:”You and I” sung by Maysa Leak (Ahead to the Past/Blue Note Records)”Triflin” (Acquainted w/ the Night/Heads Up Int’l)”Your Love” )Acquainted w/ the Night/Heads Up Int’l)

As a Performer, she is featured on cd’s from Artists such as Chuck Brown /Pieces of a Dream / George Clinton’s Montreux Jazz Live DVD / and EU’s “Um Bop Bop which popularized her as a DC GoGo Artist.

As a Bandleader, she established her first 5-piece Contemporary Jazz Ensemble entitled “Confirmation” circa 1995, where they performed in many local jazz venues in the DC area. Around 2003, she formed an R&B/GoGo Band entitled “SweetCherie and Friends”. In 2008 she became The Musical Director for The Most Hot and Successful All Female Band ‘BelaDona”. And is currently I am The Musical Director for Deron Cloud’s Musical “Wildflowers”.

Cherie has toured on many major tours and festivals all over the world in countries such as: France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Korea, Yugoslavia, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Russia, Poland, Begium, England, The Netherlands, and The US Carribbean. And have also performed in major venues and tours such as The Tom Joyner Cruise / The Capital Jazz Cruise / The Capital Jazz Festival / The Wembley Arena / Paridisio/House of Blues/ Constitution Hall / The Verizon Center /The Hampton Jazz Festival / The Carter Baron / Blues Alley / Ft Dupont / The Blue Note Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Yokohama,Nagoya / The Tokyo Billboard /The Essence Festival/ The Montreux Jazz Festival / VH1 HipHop Honors / the list goes on and on.

Outside of performing on stage, Cherie is a Lecturer of GoGo Music for the Smithsonian Institute and “Teach the Beat”, Educating the History and Importance of GoGo in our DC Public School System. And also a Board Member for The Washington Area Music Association (WAMA).

Check out video clip Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD90OHtZTOQ

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Known as TSE, Sayers or Sticks, Thomas Sayers Ellis was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. He is is the author of two collections of poetry, The Maverick Room (Graywolf Press 2005) and Skin, Inc (2010) and the forthcoming Crank Shaped Notes. From 1979 to 1982, he played rototoms for both Heavy Connection and Petworth Band & Show. In 1986 he played with Rare Essence for two weekends while preparing for an unsuccessful audition. Later that year, he was sold a stolen camera by a GoGo trombonist and began photographing Little Benny and the Masters. He has taught at Bennington College, Columbia University, Case Western Reserve University, Sarah Lawrence College and in the Lesley University Creative Writing Program.

In 1988 he co-founded The Dark Room Collective in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an organization that celebrated and gave greater visibility to emerging and established writers of color. Ellis received his M.F.A. from Brown University in1995. He is known in the poetry community as a literary activist and innovator, whose poems “resist limitations and rigorously embrace wholeness.” His poems have appeared in numerous magazines  and anthologies such as The Nation, Poetry, Callaloo, Grand Street, Harvard Review, Tin House and The Best American Poetry (1997, 2001, and 2010. He has also received fellowships and grants from the Fine Arts Work Center, the Ohio Arts Council, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Yaddo, and the MacDowell Colony.

In 2011, his “(Un)Lock It: the Percussive People in the GoGo Pocket” became the first exhibition of GoGo Photography. Currently Ellis is a Visiting Writer in the Graduate Writing Program at the University of San Francisco, and continues to compile photographs, representative of GoGo Culture and its history of resistant behavior in our nation’s capitol. In recent years, he has performed original GoGo- related work with Burnt Sugar and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. His work can be seen on many of the flyers, websites, bootleg t-shirts and CDs used by the GoGo Community.

Check out video clip Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLZkFXiifI8

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