September 19th, 2022
Newark’s Mayor Ras Baraka & legendary producer Jerry Wonda launch a music initiative, “The Other Side of Newark” at the Legendary Grammy Museum
Newark, NJ: Newark is a city most known for its proximity to New York City and for its airport. In recent years Newark has usually been written about because of its challenges with violence and drugs like many other urban centers across the world.
What makes Newark unique isn’t that it’s a quick commute or a cheaper alternative to Hoboken, but “The Other Side of Newark”, the artistic and community-based side of Newark that has made unheralded contributions to the worlds of music, art, and culture for decades.
Two of Newark’s legendary leaders and creative collaborators famed music producer and Wonda World CEO, Jerry Wonda and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka have launched a citywide campaign to showcase the unheralded and underappreciated face of Newark with the launch of “The Other Side of Newark” campaign earlier this month at MTV’s Video Music Awards. The campaign includes a full album release, docuseries, and live events including the official listening party for “The Other Side of Newark” which was held on September 14th 2022 at Newark’s historic Grammy Museum.
Most pop culture enthusiasts and music lovers don’t realize the legendary artists and leaders that hail from Newark, including Whitney Houston, Queen Latifah, Shaquille O’neal, Paul Simon, Joe Rogan, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Lords of The Underground group member and Newark City Councilman Dupree Kelly and of course Wyclef Jean and The Fugees.
Jerry Wonda who has produced records that have accumulated more than 200,000,000 in recorded music sales and equivalents since his introduction to the industry with the legendary Fugees, has been a long-time Newark resident and producer of Newark-based musicians and talent.
As Jerry Wonda stated, “In Newark there are 5 boroughs and most of them have generational conflicts with each other. With “The Other Side of Newark” we were able to unify the 5 boroughs and create relationships across the communities. At the end of the day we want everyone to realize “Newark is Newark”, One City.
“The Other Side of Newark” project includes creative collaborations from Councilman Dupre Kelly, and Newark based artists including Haze, Kellz, DangerousMBK, Fateema, and Mo’Nique the star.
Watch a Preview of “The Other Side of Newark” Project Here
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