Creating With Legacy In Mind
My view from the 2024 Music From The Masses Concert in Memphis, TN
I had the privilege of being invited to attend the 2nd Annual Music From The Masses Concert in Memphis, TN.
A life-long music lover with a musician for a father, hailing from gospel capital Memphis, little persuasion is required for me to listen to music, discover new artists or attend live shows. So off to Memphis I travelled to experience this intriguing music event for the first time.
Music From The Masses (MFTM) is an event property created by Jason Clark, which takes place in Memphis. Jason is the son of the Tennessee Mass Choir Founder, Fannie Clark. As she was building the Tennessee Mass Choir, Ms. Clark expressed to Jason her dream of one day having the Tennessee, Mississippi and Chicago Mass Choirs on one stage for all the world to see and witness their glory. Although Ms. Clark transcended the earth plane before this became a reality, her vision was one that Jason could cling to and work towards. Jason is now the Executive Director of the Tennessee Mass Choir and Founder & CEO of Music For The Masses. With her vision laid a long time ago, and born now, generations are blessed and can be sustained on music which nourishes our souls. And I think Ms. Fannie’s precious soul must be doing double cartwheels from up above with how her son is carrying forth her torch.
MFTM was hosted by Memphis-based charismatic Pastor & Musician Darrel Petties, who opened the show with fun & relevant crowd engagement segments that invited volunteers to guess church sayings, sing and/or preach about fun things like “fried chicken.” The evening was well thought through from beginning to end.
While witnessing the legendary Mississippi Mass Choir sing such remarkable standards they originated such as “Having You There” and “Near The Cross,” I had happy flashbacks to my childhood rearing. I was reminded that you can ask anything in God’s name and it will be done. Living my life like its golden out here in these New York City and New Orleans streets, I realized that night that I’d gotten disconnected from my rooting. I needed this grounding and reminding more than I knew. These MFMT concert, and these songs were about faith, endurance and believing in our perpetual state of being blessed (which I am). My rearing in Memphis included attendance 2–3x weekly church attendance at Hill Chapel Missionary Baptist Church with my mother. So, the mighty Mississippi Mass Choir’s defining tracks were a part of my coming-of-age soundtrack both at church and in the car too. As Black people, especially in the South, we’ve never had a whole lot of material possessions, but we were rich in faith in God. Our faith and our gospel music were cherished gems we clung to, and they bonded us as a people.
The Tennessee Mass Choir opened the concert, followed by Chicago Mass Choir, concluded by the mighty Mississippi Mass Choir. Each act performed in their own special way for over an hour. One highlight from Chicago Mass Choir was their incredible bass guitar player. His blues-laden style educated us all on the fact that blues was born directly from gospel, which later gave birth to R&B (which later bore hip hop).
Each choir contributed to an incredible evening of uplifting, soul-stirring and transformative musical performances. As I watched each choir fill the stands before us, I acknowledged that each person had and has their own story, their own journey. Each singer and musician had to journey to get to the New Salem Baptist Church (where “Masses” took place), led for 53 years by the reputed Dr. Frank E. Ray.
Given that there were few visible big-name sponsors, my take is that all participants were there because they were committed to upholding legacy vs a big payout.
As I toil over my business and profession daily, sometimes I get weary. What is it truly all for? But, in hearing that the 36-year Mississippi Mass Choir started by late gospel singer Frank D. Williams, currently has 214 choir members varying in age, each of whom must pass a music skill test and a spiritual test of sorts, it crystalized for me that these souls are contributing to something much bigger than themselves, a concert or even the recordings that they produce (MS Mass Choir has 12 albums). They are contributing to heritage, something that is distinctly rooted in African American experience.
I think many of us entrepreneurs & professionals get tired and weary on our journeys. Many of us feel like we are on a daily treadmill and rat race. I was inspired at Music From The Masses to change my thinking. What if I could change my view of my daily travail instead as a a moment-by-moment journey of me growing into the woman I am meant to be, and towards doing something that I know will positively impact others? Will I have more joy and peace if I my life feels less happenstance and scattered, and more intentional and meaningful?
I invite each of us to find a way to live in the present, grounded in the fact that our lives are all laddering up to something great for future generations to come. Looking forward to seeing Music from the Masses continue to evolve and keep us rooted in history, heritage and legacy. And check them out at https://www.musicfromthemasses.org/.
Thank you to Kerri Moffit and Jason Clark for your magnanimous invitation and star treatment for me and my guest. Cannot wait for the 3rd Annual, and to see where the event is in 10, 20 and 30 years.
Olivia F. Scott is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Loyola University, Adjunct Marketing Professor at NYU, Founder of Omerge Alliances Marketing Consultancy and Freedom at The Mat. Learn more at oliviafscott.com.
