Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brandon Hampton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Since I was a child, I’ve always been passionate about dance, music, and learning about different cultures. Whether it was through my 3rd grade school project in Tanzania in East Africa or studying Spanish in Costa Rica, I loved engaging with the diverse communities around the world. I took my passion for dance more seriously when I joined a Salsa dance team in college. From that moment, I fell in love with the sounds of the clave, the striking hits of the cowbell, and the shakes of the maracas. I felt so connected to these instruments, melodies, and rhythms in a weirdly nostalgic way; I would literally get chills throughout my body as if all my endorphins were operating on the highest setting. As an African-American, I didn’t grow up listening to International or Latin rhythms, so I became extremely interested in discovering why I felt such a profound connection to this music. I remember doing research on Latin genres like Salsa, Bachata, Reggaetón, etc. which supplemented my historical learning on Latin America through my collegiate Spanish courses. I realized that I was more connected to this music and dance than I thought. This connection was prevalent through my Blackness and my African ancestry. Almost every single rhythm is connected to Africa in some form, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The origin of Ritmos Negros can be traced back to a conversation I had with my father in mid-pandemic 2020 while in quarantine as I was explaining to him the connection between Africa and Latin America. In the United States, most people think of Mexico when they think of Latin Americans, but the community is extremely diverse with Black Latines having a significant influence on the culture. Since I couldn’t go out social dancing due to the world being on lockdown, I decided why not talk about dance and dive into those authentic origins of dance and music that are deeply connected to Africa.
Ritmos Negros is a monthly, bilingual podcast (English & Spanish episodes) that unveils and celebrates the African roots of dance and music globally with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to the podcast, there is a LIVE version in which people have the opportunity to engage in dance workshops that explore Afro-based and Afro-Latin movement.
I was initially hesitant to jump into this project because Blackness has only recently become a topic of discussion in the dance community and the Hispanic/Latine community. It’s crazy to think about, but there are people and organizations that actively aim to erase the Afro-Latin identity and Blackness in general in the Latin American region. I felt a powerful calling to support my fellow Afro-descendants from different cultural backgrounds. The excitement eventually overpowered the fear as I grew and engaged with different guests across the U.S., Caribbean, and South America. I’ve had people reach out to me saying they have been able to reconnect with themselves, their roots, and/or families, friends, etc through my work. The goal of this work is to reconnect, to educate, and most of all to celebrate the resilience and beauty of the global Black community.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Brandon Hampton; I am an African-American born in Chicago with Southern roots in the Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas regions. In May 2020, I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis alumnus with concentrations in International Studies (Latin America, Asia, and Africa), Spanish, and Marketing. I most recently completed my MBA at the same institute in May 2022 with concentrations in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. I am currently a full-time entrepreneur working on various fashion, media, and entertainment projects. I host a monthly, bilingual podcast with episodes in English and Spanish called Ritmos Negros (Black Rhythms) about the African origins and Black contributions to the music and dance of Latin America and the Caribbean. Ritmos Negros LIVE is a supplement for the podcast that gives viewers the opportunity to engage with Afro-based movement through inclusive, fun dance workshops and events. I co-host dance events under the brand Queer Afro-Latin (QAL) Dance to promote safety, inclusion, and the Black/Afro influence in Latin music and dance. As a lover of music, dance, language, and culture, I seek opportunities to learn from and engage with diverse communities and perspectives. You can follow my work and connect here: https://linktr.ee/RitmosNegros
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
I started my podcast Ritmos Negros in September of 2020 during the global quarantine lockdown. I noticed that so many people and creatives, including myself, were feeling isolated and depressed due to the social distancing. I brainstormed different ways to engage people and help ease those feelings of loneliness. I also wanted to reach more people and create a hype effect with my platform since I was just starting out. In December for my 3rd podcast episode, I interviewed a professional salsa dancer from New York City in which we also discussed the African origins of Salsa and its development in the Big Apple. My guest was such a talented dancer that I asked if she would be interested in hosting a social media dance challenge. A few artists had been doing it already, so I thought it would be a great idea to highlight the guest and my platform to a wider audience. It was a risk because participation can vary when it comes to open virtual dance challenges. It’s also more difficult for someone to learn a dance combo online versus in-person, so I was concerned that we would do all this work to create a choreo and no one would participate. We decided to provide an incentive in which the winner would receive a free virtual private dance lesson from the professional and receive a shoutout on my podcast for anything they’d like to announce or promote from their professional or personal lives. This marketing effort was extremely successful because we ended up getting a total of 5o submissions both nationally and internationally ranging from Chile to Italy. We even had entire dance teams perform the routine, and some people danced outside in the snow or even near the beach. It was absolutely beautiful to witness everyone coming together to participate in this despite our different locations; it made the social distancing not so lonely.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
2 things that have helped me build my reputation within my market is originality and diverse collaborations. I bring my full self to my show, no filter. I am a Queer, Black man who also happens to have a lighthearted personality. I love to share stories and jokes on my show, especially in the intros. I’ve always been a fan of RuPaul’s drag race; sometimes, I see myself as “performing in drag” when I host a podcast episode because I feel comfortable being my full self. The unfortunate truth is that the history behind African-based dance and music is tied with colonial history and themes of oppression. My content is very heavy and educational, so there is a need to bring that balance. I am naturally an optimist, so I try to focus on bringing that positive vibe to the show and create interesting storylines. Oftentimes, I’ll use a vacation storyline as if each episode we’re traveling to a different country or region (from the comfort of your home and my voice haha). This makes sense for my show because I collaborate with a wide variety of guests from all over. I’ve interviewed people from Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, U.S., Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, and more! These diverse perspectives have allowed my content to reach different audiences and take on a dynamic atmosphere. You get the inside scoop on all these beautifully rich cultures from people who are in it living those experiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/RitmosNegros
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ritmos.negros/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ritmosnegros.podcast
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/NegrosRitmos
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ritmos.negros
Image Credits
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