*Reflecting on the images in the music video for his latest single, “Fresh Out,” featuring Haillie, Griot B (Brandon Brown) said, “The beauty of family get-togethers. It’s to celebrate the holiday…Juneteenth. Some people have to work on Juneteenth…still there’s the need for them to celebrate.”
Released in conjunction with Juneteenth, the “Fresh Out” music video celebrates family gatherings, neighborhood cookouts and backyard barbecues. Its themes of community, togetherness, and celebration also resonate on Independence Day, as families across the country gather to mark the Fourth of July and America’s 250th anniversary.
I told Brandon that I just recently learned what Juneteenth was all about because my daughter is into the history of African Americans pre-Civil War, and she took the week off to celebrate. So, its recognition is to highlight the “actual” end of slavery in America (when a high-ranking military official openly declared all slaves are free in Texas), two years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. I can see Juneteenth as a deep and hard pill to swallow for some.
“That’s what I do. I’m the greatest educator…I’m the Griot,” he emphasized happily.
Scroll to continue reading
“That’s how my students learn (music),” Griot B said when recalling how he went from history teacher to rapper. “It started with a student’s challenge for me to make a song and I did. It was enjoyable to me. To reach them in a way that they understood…and I kept at it and got better.”
After eight albums, one Black History Month album, one Latin History Month album, four major concerts, 2,000 school performances nationwide, and eight California tours Brandon’s style of teaching is known in schools across the country. You know the name but may not have connected it to Brandon Brown aka Griot B. It’s called the “School Yard Rap.” It’s as popular in our culture today as old main stream’s “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” back in the day or the “Reading Rainbow” that just ended 20 years-ago. Only the music in School Yard Rao is Hip-Hop, and the kids are of all ages. Brown’s School Yard Rap program is in 228 schools in 24 states and used by 50 colleges across the country. It combines Hip-Hop music and education by using live performances.
“It’s been a massive success,” he agreed, when I mentioned how well-known School Yard Rap is in academia. “I’m taking a step forward…with the EP ‘Good Trouble’. It’s important…that people talk about how African-American’s got the right to vote. I’m not political, they made it political. It’s so kids and adults can learn.”
Griot, aside from being an educator (Inglewood, California) and a BMI rapper, he is an entrepreneur and as I stated, the founder of the School Yard Rap movement. He released the “Fresh Out” single featuring Haillie in celebration of Juneteenth and Black Music Month, but the timing cannot be ignored that it is also around the time of the celebration of America and its 250 years. A reminder that our right to vote, women included, was granted to us not that long ago.
Griot B performed last month at the NPR 2026 Tiny Desk “On the Road Tour” when it stopped in San Fransico and he hosted the Juneteenth/Community Care event in Culver City at the Robert Froster Auditorium. The event provided free health screening and family support services. He helped give away 1,000 bags of groceries and diapers.
For these ventures Brandon Brown formed strategic partnerships, such as those with the enterprises as Warner Media and Essence. His educational entertainment company has generated over $5 million in revenue through live programs, educational programs, and curriculum designing.
So, listen out for rap artist Griot B (Brandon Brown) and his new single “Fresh Out” and his EP “Good Trouble,” which explores voters’ rights, and know that he was a legend before he was a rapper. www.SchoolYardRap.com www.GriotB.com
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Dr. Eunice Moseley has an estimated weekly readership of over one million for her column The Pulse of Entertainment. She is the publisher of the digital magazine www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com, which has an estimated 160,000 visitors a month. An entrepreneur, Dr. Moseley’s company, Freelance Associates, is a business management/public relations strategic planning and consulting firm that is celebrating 32 years in 2025. Dr. Eunice also serves as professor for the School of Business at Stanton University in Anaheim, California and serves as promotions director (at-large), journalist and business consultant for The Baltimore Times. Dr. Moseley founded the Uplifting Minds II Foundation (www.UpliftingMinds.com) in 2023, a 501 C3 with a mission to empower the underserved through three major programs – One Stop Business Shop, the ULMII Professional Conference and the ULMII Academy (business management and public relations).EVENTS: “Uplifting Minds II” Entertainment Conference (ULMII), was launched by Dr. Eunice in 1999, to educate aspiring artists/musicians about the business of entertainment – www.UpliftingMinds2.com. Next ULMII Entertainment Conferences for Baltimore on Saturday April 18, 2026, presented by Security Square Mall and The Baltimore Times, and for Los Angeles on Saturday, November 7, 2026, presented by The Pulse of Entertainment and the ULMII Foundation. The ULMII conferences are free with virtual access via Zoom. ULMII entertainment conference offers a Professional Panel Q&A Session, a Professional Talent Showcase and International Talent Competition where the top three scored acts receive the ULMII Best Act Award and over $20,000 valued in prizes/product/services and cash!
(If You Like/Appreciate This EURweb Story, Please SHARE it!)
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Stephen A. Smith Claps Back at Jaylen Brown’s Fiery Livestream
We Publish Breaking News 24/7. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
