Pusha T And Fam-Lay Aim To Push Virginia Culture Forward With Inaugural Cousinz Festival In Norfolk
The inaugural Cousinz Festival takes place this Saturday (Aug. 31) in Norfolk, VA, and is a testament to the hard work of Fam-Lay, Pusha T, their partner Antonio Dowe and the entire RNB Block Party staff. And while a festival is larger than a block party, the intention is still the same: a family affair focused on simply having fun.
“When I come in town, my phone is always buzzing, but people are calling me, they’re telling me to get on Facebook,” the Clipse member exclusively told VIBE. “I don’t even have a real Facebook! They’re like, ‘The whole town [is] talking about it on Facebook. Everybody.’ I done got the ticket [requests] all weekend! I’m like, ‘Man, what’s going on?’ But the energy is definitely out here right now.”
The RNB Block Party has been a staple event in their hometown, with 14 successful installments and even having a presence at the annual Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas. It has such a successful track record that attendees directly told Push that it saved the weekend after the festival was canceled this past year. However, when it comes to throwing down in their hometown, there is no stopping their crew. As for taking the next step and evolving from a block party to a festival, it was just a matter of time.
“Well, we always felt like one, we [were] just so excited to be able to do something in our hometown, something positive and for the city,” Fam-Lay said. “We always been party goers, so to be able to create something, to be so successful [and] get the support from the city almost immediately, man. One, I like number 14, so we [were] just always thinking of ways to just scale it or just ‘What’s next, what can we do next to turn the city up?’ And Cousinz just came about as an idea and then we just went for it.”
The lineup is a music lovers’ paradise, with major names like Erykah Badu, Jermaine Dupri, Larry June, DJ Envy, and several local Virginia talents all stated to either perform or hit the turntables. In case people thought they might get a surprise set from Pusha T, he was quick to decline that and ascertain his goal to help the event be a success. “[Performing] is not in the plans as we speak, man,” he said. “I’m there to enjoy just like everybody else, but also to make sure that this vision that we’ve curated is executed to its fullest potential. I think more than anything, we’re really seeing the demand for R&B and R&B adjacent energy. The people love it. It has presented itself as a genre that everyone just agrees on.”
Fam-Lay agreed, adding that the RNB Block Party has appealed to all ages. “We were seeing multi-generational [attendees],” he said. “You see the daughter with the mom, the mom, the grandma. But it’s just like, this music speaks to us all. It is like magic, man. It was magical to see that man and to be able to keep creating that and turn it into a festival.”
Both gentlemen admitted that they were motivated to start the RNB Block Party, and now Cousinz Festival, due to the shift in party culture in Virginia and beyond. “Like Fam said, we’re avid partygoers,” Pusha said. “We’ve lived here our whole lives, so we like to say we’ve been a part of every era of the energy, the music, the culture of Virginia. As kids growing up, fans, we were always adventurous, always explorers, always people who were moving around through the town. So we’ve seen our favorite Hip-Hop acts here, we’ve [partied] with those guys. We’ve created our own moments and our own parties. We were the party at one time.
“We’ve watched the energy of the party, from the champagne and the bottle poppers, so on and so forth, we watched […] that energy run its course. I think that’s what made the RNB Block Party so special. It came at such a great time when people wanted something different. […] The ‘mega club’ idea, and the whole velvet rope idea was kind of dying out […] you were seeing things scaled down and then the RNB Block Party came about and the whole theme of R&B itself just spoke to a good time.”
In addition to acquiescing to the changing party culture in Norfolk, they also recognized that the city needed unity. “In the moment when we first created the block party, there was a little tension in the city,” Fam-Lay said. “The music was the remedy to that […] we felt it automatically without [it] being said. It brings the energy when you hear those type of records. Like [Pusha T] said, I felt like the change, the shift was happening right before our eyes. That was just proof.”
As focused as the duo is on making sure this upcoming Saturday is a success, they have already got their eyes on the future too. “September 1st, man, it is locked in on all our calendars for [2025],” Fam-Lay said. “No days off, man. We’re down and right back in. This is such a special event, man, and just an opportunity and an occasion for us, man, that we going to go heavy.”
The true pleasure in this conversation was observing the camaraderie between Fam and Pusha T. They finished each other’s sentences and expressed similar ideas, albeit in different ways. Thus, it came as no surprise when the It’s Almost Dry rapper shared what he hopes his legacy will be concerning the RNB Block Party and Cousinz Festival.
“I want to kill the stigma of not doing business with your friends and family,” he stated. “I don’t like that. I feel like when you look back on our legacy and just our collective, man, we’ve really stuck together over 20 years. Times be good, times be bad, we go through things, but we always find a way to pull each other through, pull each other up. It’s great to be able to work amongst friends and amongst brothers and let people see that this collective still is here.”
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