2020 started off so well. January and February were great months for 27-year-old rapper, dancer, and performance poet Del Marie. After years of performing at small live events, things were finally coming together for her. She had branched out from performance poetry to writing and singing her own songs and had recently completed a video of one of her songs, “Black Wall Street.” The video, which featured both Del Marie rapping and documentary footage shot at Chicago Black-owned businesses, dropped February 28.
Suddenly Del Marie, who made most of her income as a visiting artist in schools, had no income.
She turned to her family for food and shelter. She spent the spring and summer couch surfing, moving from one family member’s place to another. Del Marie qualified for food stamps and got groceries from food depositories.
“I went down to the room where the music was coming from. And there was this lady who was standing there. She was tall and beautiful. She was a Black lady, and she had like this yellow-orange [outfit] and like bright yellow energy all around her.
Looking for a creative outlet during the shutdown, Del Marie participated in free Zoom-based West African dance workshops held by Muntu Dance Theatre. Interestingly, the Muntu workshops were led by the same dance teacher who had introduced Del Marie to West African dance when she was eight—Mama Ika. Del Marie had over the years lost touch with Mama Ika. Mama Ika was a catalyst for Del Marie’s dance, but not a long-term mentor.
“But ever since I was little, I just felt like I was gonna speak to the world one day, and I was going to give them beautiful art, beautiful stories, and songs and creations. I still feel like I’m supposed to give these things to the world.”
