Photo Courtesy of Belle City Magazine
Nick Ramsey
Racine has become an artistic hub with galleries, shows and art fairs. One of the most well-known founders and figures in this scene is poet and rapper Nick Ramsey. Along with his group, Family Power Music, Ramsey has hosted open mic events, arranged artistic and musical celebrations and supported budding artists. One of his biggest accomplishments is organizing the Family Reunion Music Festival, which recently celebrated its 11th year. This festival honors Ramsey’s late friend, Daniel Robert Conner, with music, poetry, food and donations to charitable causes. Ramsey has also served as the Racine’s poet laureate and volunteers at the Racine Literacy Council. He recently took time out of his busy schedule to discuss how he combines art with activism and what Racine means to him.
What inspired you to become a poet and performance artist?
I was influenced by my older cousin when I was 13 or 15. I’d hang out with him and his friends. They had those fancy cars with big sound systems, and we would go down by the lake in Kenosha [listening] to freestyle rap. I would listen and get inspired by them and would secretly practice doing that at home. A little later, I worked with my cousin’s best friend, and we would practice freestyling.
How did working in the artistic scene lead to community volunteering?
It’s due to how hip-hop is looked at in a negative light. I found it very hard to locate a place where I could share my creative talents with others. I would look for open mic opportunities; I would go all over the place. What I found was that there’s a whole underground community of artists sharing that same space of wanting to be with other artists and showcasing their talents. That inspired me to run an open mic at Carthage College in order to provide a space. Actually, [fellow poet and Carthage student] Nick Demske and I went to Carthage at the same time, and I met him because he ran an open mic.
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When he graduated, he asked if I wanted to take it over, and I said yes. From there, we built a community in the Kenosha-Racine area, and I was also going to Milwaukee for work, attending open mics at different places. That’s also how Family Power Music came to be, because there was an open mic at the Mosaic Piano Bar in Milwaukee called The Rising Tides. That’s where I met my Family Power Music business partners—Joshua Gill-Sutton and Anthony Mackovec. All that really led to the realization that tons of artists are around and that we need to provide a safe and welcoming space for them. That’s how we got into the community stuff; not only is there a community of artists, but there’s also a community of people supporting those artists.
How does art play a role in your advocacy?
I know that when I first started going to different venues, I realized that many people were not paying their artists; they were just asking them to do it for exposure. For me, an artist can’t survive on exposure alone, so one of our missions is to pay our performers. Whenever a venue comes up, I ask if they have an operating budget, because I want to pay the artists. That’s where the advocacy comes in; you advocate for artists.
What do you think makes Racine’s community unique?
It’s smaller than our adjacent neighboring communities. I also love that everybody here is really proud of their community, and when they start getting involved, they start realizing how much they can make an impact. When you’re in a bigger city, it’s harder to make such a ripple. I think Racine has this stoicism and the smallness but also all the natural resources that any of the bigger areas have. The artists, for instance, seek each other out and realize there is a community here for art. That’s how you get to know the visual artists, the performing artists, the literary artists. And, next thing you know, we’re all hanging together. It’s a very tight knit community.
What else would you like Racine to know about you?
My goal moving forward is to advocate for more artists, get more artists paid and build our company up to the point where it’s sustainable to support basic living. Like a person working a nine-to-five job, I want the same type of acknowledgement and credit given to artists in our community. They should be making a living just like the people working those nine-to-five jobs.
