Brown Rice Family and Afro-Caribbean Dance and Drumming Workshop

Brown Rice Family is the band jamming towards global solidarity and organic happiness. It is a high-energy ensemble that combines an eclectic mix of musical influences encompassing reggae, hip-hop, dance-hall, Brazilian, Afro-beat, jazz styling, and Latin.

With its members hailing from all over the world (Japan, Jamaica, Haiti, US, South Africa), Brown Rice Family draws on its diverse backgrounds to set the stage for their unique, colorful, rhythm-driven, and highly danceable sound.

Brown Rice Family
Okai - vocal, percussion
Sticky Rice - vocal, dance
Soils - keyboards
Yuichi - percussion

Yasmar Cruz is a Puerto Rican artist, educator, and nonprofit leader with over a decade of experience, based in New York City. She holds a B.A. in performing arts and public relations from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master’s in dance education from the City University of New York. In NYC, she has worked with youth educational programs and nonprofit organizations developing, implementing, evaluating, and delivering culturally relevant curriculums for over 2,000 students. As a guest artist for dance companies, she performed in opening acts for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Macy’s Day Parade, Lincoln Center galas, and as part of the opening performances for The Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade with Danza Fiesta. She is a recipient of the Cycle IX Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellowship(ICA) from the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in New York City. In 2021, she received the Communitas America Community Impact Award for her holistic wellness initiative incorporating dance and yoga with BIPOC women during the pandemic. In May, she was appointed as Director of Education and Programs at Casita Maria Center for the Arts & Education.

Okai Fleurimont is a vocalist, percussionist, and producer who embodies all the music of the African diaspora. Born in Brooklyn of Haitian descent, young Okai was beating on anything that he could get his hands on to help his imagination grow. His ears became infected with the hard boom bap drum loops of hip-hop and roots music from the Caribbean. Those sounds led him on a musical path to find rock, jazz, samba, salsa, rumba, and pretty much anything that involves percussion. Okai began his path of percussion on the trap set playing for various churches, then playing congas for his high school band for several years before being introduced to the West African djembe, which he concentrated on for more than 10 years.

Check the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership webpage for other events at the festival!