July 3rd, 2009 marked the 3 year anniversary of the passing of an Indianapolis arts, music and culture hero DJ Mpozi Tolbert. To mark the anniversary, amongst the multiple celebrations, solar powered lighting was installed on the north wall of Spin Nightclub in Broad Ripple to highlight the mural painted by local Indy artists in 2008.
The Mpozi mural at Spin in Broad Ripple gets solar lighting. Photo by @Muirwoody
Here is a video, produced by IndyStar, documenting the making of the mural dedicated to Mpozi Tolbert. Much more after the jump…
More on Mpozi Tolbert from around the web:
- Mpozi Tolbert OkayPlayer Slideshow – A moving slideshow of photograhps by Mpozi.
- We Miss Mpozi Celebration – “Come celebrate the giant dred”, an event on facebook.
- Photographer Tolbert Left a Lasting Impression – NPR radio snippet.
- Mpozi Mshale Tolbert 1972-2006 – Brian Jones pays homage on his blog.
- Mpozi Remembered – Philadelphia City Paper article
- Recent Mpozi mentions on Twitter
- Click here to download the entire classic Mpozi Dub mix from Crush Entertainment
- DJ Indiana Jones’ “Give Thanks 2007 Mpozi Tribute” mixtape
- Past IMOCA exhibition “Photographs, the work of Mpozi Mshale Tolbert (1972-2006)“
This quote from an article in NUVO (2008) sums up the kind of guy he was nicely:
He wasn’t a black man; he wasn’t a DJ; he wasn’t a photographer; he was an everybody kind of guy,” said DJ LeahAnne. “He could talk to a farmer in Putnam County or a guy in a business suit. The city will miss him because that persona was a good presence. He was one of those people you’ll never, ever forget.”
July 7th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I love that someone found a sustainable/green way to honor his memory.
July 7th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
My first article in my college newspaper was about going to Reggae Night at the Casba and slapping the ceiling while yelling “more fire” at the selecta. Besides “Ever Blazin” by Sean Paul, it was Mpozi on the ones and twos. Dude had great taste in music.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Mpozi would show up at our weekly DJ nights right after work and would play his butt off. You would think that he just got out of bed with the energy he had. But that was ‘pozi, he always had this warm smile and energy that he shared with everyone, through his conversations, music or his photos, he was one of a kind. I am thankful for the time I got to spend with him, he made me a better person.
December 5th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Mpozi was a great human being…with his gentle smile and funny sense of humor. I had the pleasure of knowing the tall dred locked man. He will definitely missed and forever loved!
December 29th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
There’s a new link for the classic Mpozi Dub mix from Crush Entertainment http://www.crushentertainment.com/news/index.php?option=com_rokdownloads&view=file&Itemid=96&id=123:mpozidub
Trackbacks