A Love Letter to HBCU Culture: How Brian Jordan Jr. Brings the Experience to Life Through Music

Strolling, stepping, chants, community, homecomings... the sense of being amongst people who understand you, who’ve lived your experiences, and who get you without you ever having to explain why you tie your hair up at night or why moisturizing is next to Godliness. That’s the feeling you get from an HBCU. Where else can you find that family-away-from-family energy — that I got you feeling, that I’m rooting for everyone Black affection?

With homecoming week in full effect in Atlanta, it was the perfect time to immerse yourself in the cultural experience of taking pride in where you come from and who you’ve become.

Without stepping foot on a college campus, I was transported into a moment that captured what college life feels like when Black excellence is top of the class. Brian Jordan Jr., actor, singer, dancer, and the man many know as Maurice Webb from the hit TV show Sistas on BET hosted a listening party for his project RILEY: The Mixtape, a concept album for RILEY: The Musical.

Although Brian didn’t attend an HBCU himself, he was so inspired by the culture that he felt it was his duty to bring it to life in musical form to inspire others and to spark a sense of nostalgia in those who’ve lived this once-in-a-lifetime dream.

Now, if you’re like me and never attended an HBCU, you’re probably wondering — how could I relate to an experience I never lived before? I asked Brian where this album would transport us and how we’d feel after listening. He said, “It’s not just about people who went to, graduated from, or matriculated at HBCUs — it’s for the people who are products of HBCUs. That’s all of us. Our families, our grandmothers, and our ancestors tilled the soil and planted cotton on the fields of these HBCUs. So what you feel is just a bounce… it’s something for everybody.”

The album, which will be followed by a Broadway play, drops October 17 on all streaming platforms, and it’s definitely giving us all the vibes of New Orleans bounce, jazz, and theater. With incredible featured artists like Big Freedia, Victor Jackson, Dri Jack, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, and many more, this project is pure magic. Two singles, “Strut” and “Defense,” will have you in your living room doing an eight-count click-clack-bam or serving your best Tyra Banks runway walk. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this celebration of Black girl magic and Black boy joy. Click the link to listen in!