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Veteran artist, poet, and cultural voice Jimmy Williams will serve as master of ceremonies and featured performer at an upcoming multicultural stage event celebrating African and Afro-Caribbean heritage, history, and artistic expression.
By Earl Heath | Contributing Writer
Veteran artist, poet, and cultural voice Jimmy Williams will serve as master of ceremonies and featured performer at an upcoming multicultural stage event celebrating African and Afro-Caribbean heritage, history, and artistic expression.
Known to many as Ras Jimi Jaiman, Williams will guide the program as MC host while delivering spoken word selections from his book The Golden Times Shines as well as excerpts from his late mother’s work, From Birth to Longevity. The performance promises to blend personal reflection, ancestral memory, and social consciousness — hallmarks of Williams’ artistic voice.
In addition to spoken word, Williams will take the stage with a live band to perform several tracks from his latest CD, Still Against the Grain, showcasing his continued evolution as a musician and cultural commentator. His set will feature live collaborations with Five Wheel Drive and Difficultez Technical, adding a dynamic, genre-blending sound to the evening.
“I’m excited and honored,” Williams said. “This is about culture, history, and vibration — all coming together on one stage.”
Sharing the Stage With Living Legends
The event also brings together an impressive lineup of respected cultural figures, including Punta Rock living legend Chico Ramos and renowned African studies historian Ashara Kwesi.
Williams expressed particular enthusiasm about sharing space with artists and scholars whose work has shaped cultural awareness across generations.
“To be on the same stage with pioneers like Chico Ramos and a historian like Ashara Kwesi — that’s powerful,” he said. “This is bigger than entertainment. It’s education, legacy, and unity.”
A Celebration of Culture and Continuity
With spoken word, live music, historical insight, and Afro-diasporic rhythms woven together, the program is designed to uplift, inform, and connect the community through shared cultural experience.
For Williams, the moment is both personal and collective — honoring family, artistic resistance, and the ongoing struggle to preserve and celebrate African-centered narratives.
“This is about standing firm in who we are,” he said. “Still against the grain — and still moving forward.”