Standing beneath the hanging mic in raw city air, LORD JAH-MONTE OGBON delivers a presence that needs no decoration. Born in Akron and sharpened by time spent in Columbus, Charlotte, and the weight of Southern culture, he channels the kind of lineage that shapes voices rather than imitates them. His approach is rooted not just in rhythm but in ancestry—Five-Percent teachings, Pan-African foundations, southern Baptist echoes, and the wisdom embedded in the word Ogbon itself. Raised among poets and surrounded by the music of Black spirit and church elevation, his delivery isn’t casual performance—it’s testimony. The influence of Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez, Gwendolyn Brooks, and a whole spectrum of Black literary architects bleeds into every cadence, shaping a style that refuses commercial dilution. LORD JAH-MONTE OGBON doesn’t chase trends; he extends tradition.
In this STREET BARZ Performance, the artist steps into an Luenell track pulled from the vault, a piece once marked for his upcoming Lex Records album but held close until this moment. The narrative travels through his time in Atlanta—its heat, its shifts, its lessons, its cost—delivered with a mind sharpened by African studies and a legacy built on refusing mental and financial stagnation. More than a song, it’s lived history filtered through voice, lineage, and conviction.