“Whatever you do, do it from a position of empowerment.”
– Jonathan ‘Wordsayer’ Moore
April 21, 1969- March 8, 2017
The Legacy
Most knew Jonathan ‘Wordsayer’ Moore from Sunday Night Sound Sessions on KUBE 93, but he was so much more. He was an; artist, producer, hypeman, manager, mentor, ambassador, father, brother to the community, and in general a phenomenal man.
Moore was a founder of one of the first rap groups in Seattle called Source of Labor. In the early 90’s, Moore’s persistence with the club RCKCNDY helped break hip-hop out of the Central District. In 1995 J. Moore started booking national hip-hop acts in Seattle, bringing The Roots out to RCKCNDY.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2w5wvzskRs&w=560&h=315]
From there he went on to manage artists, co-founding the Jasiri Media Group and most recently founding Council Management, LLC. Artists he worked with included; Vitamin D, Bean One, Grayskul, DJ Maseo (of De La Soul), Beyond Reality, and Byrdie. Most of whom would go on to bring Seattle hip-hop into a whole new era.
A decade later, in May of 2005, J. Moore along with DJ Hyphen started a weekly radio show called Sunday Night Sound Sessions. This would become a staple in the Seattle hip-hop community. They played underground, independent, and alternative music, focusing on hip-hop, while still including any artist in any genre that they thought should be supported.
The Impact
Personally, I only met J. Moore once in passing back in June of 2015. The words I said to him couldn’t even sum up the amount of appreciation I had for him and what he had done. Almost exactly one year later, I attended a sold-out benefit show at the Crocodile in his honor. It was overwhelming to see the support for him and his family, and now less than a year later, we are remembering the legacy he created in Seattle.
On March 8th social media was flooded with love and respect for “The Mayor” of Seattle. The community can continue to support the Moore family by donating to the GoFundMe made by Upendo, the eldest of his two sons.
Rest in power J. Moore, Seattle loves you.
UPDATE
April 7th at Neumo’s in Seattle there will be a benefit concert for J. Moore’s family. Macklemore, The Physics, Nacho Picasso, and more are set to pay tribute to their friend. All proceeds go to the family, get tickets before they sell out!
