The Stage That Travels: Kwanza Jones on Culture In Motion™

Stages change lives. But sometimes the stage has to move first.

For generations, the Apollo Theater has been one of the most iconic stages in music, culture, and performance history, a place where artists found their voice, audiences found new legends, and culture moved forward.

But culture was never meant to live in only one place.

That belief sits at the heart of Culture In Motion™, the national cultural roadshow founded and executive-produced by our very own Kwanza Jones.

Recently, Kwanza joined Radio Free, KJLH for a conversation about the movement, reflecting on the power of the stage, the responsibility of culture, and why the next chapter of The Apollo’s legacy isn’t just in Harlem but in communities across the country.

Kwanza Jones joins Adai Lamar at KJLH to discuss Culture In Motion

A Full-Circle Moment

For Kwanza, this interview carried a deeper meaning. Years earlier, the station had been the first to play her song “Everything Around You” on the radio. That early support helped launch the track into national rotation and onto platforms like BET, MTV, and VH1. The moment carried even deeper resonance, knowing that KJLH, owned by music legend Stevie Wonder, has long been a cultural voice for Los Angeles and a champion of artists and community.

Moments like that stay with you. Not just because they mark a milestone, but because they reveal something bigger: community belief often arrives before the world catches on.

Returning to the station years later, this time as the architect of Culture In Motion, felt like a continuation of that same story. The power of community. The power of culture. The power of being seen early. Those forces shape what comes next.

The Stage Is Bigger Than the Theater

Kwanza knows the power of the Apollo stage firsthand. Years ago, she stepped onto that stage herself. And like so many performers before her, the moment carried more than applause or competition. It carried courage because the Apollo has never just been about performance. It’s about finding and using your voice.

During the interview, Kwanza reflected on that idea in a way that resonated far beyond music. The stage isn’t always a theater. It could be moments, and every one of them asks the same question: Will you use your voice?

When Culture Travels, Identity Expands

As founder and executive producer of Culture In Motion, our fearless leader designed the platform around a simple but powerful shift in perspective. For decades, artists traveled to Harlem to experience the Apollo. Now, the spirit of the Apollo travels to them.

Powered by SUPERCHARGED® by Kwanza Jones and created in partnership with The Apollo, the roadshow moves across the country, carrying the legacy of artists whose voices shaped generations. From Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, to James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., and countless others who stepped onto that stage. But this isn’t just about preserving history. It’s about activating the next one.

It creates spaces where communities can gather, celebrate, perform, and connect across generations. Where culture isn’t just remembered, but lived. Where the next voice can step forward. Because culture belongs to the people who carry it forward.

Culture Is an Energy Exchange

During the interview, Kwanza described Culture In Motion as an “energy exchange.” Which means when people gather around music, storytelling, and shared history, something powerful happens. They reconnect to identity, possibility, and each other.

Families come together. Artists step forward. Communities celebrate the stories that shaped them while creating new ones in real time. Culture isn’t passive. It’s participatory. And when people participate in culture, they begin to see themselves differently.

The Architect’s Perspective

Culture In Motion didn’t appear overnight. It reflects something Kwanza has long believed: culture is one of the most powerful forces shaping how people see themselves and what they believe is possible. If culture can move hearts, it can move systems.

That’s why the platform isn’t just about events or performances. It’s about building stages that outlast the moment, spaces where creativity, courage, and community reinforce one another and where the next generation can see what’s possible when culture is nurtured, shared, and expanded.

In that sense, the roadshow is more than a tour. It’s a signal. A reminder that the stories we elevate today shape the possibilities people pursue tomorrow.

What Remains

Moments fade. Stages change. But culture endures when people choose to carry it forward. That’s the deeper purpose behind Culture In Motion. Not just to celebrate legacy. But to extend it. Not just to honor the past. But to make room for what comes next.

The most powerful stages are the ones that move with the people who believe in them.

Watch the KJLH interview clip to hear Kwanza share her vision behind Culture In Motion.