Bailey Jean-Pierre ’26 rapping during Black People Got Talent.
Adanna Obi ’29 playing the cello with a blindfold on.
As Susie’s lights dimmed this past Friday, the cheers of the audience crescendoed into a roar out of anticipation. From the soaring, virtuosic notes of the cello to electrifying choreography, Black People Got Talent transformed Susie’s into a celebration of authenticity, achievement, and creativity. Hosted by PABSU (Phillips Academy Black Student Union), each act brought out a new sound, a new story, together forming a powerful showcase of community, pride, and unapologetic talent.
For Bailey Jean-Pierre ’26, Black People Got Talent offered a rare opportunity to share a side of himself most peers had never seen. Rapping, which began as a seventh-grade hobby, has evolved into a vital outlet for decompressing and exploring his identity through lyrics he had been writing for years without limitation.
“[Black People Got Talent was] a way to express myself [in a way] that not a lot of people get to see on a day-to-day basis… A lot of people know that I rap, but some were really surprised because they hadn’t heard about it before. Some people just see me as a quiet guy in class or someone who plays lacrosse or basketball. Now they see that I’m versatile and that I do a lot of different things in my spare time,” said Jean-Pierre.
Adanna Obi ’29 brought a classical style of music to the stage. Performing the Elgar Cello Concerto blindfolded, she hoped to address what she saw as a lack of classical music representation among students of color.
“It’s really important that people know students of color are able to play classical music. It’s not as commonly seen. There’s not as much representation in the music department as I want there to be. So it[’s] important [to me] that, especially in classical music, I show a little bit of what I can do. [I hope] that it can spark an idea for other people to want to go and play cello, or try a different instrument, like violin or viola, to inspire them to see they can enjoy something as much as I do,” said Obi.
The performances, from original rap to blindfolded classical cello, illustrated a broader point about the range of Black artistry. Kwadjo Adjepong ’27, who performed in three separate performances throughout the evening, saw diversity as central to the show’s purpose.
“Not only is [Black People Got Talent] an outlet to show the talents that I have, but it’s also a display of how proud I am to be Black. It’s about pride in my race and being able to show that to the whole campus. I wanted people to walk away with an appreciation for Black music and Black culture. I wanted it to be a reminder that Black talent has influenced American culture in so many ways that people may not always realize,” said Adjepong.
Other performers brought their own interpretations of Black culture to the stage. Shelby Aime ’28 along with her teammates and coach Ms. Douyon performed a Cheetah Girls dance routine, drawing from the iconic 2000s group.
“We were inspired by [the Cheetah Girls’] fierce personas, and each person we picked kind of represented our own personalities. That dance was definitely made for us because we’re all pretty fierce and outgoing people, and we have a lot of personality. The Cheetah Girls are [exactly] that kind of group. [They were] the it girls of the 2000s, [and] doing that performance represented us,” said Aime.
Murewa Biyi-Olaoye ’27, one of Aime’s teammates in the Cheetah Girls performance, emphasized the importance of seeing Black talent centered on stage. It was something she had rarely experienced growing up.
“Growing up, most of the performances I saw on TV or in the things I was reading were mostly white people, not even people of color. I knew people of color were talented, but I wasn’t really seeing that in the shows I was watching, the books I was reading, or the people I was around. With Andover being such a diverse community and having the opportunity to host events like this, it’s amazing to see people like me coming together and doing all these amazing things,” said Biyi-Olaoye.
That sense of community resonated especially with newer students. Eden Dunleavy ’29 sang alongside her twin brother Cass Dunleavy ’29, and she found in Black People Got Talent a type of affinity space she never had access to before.
“Before coming to Andover, there weren’t a lot of Black affinity groups and places of color at my old school. So being one of the performers in a large group of Black people was impactful and cool. It was a space of belonging and you felt like you could just be there and you could be yourself and nobody was going to judge you for it. The environment there was just infectious, and everybody was cheering each other on,” said Dunleavy.
