SlowDrag
Artists: Mendi + Keith Obadike
Category: Mobile Sound Installation
Location: Ridge Avenue
Date & Time: 4:00-5:00PM
SlowDrag is a unique public art project created by artists Mendi and Keith Obadike. It is a mobile community-powered sound installation that takes the form of a procession of cars playing synchronized, original music through high-end sound systems. The project aims to encircle Black communities with a slow love song, creating a moving, immersive sound experience.
Come out to catch SlowDrag in action on Saturday, July 26th from 4-5PM! The procession will loop three times around the route over the course of an hour. We invite you to pull up at one of our suggested viewing areas to watch and listen to this celebration of culture, music, and community.
Suggested Viewing Areas:
- Woodford Mansion (2300 N 33rd St) and the Peoples Produce Philly Smoothie Truck (33rd & York)
- Webb Plaza, 2067 Ridge Avenue
- 2800 Block of Girard Avenue
- King's Water Ice, 1641 N 33rd St
- Joseph E. Mander Playground, 2140 N 33rd St
SlowDrag will feature custom remixes by Philadelphia-based music producers of an original song by Mendi+Keith Obadike, "Joy and Everything." Our SlowDrag Remix Producers are:
DJ Lil’ Dave - @lildave215
Small Professor - @smallpro
John Morrison - @john_liberator
Aeon (David McDowell) - @aeongotbeats
Oskar Castro - @pardonmyartwithoskar
Aeon (David McDowell) - @aeongotbeats
Oskar Castro - @pardonmyartwithoskar
Cultural Workers
Mendi + Keith Obadike
Mendi + Keith Obadike are artists, composers, and writers whose work merges sound, language, and technology to explore questions about identity, place, and power while engaging themes of memory, dreams, and spiritual connection. From internet works like Blackness for Sale (2001) to public installations like GuideStar (2025) and Blues Speaker (2015), they create participatory experiences that foster civic sites for listening and reflection. Their work has been presented at The New Museum, The Met, the Whitney, and the Studio Museum. They are Cornell professors and serve on boards of Rhizome and the Vera List Center for Art & Politics.