The Spin Is In: How Brian Henry Is Curating Something New

For some, it is the way he makes them move. For others, it is how his musical sets leave them feeling. But for all, Brian Henry, better known as "B-Hen," is a musical force that has changed the way audiences hear and respond to music.

"Music is the strongest force in the world to bring people together," said Henry, an alumnus of Morehouse College.

As a Baltimore native and a self-described "military brat," Henry's approach to curating musical experiences is deeply rooted in lived experience. With lessons about resilience from a military father’s constant relocation and other lessons about connecting to his Blackness from his mother, Henry believes his love affair with music is built on diverse cultural experiences and an empathic connection to others.

For Brian, a self-described musical illustrator, music is a universal language.

"[N]o matter your ethnicity, creed, race, religion or sexual orientation, if you are at a music festival and you look at a person jamming out to the same song, you are friends for that song," Henry said. "[Music] is a universal language because it demolishes all the categories that otherwise would separate us."

With perceived economic attainment, being on the "right person’s" guest list, and social media-worthy moments overpopulating the post-COVID-19 American nightlife culture, going out for many has become a daunting task. With few safe spaces for LGBTQIA communities of color, increased cases of body shaming at nightclubs among women, and the exploding cost of attendance, Henry has become a leader in combating the intimidation that plagues America's nightlife experience.

From Good Morning America to VH1's Master of the Mix, Henry counts among Hollywood's most desired musical illustrators. His energy-filled and movement-inspired musical performances attract various audiences, including former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Cardi B, Pharrell, Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, Colman Domingo, Lena Waithe, and Queen Latifah.

While honored to share his gifts with America's biggest names, Henry's true genius is found in safe spaces curated through the B-Hen Block Party–an annual event series that draws more than 2,500 guests in Los Angeles and includes tour stops across the country in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and New York City.

Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey, host of A More Perfect Union and chief national political affairs analyst for KBLA, said Henry's artistry centers on his ability to connect with everyone he encounters “be it one-on-one or in the middle of a set at some big event.”

“Brian is meticulous about curating an experience that offers folks an opportunity to release some joy, make fresh memories and live in the moment,”Dr. Quartey said. “If you don’t understand DJ B-Hen is the art and Brian Henry is the artist, you might miss the full range of this Black musical savant in the making whose personal encounters feel more like a balm than a subwoofer.”

In 2014, when management told Henry he could only play Billboard Top 40, and not Hip-Hop, at a birthday party he hosted at a local Los Angeles venue, Henry became inspired to do something new.

Fuming from the same rejection that he is now a leader in deconstructing, Henry moved his birthday party to a parking lot behind his friend's four-unit apartment building. That innovation birthed the B-Hen Block Party.

"The genesis of the block parties [is] that [it] is the antithesis of what nightlife is today in major metropolitan areas," Henry said.

"There's no guest list whatsoever," he said. "We have implemented a ticket structure, a digital ticket structure, everyone buys a ticket, whether you are a celebrity, or if you're someone who just got off the plane, and you got $20 in your pocket, everyone buys a ticket. There is no VIP, and there is no dress code."

He continued, "We meticulously create a safe space that’s truly welcoming for everyone.”

This is an environment that McKensie Mack, founder of MMG –a research and change management firm centered on the principles of racial and social justice–thinks is critical for our current culture where violence against Black bodies remains at an all-time high.

"In queer communities, parties have long been more than just parties. They are quite literally safe havens, wellness spaces, advisory communities–places for being able to experience acceptance and celebration as LGBTQIA+ people," said Mack, whose project #LightsCameraHarm is examining hair and repair in the Film/T.V. industry.

"As a Black queer kid growing up on the Southside of Chicago, witnessing queer D.J.s hold space in the booth pushed me beyond what I thought was possible for LGBTQIA+ folks in my community and I am forever grateful," Mack added.

Henry shared similar sentiments.

"I come to the table with so much energy and intentionality about creating spaces where everyone is welcome,” he said. “Playing music from across the Diaspora, to build community, within a safe space, where everyone is equal — is the essence of The B-Hen Block Party.”

Henry's pathway to music illustration was and is uncommon. The disc jockey turned musical illustrator spent years in marketing, attending some of the nation's most coveted business school prep and corporate leadership development programs, including INROADS and a summer venture program at Harvard Business School.

Starting with the goal of getting an advanced business degree, Henry could not shake his true passion, music.

"How I feel about music is undeniable," he said. "I was not getting that sitting in a classroom. I was not getting that sitting in a corporate cubicle. I was not getting the opportunity to admit that feeling."

To pursue his passion, Henry, a former corporate marketer, left his job and attended courses at the Scratch DJ Academy – founded in 2002 by Jam Master Jay of Run DMC.

Since Scratch DJ Academy, Henry has inspired the future of music curation and remained inspired by those that have come before him. In particular, he states that his ability to spin with such conviction and power comes from watching role models such as Jam Master Jay, Frankie Knuckles, D-Nice, Jazzy Jeff, and famous D.C. House disc jockey, DJ Sedrick.

Intending to invoke nostalgic feelings among members of his intersectional audience, Henry taps into his self-described empathic ability to feel into his audience and be the conductor and conduit for those who come to the party with him.

"I'm of the mindset that if I expect the audience to dance, I will be dancing as well. I'm the vessel. And there's a certain energetic vibration emitting from me that permeates into the audience," Henry said.

With two brothers in the LGBTQIA community and a mother who lost her life to breast cancer at the age of 35, Henry has used his ability to curate music to advance a focused, solution-driven agenda that empowers cancer research and illuminates the faces and voices in the Black queer community.

Henry’s Beats to Beat Breast Cancer organization raises funds to provide scholarship resources to Black and brown scientists and medical students working on the frontlines to eradicate the disease. In March 2020, Henry received a Truth Award for his social influence and extraordinary impact on the Black LGBTQIA community.

In his acceptance speech, Henry said, "It is not enough to be blessed to D.J. for some amazing people across the world, but what I can do with my platform to make a difference in the lives of those with whom I have the opportunity to be in touch with."