Whoever said “music is a great uniter” was NOT a Black girl on stage singing a Journey song to an N.W.A crowd.

Music is a unique and enormously powerful art form. "What do you like to listen to?" is one of the first questions asked on first dates. The passion with which people identify to certain genres of music can also feel ostracizing to those that don't. Add in cultural expectations and stereotypes, and well, my story kinda wrote itself.

Growing up I spent my Sundays in a Black Baptist Church surrounded by smart, dignified, resilient Black people. My father and brothers all have Master's degrees in African American Studies. My mom has her Master's in art. Her oil paintings would often highlight Black humanity. My adolescence was filled with celebrations of Black History and Black Culture. I love being Black. But, I have long hidden an uncomfortable secret... I love classic rock. The white boys, wearing spandex and mullet hair, kind.

It may seem silly, but my genuine love for these bands were way more than a guilty pleasure. It's deeper than not fitting in. It’s one thing to be called a nerd and an entirely different sense of shame to be told you’ve disqualified yourself from your people.

I've spent my whole life doing my best to make my community proud. So much so, that it boxed me in. Knowing the long history of cultural appropriation in rock mixed with a deep fear of being called a sellout or a "white girl" kept me from outwardly loving some of my most favorite bands. Specifically Journey.

So yes. This film is personal to me. I'm especially happy to tell a story centering Black characters, that many of us know but rarely get to see grace our movie screens. I have grown so tired of watching Black bodies being mentally & physically abused. Seeing us beat down and lashed open. I personally crave nuanced stories with messy characters in whimsical or awkward settings. So instead of continuing to sit back, wishing for more films to balance out the eroticism of Black suffering, I felt it was time to share my own story. And I couldn't be more excited about the BIPOC team of female filmmakers I've assembled to help tell JOURNEY. We all have voices to amplify. We all have stories to tell. Thanks for following along on our journey.

xx Erika Hamilton (Loubek)