DJ Omar Helped Plan And Will Headline House Music In The Park

NEWARK, NJ—A group of local DJs, including the well-known Mike Franklin, and the United Community Corporation (UCC), a community action agency that assists low-income, disadvantaged and at risk individuals, are teaming up during the next two weekends for two House Music in the Park distribution events.

According to a release, the events will take place on consecutive Saturdays at West Side Park, 600 S. 17th Street. This Saturday's gathering runs from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., while the July 31 event goes from noon. to 8 p.m. The latter event will be dedicated to DJ Salik Scott, who passed away from pneumonia in 2020.

The events will feature house music, gospel music and praise dancing. Franklin, whose stage name is DJ Omar, will headline. He has worked with UCC for the last seven years and was instrumental in putting the festival together.

Other local DJs expected to perform are: Dave Barber, Rasul, Mike Strick, Robby Martinez, George, Derrick and Master Woo, all of whom are donating their time for the event.

Representatives from UCC will be on hand to distribute food packages, hand sanitizer and socks, and will be grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, which are free of charge.

The events also will feature various service tables with UCC and partner agencies providing information that can help those in need. The events are being run in partnership with Amerigroup, St. Paul's Church, Beauty for Ashes, North Star Academy, and DJs in Unity.

"This is very unique and different from what we usually do for the community," said Christian Marsette, West Side Park's office manager. "This is going to be about having fun. This is a get-together with a cookout feeling. We can't wait to have fun with our community."

One of the highlights is expected to be the set by Franklin, who has taken the stage with acts like Funkmaster Flex and Naughty By Nature and worked television host Wendy Williams' Super Bowl party.

"I'm so excited. We've been trying to do this for years," Franklin said. "I wanted to be the first person that ever did house music and gospel music together in the park. I'm hoping to start a trend to have a yearly event with gospel and house music. I'd love to continue this for the community."

According to Scott, he and his mentor DJ Salik Scott originally had the idea to bring house music and gospel music together for an event at West Side Park. Scott began signing up other DJs for the project. But just as the plans were getting off the ground, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Then, during the shutdown, Scott passed away.

Now, Franklin is holding the event in honor of his friend.

"Everyone knows DJ Salik,"Franklin said. "He was always a very good guy. He was doing this for over 50 years. I got to know him over time. I learned a lot from him. I really wanted to do this for his legacy."

Franklin also went out of his way to thank two other groups for their contribution to the events: St. Paul's Church and DJs in Unity. Franklin said St. Paul's provided the stage, while DJ's in Unity provided speakers to amplify the music.

"We couldn't have done it without both of these organizations," Franklin said.