June 2025 FOTM- Larry Ware II

Larry Ware II aka Priest Da Nomad, is one of the pioneers of independent Hip Hop in Washington D.C., and the re-emergence of the historic U street arts scene in the 1990s. He is a vocal artist, audio engineer, and a more recently, a documentarian filmmaker. Priest the artist, first started publicly performing at college parties in 1992 in DC nightclubs, when DJs recognizing his skills started putting him on the mic in DJ booths during events! Through a then mutual manager LaMont “Monte” Wanzer, Priest got under the wing of Hip Hop icon Biz Markie, kicking off what would be a life long relationship until Biz’s death in 2021, and also appears on the “All Up in the Biz” documentary about Biz’s life. Priest added ‘director’ to his list of skillsets by writing and directing almost all of his music videos, and has now connected the vastness of the Washington D.C. arts history in his new documentary ‘I Was the Weirdo’, which uses his 30+ year story in D.C. music to shed light on the little known U street hip hop and arts subculture in the nation's capital, and how it was affected by politics, crime, black prominence, and D.C.'s own brand of live music known as Go-Go.