Hip-Hop meets History: Mexodus tells untold story of the Underground Railroad on stage

BERKELEY, Calif. - Mexodus is what is described as a live-loop musical about the underground railroad that led south to Mexico.  Now on the stage at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, this two-man show incorporates instruments, hip-hop, and storytelling meant to draw in the audience to a part of American history.

The Underground Railroad was a network of people and places that helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom in the 1800s through the end of the Civil War.  There were many paths to freedom, but the escape route to Mexico is not a story often told.

Creator Brian Quijeda says the idea for a musical about the southern route had been brewing and when he and Nygel D. Robinson met at a musician's conference in New York, the two just hit it off. Robinson, he says, seemed like the perfect partner, and so he presented him with the concept.

The enthusiasm was there, and then the pandemic hit three weeks later.

It turns out that timing may have actually worked in their favor.  Quijeda said he was approached by New York Stage and Film, who were looking for projects to back during the shutdown, and the collaboration began.  

"Well, why don't you write one song for every month for a year? And hopefully, fingers crossed, a year from now we'll be able to perform it live," the producer told Quijeda.

That's how it started, Quijeda recalled, and it turns out "that's exactly what happened."

Robinson worked out of his family's North Carolina home and Quijeda worked from New York. Section by section, the musical came together. During that time they also researched the history.

"It was very small, like four to ten thousand people got through it," said Robinson. "It wasn't like a giant operation, and it wasn't an operation that was documented very well."

Mexodus tries to tell that story, through hip-hop and a musical approach called live looping, which creates music in layers with rap and instruments in real-time. 

The two creators described Mexodus as a fictional story that's based on non-fiction told from the black and brown perspective.  

They released their first track just three days after the killing of George Floyd.  It's a collaboration they both say just makes sense.

"Latinos have joined up with Black folks since the birth of hip-hop," said Quijeda.

The style of musical allows a story to be told in a short amount of time with a cast of just two.  The musical runs an hour and 40 minutes, but they say in that time, the style of the musical allows them to cover a lot of ground profoundly.

"To quote Lin Manuel, ‘hip-hop is the language of revolution,’" said Robinson. "Look at what you can build with two people deciding to come together and stand in solidarity with each other."

The response has been tremendous, they say, with packed houses and rave reviews.  

In one recent performance in Baltimore, they said a previous audience member returned to watch the show again and brought 40 people with her. 

It is meant to be an experience. The two encourage audience members to dance and yell if they need to.

"The house belongs to you," said Quijeda. "It's about leaning in, paying attention."

Mexodus plays at the Berkeley Repertory Theater through Oct. 20.