Don't Miss D.C. Stars at 2025 Cannabis Festival!

Heat, humidity and occasional rain didn’t dampen the power of the 2025 National Cannabis Festival (NCF), a weekend that promoted peace, positivity and progress through policy discussions, vendors, and crowd-rocking acts at the Fields at RFK Campus July 18-19. 

With several performances from local artists, thought-provoking discussions, engaging activities, and more than 140,000 attendees, the two-day event was not only fun, but showcased the strength  of both District and cannabis culture.

“The legalization of cannabis in Washington, D.C., was a part of a progressive movement, and a lot of artists and people were a part of the movement. And so when they got the win, when it was made legal in Washington, D.C., I think that it was somehow directly connected to a lot of artists,” said D.C. native Nyame-Kye Kondo, also known by her stage name Meche Korrect.  

For Kondo, a multihyphenate artist and arts educator, taking the festival stage as Meche Korrect on July 18 was a full circle moment.

“​​I feel very privileged. I remember when the National Cannabis Festival started and I attended a while back, and it was cute,” she told The Informer a few hours before her festival debut. “I remember back then thinking, ‘Oh, man, I should be on this stage.’ And now I am. I’m excited.”

However the road to the NCF stage was not direct.

“I’ve been performing for basically my whole life, since I was very young, but I actually was on a hiatus when I got this opportunity, and I only really got it because I had planted a seed in the past and had forgotten about it,” the 35-year-old artist explained.  “So I feel blessed.”

Having facilitated a camp all summer— including the Friday of her performance— the festival, featuring artists such as: Big Boi, Three 6 Mafia, Ty Dolla Sign, Curren$y, Backyard Band and Black Alley, was a major change from her recent routine.

“I think that being a Washington native, this is a really great opportunity and so I feel good about it, and I feel like everything I’ve gone through kind of leads up to such a positive opportunity,” she explained.

A graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the vocalist and storyteller performed new tunes and previously recorded music alongside a live band, and included multimedia elements, African dancers and even a hula hooper.

“I’m just taking audiences on a little journey real quick,” she said, “and giving them something nice at the beginning of this great show.”

Directly following Kondo’s performance, fellow Duke Ellington alumna Kailasa Aqeel-– lead vocalist and co-writer for Black Folks Don’t Swim? —- lit up the stage with the band’s electrifying, funk-filled and soulful set.  

After their engaging set, she said it was an incredible honor being featured on the same lineup as legendary artists who have inspired her for years, as well as others like Kondo, who she has known most of her life.