Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Before Challenging Power in Evanston & Springfield…Young Meleika Was Dancing on Soul Train & The Apollo 🎤
Every now and then I see young people online asking:
“What were y’all doing in the ‘90s?”
Well…
Some of us were dancing with LaFace Records.
Traveling city to city.
Performing at places we once only dreamed about.
This video holds memories I still carry deeply.
There’s a clip of me performing with Damian Dame on Soul Train…where the legendary Don Cornelius flirted with me a little and had me blushing.
Another moment at the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York.
Even though we weren’t amateurs competing that night, we were STILL nervous as La Face artists. Anybody who knows the Apollo crowd knows they don’t hand out love easy.
Right before going on stage, I rubbed that famous Apollo wood for luck.
And when we finished…
we got a standing ovation.
I also got the chance to meet the beautiful KiKi Shephard, who recently passed away. Memories I’ll always treasure.
What makes watching this footage bittersweet now is that both artists of Damian Dame tragically passed away not long after their debut.
Life was moving fast back then.
Dreams were big.
And none of us knew how quickly things could change.
I speak more about my experience with LaFace Records in my book Unsafe Black Voice and a very hard lesson I learned from Debra Hurd (Deah Dame) that I still carry with me today.
But tonight…
I just wanted to share a piece of younger me.
To my nieces and nephews…yep, this is your auntie back in the day. 😂
Believe it or not, I wasn’t always talking politics. LOL!
Memories. ❤️
Thank you to content creator @NettFrisk for their great research! You made my day! I thiught these files werd gone forever!
#SoulTrain #ApolloTheater #90sThrowback #BlackMusicHistory #LaFaceRecords #ThrowbackVibes #BlackCulture #90sMusic #Storytime #WomenWithStories #BeforeThePolitics #unsafeblackvoice #MusicMemories #BlackWomenMatter #ViralReels #meleikagardner
Before Challenging Power in Evanston & Springfield…Young Meleika Was Dancing on Soul Train & The Apollo 🎤
Every now and then I see young people online asking:
“What were y’all doing in the ‘90s?”
Well…
Some of us were dancing with LaFace Records.
Traveling city to city.
Performing at places we once only dreamed about.
This video holds memories I still carry deeply.
There’s a clip of me performing with Damian Dame on Soul Train…where the legendary Don Cornelius flirted with me a little and had me blushing.
Another moment at the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York.
Even though we weren’t amateurs competing that night, we were STILL nervous as La Face artists. Anybody who knows the Apollo crowd knows they don’t hand out love easy.
Right before going on stage, I rubbed that famous Apollo wood for luck.
And when we finished…
we got a standing ovation.
I also got the chance to meet the beautiful KiKi Shephard, who recently passed away. Memories I’ll always treasure.
What makes watching this footage bittersweet now is that both artists of Damian Dame tragically passed away not long after their debut.
Life was moving fast back then.
Dreams were big.
And none of us knew how quickly things could change.
I speak more about my experience with LaFace Records in my book Unsafe Black Voice and a very hard lesson I learned from Debra Hurd (Deah Dame) that I still carry with me today.
But tonight…
I just wanted to share a piece of younger me.
To my nieces and nephews…yep, this is your auntie back in the day. 😂
Believe it or not, I wasn’t always talking politics. LOL!
Memories. ❤️
Thank you to content creator @NettFrisk for their great research! You made my day! I thiught these files werd gone forever!
#SoulTrain #ApolloTheater #90sThrowback #BlackMusicHistory #LaFaceRecords #ThrowbackVibes #BlackCulture #90sMusic #Storytime #WomenWithStories #BeforeThePolitics #unsafeblackvoice #MusicMemories #BlackWomenMatter #ViralReels #meleikagardner
