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Press Release
For Immediate Release
Award-Winning Documentary “I Was the Weirdo” Comes to the Hip-Hop Film Festival in NYC on August 23, 2025
New York, NY - August 11, 2025: After an award-winning run on the festival circuit, including a sold-out screening and Audience Award win at the LightReel Film Festival in Washington, D.C., and an appearance at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, the powerful new documentary I Was the Weirdo is heading to Harlem for the 2025 Hip-Hop Film Festival.
“This film is part memoir, part love letter to a time and place where hip-hop was bubbling just below the surface,” said Priest Da Nomad, Director, ‘I Was the Weirdo’. “It’s about showing that D.C. had its own historical space and influence in the culture of hip hop, its own legends, and a movement that deserves to be honored and remembered.”
“Being behind the camera for this project gave me a front-row seat to a story that’s rarely told,” said Craig Kilgore, Cinematographer. “I’m proud to help shine a light on this part of D.C. history, and on Priest’s role in it.”
A respected figure in D.C.’s underground hip-hop scene, Priest Da Nomad makes his directorial debut with I Was the Weirdo. The film is a raw and poetic exploration of history, identity, and the power of creative self-expression.
The cinematography and visual storytelling of I Was the Weirdo was led by Craig Kilgore, founder of the Maryland-based production company Next Level Visions. Shot in an interview-driven style, the film pairs candid storytelling with rare archival footage and unseen photos to capture a vibrant musical era that helped to revitalize U Street to what it is today.
About “I Was the Weirdo”
“I Was the Weirdo” follows pioneering rapper Priest Da Nomad to uncover the untold story of Washington D.C.’s underground hip-hop and arts scene. Rooted in the historic U Street corridor—celebrated as “Black Broadway”—this subculture flourished amid the city’s politics, crime, Black prominence, and its own brand of music known as Go-Go. The film is a powerful tribute to the courage, determination, and sacrifice it took to advance a culture and art form the nation’s capital wasn’t yet ready to embrace.
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Media Contact
Larry Ware
