DORiS 8.2 | Heavenly Jean & Family | Roderick Russ Jr | 2.4.21
Updated: Feb 8, 2021
The Dancing King
In this weeks episode we pay tribute to the late Roderick Russ Jr. A man of many hats and many names he was known as RaRa, Rated R, The Vet and The Dancing King, but to our guests this week he was known as little brother and son. Heavenly Jean (Mother), Shaquanna Manokey (Sister) & Joe Manokey (Brother) joined the DORiS panel to discuss his legacy and increase awareness of the ongoing case surrounding his murder in late October of 2020.
”I want people to know all that he did for the community outside of music.”
— Shaquanna Manokey
Roderick accomplished much in his twenty-seven years. He was a dancer, recording artist & community leader. He hails from a creative family. His mother and siblings are all dancers and Shaquanna & Joe are both recording artists. Ms Jean raised them to stick together and music has always been a common thread for them.They now have it as a way to remember him. They held a Remembrance Rally and candlelight vigil for him on Saturday February 6th, 2021. This is the latest in what has been a constant effort to keep his spirit alive in face of inexplicable neglect on behalf of the handling of his case. Still grieving from this tragic event that happened so recently they are standing up and speaking out. They are a true inspiration and I hope that their story will be able to help other families who are going through similar situations. “We were all in the group, but there was just something about Ra. He just stood out.” — Joe Manokey
“He’s my angle, my king, my son.”
—Heavenly Jean
Too often cases like Roderick’s get swept under the rug and it’s up to us as a community to do everything we can to let them know we haven’t forgotten and we want #Justice4Ra So #SayHisName whenever you get the chance, sing and dance to his music and make an effort to learn more about him. Hopefully this interview can help with that.
Peace & love always,
DORiS
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