Seattle honors Sir Mix-a-Lot for pandemic efforts

Before Sir Mix-a-Lot kicked off the Cloudbreak music festival at Seattle's El Corazón Thursday night, Mayor Bruce Harrell took the stage to officially declare Nov. 3 as "Sir Mix-a-Lot Day" and honor one of the city's most iconic hip-hop artists.

“A Central District kid through and through, Sir Mix-A-Lot fused descriptive storytelling, tongue-in-cheek humor, and old-school beats to create music that put our region on the map for hip-hop,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement following the concert.

“He has been an influential part of our city’s music scene for decades with a mission to give back to our community, even supporting music venues during Covid-19 closures so the next generation of Seattle’s creatives had spaces to perform. He has embraced a One Seattle approach of uplifting and inspiring the best in each other and is deserving of this recognition.”

The mayor declared Nov. 3 "Sir Mix-a-Lot Day" in Seattle and King County (a representative from King County Executive Dow Constantine's Office was present).

Sir Mix-a-Lot, aka Anthony L. Ray, found commercial success with 1992's "Baby Got Back." More locally, he made a mark with songs like "Posse' On Broadway."

Seeing the threat that the Covid-19 pandemic posed to live music venues, Sir Mix-a-Lot led an effort to support venues while audiences were at home. Band Together Washington was one such project in March 2021 that raised $1 million in support of local music venues. It brought together artists such as Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and Macklemore.

A partnership between Visit Seattle and King County, Cloudbreak is yet another music festival aimed at supporting the local music scene. Taking place from Nov. 3-23, it features more than 150 artists, 68 concerts, across 28 venues. Sir Mix-a-Lot's performance at El Corazón opened the festival.

“Music venues and artists big and small were affected by the pandemic, and to see the effects of the loss of business was devastating,” Sir Mix-a-Lot said in a statement. “Cloudbreak is about the return of live music to Seattle, where artists like The Presidents of the United States of America, Jimi Hendrix — and me — got our start. Music venues bring visitors to Seattle — and it’s time to celebrate them.”