A King on the corner, Transforming community through music

Sitting alongside Mustafa King Nelson, aka Big 40, while he plays hours of music from his 3,000-plus playlist through his speaker is something to behold. 

Nelson plants himself on the corner of 18 ½ Ave. and Central Ave. NE daily around 3 p.m., observing the scene and choosing that day’s repertoire. 

Inspirations tend to include what he sees as the cars pass, who walks by and the overall vibe the community radiates that day. He plays most genres of music. On this day, Nelson has his ’70s and ’80s funk playlist picked out because he’s spotted the tone. 

“If people are walking by and they’re smiling, or walking with a significant other, I’ll play some upbeat music like funk,” Nelson said. “If they look like they’re in a bad mood, I know it sounds strange, but I’ll play hip-hop, 2000, and club mixes. [If] people [are] moseying along, and chilling, I play jazz. If they’re angry I play rock, because, I don’t know, [there’s] something about rock and roll.”

Nelson has always had an affinity for music and as a former DJ, sharing music is something he loves. After working years in law enforcement and emergency management, he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, leaving him unable to work. 

Music played an important role in his personal healing journey. “It grounds me,” Nelson said. “I love my music, singing along with it. It’s just wonderful. It’s a beautiful thing.” The familiarity of healing his own wounds through music later birthed the inspiration behind his drive to help his community. 

When the world started to go dark in ’19 as COVID spread, Nelson wanted to encourage positivity through music. “Everybody looked so defeated,” he reflected. “I said, ‘I’ve got to do something,’ so I started playing music.”

That’s when Nelson became a daily fixture, bringing his speaker and chairs in a shopping cart, his phone packed with his robust playlist. Motivated to bridge community through music, rain or shine and as long as it wasn’t freezing, Nelson has been out daily, 3-7 p.m. And so far, it’s lasted five years. 

By now, just about anyone who walks or drives by frequently has seen or interacted with Nelson. Over time, he’s grown a neighborhood following. Whether it’s a wave, a conversation, or a shout-out driving by, it’s apparent the community knows and loves their daily run-in with Nelson. 

As songs like L.T.D.’s “(Everytime I Turn Around) Back in Love Again,” Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September,” Shalamar’s “The Second Time Around,” and a song or two from Con Funk Shun’s Lakeside album filled Central Avenue, Nelson’s neighborhood fans began to appear. 

“It makes it feel like more of a neighborhood,” neighbor Christian Haberstroh said about Nelson’s presence. “It brings us together. I know we’re not the only ones who enjoy the music so that brings us together and brings us out walking around and saying hi to each other. It makes it feel like a community.” Haberstroh’s 13-year-old daughter Ada sees Nelson almost daily. “It’s always fun walking back from school and hearing the music,” she said. 

Nelson has always had a way of attracting a crowd through music. His cousin, DJ Marco, aka The Arctic Dread, who DJ’d and worked stage production and lights at First Avenue during the 1990s until 2010, can attest to Nelson’s natural ability to draw a crowd.

“He would get the whole crowd going,” DJ Marco said as he and his dog Bingo joined the corner. “He was the party starter, him and his crew. They’d get a circle. They had their towels, and they’d start their dance moves. They’d go work at the crowd all around, and next thing you know, the dance floor is back.” 

What becomes apparent when you spend time with Nelson is how music also allows people in the neighborhood to share moments in time associated with the songs he plays. Memories are shared through conversations at Nelson’s post, fostering meaningful storytelling and nostalgic moments for some. 

“My mom took me to this concert,” DJ Marco reflected as “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire played. “She used to sing with the Sounds of Blackness. She had backstage passes to meet Earth, Wind and Fire, so she took me to this concert at the Met Stadium and we went. We saw the members of the band backstage. I got to meet Maurice White and Philip Bailey.”

Nelson’s playlists have helped other community members discover new music to add to their own personal playlists. Topher, one of Nelson’s neighbors, has walked by for years on his way to Northeast Athletic field. He always makes it a point to remove his headphones, taking note of the music using the Shazam music application. Many of the songs from Nelson’s playlist end up in his own music library.

Topher believes that it’s not just the music that impacts the neighborhood, it’s Nelson’s positive demeanor. He said, “It’s him cheering people up who are walking by having a bad day, or bummed about something, and they’ll stop, see him, and after 10 or 20 seconds, they’ll start smiling because he’s smiling. It’s contagious.”

Sebastian and Max, two neighborhood dogs, eagerly competed for Nelson’s affections as they walked by with their owner, Julie Campbell. “Literally, I drive by every day,” Campbell said. “I just throw my hand up out of the sunroof.” Some of her favorites include “classic 2000s, top 40 R&B, pop hits.”

“[Big] 40 floats the vibe of the neighborhood up all the time,” Topher said. “[It’s] uplifting.”

“Music is very spiritual, and it raises vibrations,” Nelson said. “It just does. I’ve been doing music all my life.”