{"id":11570647,"date":"2025-07-23T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11570647"},"modified":"2025-07-23T09:03:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T13:03:45","slug":"hakeem-henderson-opera-singer-baltimore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/23\/hakeem-henderson-opera-singer-baltimore\/","title":{"rendered":"A Belair-Edison man wrote a song for Spike Lee. Now, he sings opera."},"content":{"rendered":"

Hakeem Henderson<\/a> was barely old enough to walk when he began carrying around a blue toy microphone. It was clear even then what his future career would be.<\/p>\n

In September, the 26-year-old Baltimorean will be a Cafritz Young Artist<\/a> with Washington National Opera, one of the most competitive programs for emerging opera singers in the U.S.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t always easy being a Black teenage male in the Belair-Edison neighborhood singing music written hundreds of years ago by European men wearing wigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely got pushback,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cI was a social outcast in many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, he persevered, graduating from Baltimore School for the Arts<\/a> and Morgan State University<\/a>, and later earning a master\u2019s degree from England\u2019s Royal Northern College of Music.<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh, and did we mention that Henderson is also a composer? A song that he co-wrote when he was in his teens was featured in a Netflix<\/a> television series created by the filmmaker Spike Lee.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe story that my parents tell is that when my mother was pregnant with me, my father put speakers playing jazz music to my mother\u2019s belly,\u201d Henderson said, \u201cand I came out singing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baltimoreans will have a chance to appreciate Henderson\u2019s talents July 31, when he participates in a free outdoor concert at Mount Vernon Place sponsored by Maryland Opera.<\/p>\n

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.<\/em><\/p>\n

Congratulations on your selection as a Cafritz Young Artist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you. This is an initiative to help up-and-coming opera singers prepare for international careers. For two years, I will cover [understudy] principal roles in Washington Opera productions and possibly sing small roles. It will put me in an entirely different professional marketplace than I am in now, where I hopefully will be able to earn a living wage.<\/p>\n

How did you decide on a career in opera?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I originally wanted to have a career as a pop singer. I didn\u2019t really fall in love with opera until I was 17 and was studying music theory and history. I was listening to Claude Debussy\u2019s Arabesque No. 1, and something kind of clicked. The harmonies brought me so much joy. Classical music remains is still in some ways inaccessible to my generation. I\u2019m going into this career because I want to make opera exciting.<\/p>\n

You also still perform popular music.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Singing pop and musical theater is freeing for me. Classical music can be very linear and one-dimensional.\u00a0 There is a certain way it should be approached. But pop and musical theater [are] still evolving. Just look at \u201cHamilton.\u201d You can make that music your own.<\/p>\n

What is it like to be a Black teenager who sings opera?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were people who presented themselves as wanting to help me but said things that were demeaning and disrespectful. Once I was working on a bel canto piece, [music historically performed at royal courts] and a gentleman told me, \u201cIt must be hard for you to understand the aristocracy.\u201d Someone else told me, \u201cYou ought to consider using Henry instead of Hakeem as your professional name.\u201d It was like running into a brick wall.<\/p>\n