One Monkey Don't Stop No Show

By Ty Andrews

One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (1987), Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters Records. Courtesy of UNT Libraries Special Collections.

Growing up my father had a saying for whenever the world tried to get loud or people acted out of pocket:

"Son, one monkey don't stop no show."

I’ve been thinking about the weight of that phrase. It’s more than just a witty comeback. It’s a proverb. It means the 'show' the progress, the excellence, the joy is far too big to be derailed by one person's shenanigans.

The Historical Armor

Until my adulthood, I honestly thought my father made up the philosophy and I didn’t fully understand why he stood 10 toes down on it. My father was a reverend who built a church with his own hands. He also delivered his coined phrase with a cadence, so I took whatever he said as the gospel of truth. To get it, you have to look at the history actually standing in place. I recently came across the Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters (1987) Archive for a production with this exact title, "One monkey don't stop no show." It’s a reminder that this phrase has long been a part of cultural armor.

The play itself was a satire on respectability politics. It challenged the idea that culture needs to be sanitized or that people need to code switch to be worthy of respect. It showed that the "show" is resilient whether the outside world likes the production or not.

In this country comparing Black people to monkeys and apes isn't just some old dusty insult. It’s a calculated dehumanizing trope used since early America to justify every bit of systemic violence and racism faced. It was designed to strip humanity so people in chains could be justified.

Fast forward to now and the same tired script is playing out against the Obamas. It’s not a coincidence and it's not a meme and it’s definitely not "just a joke." There are no apes in the movie or stage play of The Lion King. That is because everyone knows that in nature and in narrative the monkey is a sidekick or a distraction. He is never the King. He is never the leader. The trope is meant to demote people from rightful thrones.

Michelle Obama famously coined the phrase “When they go low, we go high.”

Unfortunately that low has gone beyond the gates of hell. The bar is so evil and low today that the current President can share images of a former President and First Lady depicted as primates and face zero consequences. The script would be flipped if the roles were reversed or even happened in the workplace.

I would challenge my entire paycheck to anyone who wants to prove me wrong on that.

The Unfiltered Truth

February 2026 is a month of much signficance for me and my Black heritage. This year marks 100 years of Black History since Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week and 50 years since Black History Month was first observed. I reached my own 50-year milestone last year and preparing for the next stepping stone.

Black History Month isn't just about looking back at the chains and challenges. It is about the unbreakable spirit of those who kept the show innovatively running while the circus tried to burn the theater down. Just as the corruption and tropes of the Trump administration couldn't stop the legacy of the Obamas they couldn't stop the cultural earthquake witnessed at Super Bowl LX.

Super Bowl LX: Bad Bunny and company making history on the world’s biggest stage. Courtesy of NFL / Getty Images.

While Bad Bunny made history as the first solo Spanish-speaking artist to take the world's biggest stage, he unified the country. The MAGA backlash was immediate and predictable. Some critics and elected officials even coined the performance as "worse than Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction"! If drama and projection were a person it would be these whistle blowers trying to add division with fake outrage of their morals being offended by a music performance.

The outcry that the "entire show was in Spanish" is the height of American hypocrisy and racsim. Latin culture just like Black culture didn't just arrive here. It helped shape the very fabric of America. The entire controversy is exhausting, people the same people crying about not being able to understand Spanish music have no problem listening to it while stuffing their faces with the food served in Latin and Mexican restaurants.

For decades this country has had no problem consuming and celebrating Latin influenced icons when it suited the mood. There was no language barrier outcry during the dancing to La Bamba or the Macarena. There was no protest when Gloria Estefan made the entire world want to "Conga." No one demanded an English translation for Livin' La Vida Loca. The world even embraced Lynda Carter, otherwise known as Wonder Woman, a global icon who is part Hispanic, with no pushback like this. But the moment a modern Latin artist uses that same stage to exercise their freedom of speech in a native tongue, the double standard is weaponized.

The hypocrisy is astounding. The government is wasting taxpayer dollars to investigate Bad Bunny while ignoring the actual corruption this country is forced to reckon with. Why is an artist's language being policed while the Epstein files gather dust? Why is there worry about Spanish on a stage while children and citizens are being harmed by the very people sworn to protect them?

Bad Bunny’s performance resulted in a record breaking 128 million viewers and over four billion social media views. Artists like Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Cardi B, Brandi Carlile, and Coco Jones stood on the right side of history proving that when the purpose is clear a singular distraction is just noise.

If there is to be a serious talk about reparations there must be a talk about repair mentally and financially. A house cannot be fixed if there is a pretense that the foundation isn’t cracked. Repair requires acknowledging the psychological damage of hate and propaganda. It requires a refusal to let the shenanigans of a corrupt circus derail the work of the people.

The Rhythm of the Pivot

While the world's biggest stages are often used to amplify noise, I found a different kind of power in the intimate spaces of Munich. Last night at Unterfahrt Jazz Club, I watched Adam Ben Ezra and Michael Olivera prove that you don’t need a massive stage to create a massive sound. The performance, the crowd, and the entire atmosphere of Munich fed my soul. As a graphic designer, I was taking it all in, from the intentionality of the poster artwork to the peaceful, creative vibe of the city.

Adam, who is originally from Israel and now based in Portugal, doesn't just play the double bass. He sings, and treats his performance like an entire orchestra. He’s slapping the strings, looping rhythms, and making that massive wooden instrument sing like a lead guitar one minute and kick like a drum set the next. Bringing that sound to life was Michael Olivera, a master drummer from Cuba, who stayed locked in the pocket with deep Afro-Cuban inspired rhythms. The conversation between the two of them was electric. It was a reminder that when the art is the priority, you don't need the static.

I spoke with Adam afterward as he signed his CD for me. He mentioned he hadn’t performed in Los Angeles since 2019. Reading between the lines regarding the current state of the U.S., I realized that being here was a necessary pivot. This wasn't just about escaping a political climate. It was about being in a space where the art is the priority.

In a world that has become increasingly digital and divided, I found myself leaning back into the physical. Having designed packaging for my own music in the past, I still value rare CD imports and artwork you just can't get from a stream. My own song "Recalibrate" and the cover art I designed for it, was born in 2016, during the first Trump presidency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4xE6ylNNrk

The cover was a creative collaboration and photoshoot captured by a friend that I then put together. It was a response to a crumbling country we know today that now feels prophetic. Seeing Adam’s signature on a physical piece of art in Munich felt like a full-circle moment for that same mission. Whether it’s a Jazz club in Munich or a historic play from 1987, the rhythm doesn't stop for the noise.

My 50th milestone birthday wasn’t just about a photoshoot. It was when I finally came to terms with accepting myself and being grateful for coming this far with the unfiltered truth of its lessons. Whether it’s a Jazz club in Munich or a historic play from 1987, life doesn't stop for the noise.

As a music producer, songwriter, and graphic designer, I’ve been trained to listen for the frequency through the static. Holding a physical CD again in Munich was a reminder that the most impactful art isn't just automated and streamed. It’s felt, designed, and preserved. That moment in the jazz club wasn't just a birthday reflection. It was a recalibration.

Now is the time to live the unfiltered truth, stripped of the static and focused on the master mix of my own vision. From a 1987 stage in Dallas to a 2026 club in Munich, the rhythm is the only thing that’s real.

And the show goes on.

A Call to Show Up

Don't let the noise distract from the power of community. This week, put your money where your heart is. Support a local Latin or Black-owned business and show up to prove that a collective movement is stronger than one monkey’s circus.

_________________

A Blueprint: Life Lessons at 50

I never published my internal 50-year milestone checklist, but looking at it now from Munich, it was the blueprint for which I am living today. This is the frequency I'm tuned into:

• Believe in what you attract. You attract what you believe, not just what you want.

• Stay in gratitude. Focus on what is working. That’s where the growth happens.

• Communicate with confidence. State your needs without apology.

• Healing is the key. Make sure your story is one of recovery, not just survival.

• Prioritize the mind. Mental health and stress management are non-negotiable.

• Keep dancing. Regardless of what others say, keep moving. Movement Is medicine.

• Get outside the 9-to-5. Balance, family, and community are the real currencies.

• Detox. Remove people, places and things that don't support your health and growth.

• Protect your peace. Stop people-pleasing. Self-worth needs no external validation.

Deep Dive: The History of the Trope

For those who want to understand the origins of the propaganda we are still dismantling today, explore these archives:

• The Ape Trope: The Museum of Jim Crow Curiosities – A comprehensive look at how these images were manufactured to justify systemic violence and dehumanization.

• Historical Roots of Racial Tropes: The Smithsonian – An analysis of how 19th-century "science" and media collaborated to create the "low bar" of modern prejudice.

• Types of Mankind (1854) Digital Archive – The literal "cracked foundation": A look at the original pseudoscientific charts used to push marginalized groups from their power.

• The Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters (1987) Archive – The historical program for One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, provided via The Portal to Texas History.