When you think of HBCU culture, it’s bigger than football games and Divine Nine step shows, it’s rhythm, legacy, and community that lives in every note of a marching band’s brass section and every chant across the yard.
Now, actor, singer, and dancer Brian Jordan Jr. is setting out to capture that spirit on the Broadway stage.
The Sistas star is developing RILEY, an unapologetically Black stage musical that puts the HBCU experience front and center. It’s a world filled with band culture, Greek life, student politics, first love, and all the messy, hilarious, and deeply human moments of coming of age at an HBCU.
For Jordan Jr., this isn’t just a project; it’s a love letter to a community that shaped him.
A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jordan Jr. is no stranger to performance. Trained at Southeastern Louisiana University, LSU, NYU Tisch, and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, he cut his teeth in theater before landing on television screens in Tyler Perry’s Sistas.
His credits stretch from Broadway workshops and national tours to film roles in Bolden, Get On Up, and A Question of Faith. Most recently, he directed and choreographed The Wiz for Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre Company.
With RILEY, he returns to his theatrical roots, marrying music, movement, and storytelling to spotlight the pride, chaos, and brilliance of Black college life.
Before the musical even hits the stage, fans are getting a taste of its world through RILEY: The Mixtape, a 15-track project dropping October 17. The first single, DEFENSE, is already out now, a mix of hip-hop, brass, and New Orleans bounce that feels like standing on the sidelines of a Saturday homecoming game.
Jordan Jr. not only wrote and performed the track but also self-financed, choreographed, and directed the music video. The mixtape features a powerhouse lineup including Big Freedia, Amber Iman, Natalie Weiss, Loren Lott, Olivia Lux, Jessica Betts, and more.
“RILEY is about joy, swagger, and truth. It’s a celebration of who we are and what we build when we come together in spaces made for us,” stated in the press release.
While RILEY is still in development, Jordan Jr. is actively seeking partners and investors who see the value in bringing culturally grounded stories to the commercial stage.
Check out Defense below.
