Photographer Nastacia Ellis visited Houston rapper Trae tha Truth's annual Trae Day, a free community get-together with performances, games for kids, free vaccinations and free school supplies. Above, see Ellis' photos of the event, and below, see her portraits and short interviews with attendees.
What's your name? Youngin
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? Yep, two years in a row
What do you like about Trae Day? I like that it's giving back, giving back to the kids and such, I'm not worried about much else
What are you most looking forward to? Seeing what he's going to bring out, who's here to support him
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? Just fun and games, it's just a laid back good time
What's your name? Matthew
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? First time out
What do you like about Trae Day? I like the enviroment, they don't do a lot of things like this anymore
What are you most looking forward to? I wanna see people i have in my CDs, artists like Trae or someone like Kevin Gates
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? Love from the South, everyone gets together with their family and kids
What's your name? Kianna
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? No, it's my first time
What do you like about Trae Day? It's cool, they have rides and stuff for the kids
What are you most looking forward to? The performances, seeing how people do and who shows up
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? It's a family event, safe for the kids without people acting wild
What's your name? Young John
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? This is my second Trae Day, it's a good look
What do you like about Trae Day? Trae is my favorite artist, it's a good thing for people that don't have a voice. I'm loving the scene
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? Get out here and celebrate back to school and we're gunna do it. A lot of artists celebrate with their money by doing their own things but their not doing it like Trae, it's a holiday.
What's your name? Joseph
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? First time out
What do you like about Trae Day? Giving back for the kids. You never seen that these days in Houston
What are you most looking forward to? Seeing Trae up on that stage
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? It's crazy, it's a must, you have to do it every year, always
What's your name? Tristan
Where are you from? Alief, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? First time
What do you like about Trae Day? Seeing artists like Fast Money come down
What are you most looking forward to? To seeing Trae and other different arts. I went and got tested and other free stuff
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? And it's exciting, it's been a while since i've see a lot of stuff for the family, and for free
What's your name? Emily
Where are you from? San Marcos, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? Last year
What do you like about Trae Day? Trae, him giving back
What are you most looking forward to? The music, who's coming out
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? Free music for all ages
What's your name? Queso
Where are you from? Austin, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? No
What do you like about Trae Day? Seeing Trae perform
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? Get down here, cause you have to be here, you can't be missing the free stuff and the environment
What's your name? K-dog
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? My first time
What do you like about Trae Day? So far, it's a cool environment, loving the music and it's just all around cool
What are you most looking forward to? Seeing the performances, trying to get on that stage with Trae, I'm trying to be a legend like him
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? It's a southern thing, chilling like we in the neighborhood, good times, food, music, everythings here
What's your name? JT
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? It's my first one
What do you like about Trae Day? Community, a lot of gathering and that's good cause in these days, it's hard to get that so it's good to see a bunch of different people come together
What are you most looking forward to? Of course the performances, but I'm looking forward to this being a good promo for next year and the following years, because I think it's good to have people come together all in one city
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? Come out, it's all about show love, get love, everyday of the year. It's about show respect, get respect cause when you come out and support your city, your city will always support you
What's your name? Patrice
Where are you from? Houston, Texas
Have you ever been to Trae Day? No
What are you most looking forward to? A free show, hopefully discovering new music and seeing what else there is to get into
What's your name? Destin
Have you ever been to Trae Day? First time
What do you like about Trae Dae? Seeing a bunch of different people perform
whats your name? destin
How would you describe Trae Day to someone who's never been? A good place to go, a good place for the kids, good music and free stuff.