Dear West V: A Love Letter to the 35th State

By: Matthew Young

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Hip-hop journalist, photographer, and storyteller Leeshia Lee has a very special birthday gift for the Mountain State this year, and she calls it “Dear West V: A Love Letter to the 35th state.”

During a June 9 appearance on WOWK-TV’s On the Record, Lee told host Amanda Barren that “the representation of West Virginia isn’t always cultured or educated, or artistic.”

“Even in the mainstream we get downplayed,” Lee said. “We’re always last in everything, but not this time.”

Lee’s first step in commemorating West Virginia’s 163rd anniversary of statehood was to contact Myles T, a Los Angeles-based music producer, and son of Black By God’s founder and publisher, Crystal Good.

Of Myles, Lee had just one request.

“He [Myles] has some major industry placement and he’s worked with a lot of people, so I asked him for a beat,” Lee explained. “He sent me a bunch of beats. I was listening to them, and there was one that stuck out.”

Using the beat provided by Myles T as the soundtrack, Lee presented a challenge to West Virginia’s network of artists and musicians: write a love letter to the 35th state.

“I was challenging people to tell their perspective of what life in West Virginia means to them,” Lee said, adding that she was overwhelmed by the number of responses she received. Originally, Lee said she had hoped for between 10 and 15 responses. However, as the submission deadline arrived, Lee had received some 103 responses.

“I probably [received 30 more responses] after [the submission deadline],” Lee noted. “It was not just a response – it was art. It was everybody’s perspective of West Virginia.”

Through her social media platforms, including The Scene it Route, Lee has spent years chronicling West Virginia’s hip-hop culture, and its critical place in the state’s cultural identity. And as Lee’s social media following had grown impressively, she decided it would make the ideal outlet for Dear West V.

“It was letting people know that there is talent here, and we can hold our own,” Lee added. “I love hip-hop, I love rap music, and I love the underdog. I’ve always been a fan of the local artists here. It was a challenge and a competition, but it turned into something more.”

Watch the full episode of On the Record with Amanda Barren, featuring “Dear West V: A Love Letter to the 35th State,” on wowktv.com.

A selection of “love letters” will be performed live on West Virginia Day – Saturday, June 20 – as part of the 2026 Dear West V. Awards. The red carpet event will be held at The India Center, located at 800 Green Road in Charleston, beginning at 6 p.m. In addition to musical performances and live DJ, the event will feature 13 awards, ranging from the best entertainment and dining spots, to the best barber shop, to the year’s most significant artistic contribution. Limited tickets remain, and are available through Eventbrite.

For those unable to attend the 2026 Dear West V Awards, and for those who simply cannot wait until Saturday, individual recordings of submitted “love letters” are currently available for viewing on Black By God’s YouTube channel.