Montee Tyree Johnson was charged yesterday with first degree murder while armed.

“It was time for me to embrace my African heritage.” This was jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater’s state of mind when she decided to trace her lineage in hopes of finding her native roots. Unfortunately, Bridgewater (pictured right), who is performing on Sunday at the Kennedy Center, could only trace them back 150 years, to Mississippi. She then began listening to a variety of West African music, and it was Mali’s music that struck the…