Truth About the Booth:
How To Record Hip-Hop Like A Pro

For those of us outside the music industry, “the booth” is the sound isolation room in which a vocalist records their performance. Movies and TV shows give us a glimpse of how professional artists record in the booth, but their full process is rarely revealed.

On Friday, February 19th, the Arts Greenhouse will be cracking open the world of hip-hop recording and sharing insight into what goes on beyond the studio door. The event will feature talented rappers, hip-hop producers, and recording engineers from across the region—including Freestyle, Riccardo Schulz, Soy Sos, and J. Armstead Brown. Poet Luqman Abdus-salaam will moderate a panel discussion, followed by a recording demo with rapper Freestyle. Participants will have an opportunity to engage with professionals, ask questions, and learn how tracks are produced.

The workshop aims to empower young people by helping them understand how to create their own music. The Arts Greenhouse believes that hip-hop can be a vehicle for artistic, social and economic empowerment by enabling teens to own and create their own culture. The potential of hip-hop is often obscured by the sensationalized and corporate hip-hop that reaches mainstream magazines and TV often obscures the real potential of this art. The Arts Greenhouse is committed to building positive hip-hop culture from the ground up by working directly with teens.

All teens and university students interested in recording hip-hop or being a producer of any sort are invited to participate!

The event will take place at Carnegie Mellon’s College of Fine Arts Building, Room A6 (the recording studio) between 4:30pm—6:30pm. For more information contact the Amos Levy at (412) 268-5269 or visit .

click for map and info on the featured guests:

An alumni of the Arts Greenhouse program, Freestyle is a rapidly ascending rap star. Where many Pittsburgh based artists take a locally based approach, Freestyle has pioneered a national and international trajectory. He has collaborated with international artists spanning Japan, Morocco, Bulgaria and Germany. He reached the top ten chart in Germany with a single, assisted by DJ Fatman Scoop. In the US he has won multiple competitions, trained with professional rapper Fabulous, and performed for crowds as big as 30,000.

Riccardo Schulz is Associate Teaching Professor in the School of Music where he teaches sound recording and runs the recording operations. His special interest is in recording, editing, and mastering classical music. Schulz has recorded and/or produced more than a hundred compact discs on a variety of record labels of world music, jazz, alternative rock groups, and selected hip-hop artists–including Freestyle, Unknown Prose, Lil ‘Toine, E-Nyse, Charon Don and D.J. Huggy. He oversees recordings with participants in the Arts Greenhouse project.

J.Armstead Brown is a professional musician and hip-hop producer. Originally from New York, Brown studied musicology as a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. He was the bandleader for the regionally renown hip-hop/rock band Eviction Notice and is the current bandleader for the Shadow Lounge open mic house band “Hambone Jenkins.” As a music producer, Brown has worked with independent hip-hop artists up and down the East Coast and in 2007 released his debut album “Fieldwork.” As an educator, Brown is the director of the Westinghouse Lighthouse Project, an after school program that uses multimedia and performing arts to educate and empower youth. He is also the co-founder and marketing director of Rhyme Calisthenics, an innovative hip-hop competition/game show.

Luqman Abdus-salaam leads the Arts Greenhouse Workshop Series as organizer, community liaison and primary lecturer. In addition he acts as a mentor for the youth, o ffering insight into the artistic process interweaved with broader life lessons. Abdus-salaam brings 15 years of experience as a hip-hop performance poet. He spent a period signed to Island Music Group, and currently works part time as a talent consultant for Philadelphia based independent record label, Ovum Recordings. As an educator, Abdus-salaam has taught creative expression workshops at Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, Temple and Penn State universities. He is often requested to speak on the impact of hip-hop and relevance of art to activism.

Herman Pearl aka Soy Sos has been obsessed with music and recording since his first tape recorder at age 10. His broad range of experience includes internationally acclaimed record releases, film soundtracks, TV advertising jingles, music libraries and radio spots. He has also done sound design for theatrical and dance productions and served as front of house live sound engineer. As a guitarist he has appeared on national TV and toured throughout the US and Caribbean. His production esthetic can best be described as deep, clean, dirty, and dubbed out. He has a vast understanding of many popular dance and electronic music styles including Dance Hall/Reggae, Hip Hop and Deep House. Soy Sos is a co-founding member of 3 Generations Walking, Soma Mestizo and MKL vs. Soy Sos.

Since Teaching Music with Reason can no longer be found for download anywhere on the internet, I’ve decided to make it available through the Arts Greenhouse page. Click the following link to download: http://www.divshare.com/download/10326250-9a2

Reason is the primary program that the Arts Greenhouse uses to teach hip-hop music composition. We are working on adapting portions of Teaching Music with Reason for our workshops. If you have made your own adaptations, are interested in comparing notes, or have any related questions, feel free to contact us.

The following notes are from Propellerhead’s website:

Teaching Music with Reason is a stand-alone, entry-level classroom package that focuses on learning about and making music using technology. Principally designed for use in secondary and high school music classes, the package includes material for 21 complete lessons and turns each individual classroom computer into a self-contained, easy-to-use music studio, with a realistic rack of equipment that you could expect to see in any professional studio set-up.

Please note: The Teaching Music with Reason material has not been updated to reflect the changes made in Reason version 4. You can of course continue to use the Teaching Music in your education but you need to be aware that since the text is based on an older version of Reason, some parts may need to be “massaged” by you to fit with Reason 4.

We hope this becomes a living curricula, edited and updated by educators such as you. Please feel free to download it and use all or parts of it, in original or modified form. The downloadable file contains all printed Teaching Music with Reason matter as pdf files as well as Reason song files in contemporary styles for demonstration and student use.

All text and images in the curriculum Teaching Music with Reason (TMwR) are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Sweden License. Propellerhead Software’s entry-level classroom package that focuses on learning about and making music using technology – Teaching Music with Reason – now available as a free downloadable package.

Time To Build: Hip-Hop And Community

“A Queen and Pittsburgh Teens Present the Positive Potential of Hip-Hop”

On Friday, January 22, 5:30pm, teens, families, and community members are invited to participate in a free, two-hour concert/workshop at Homewood-Brushton YMCA. The event—presented by The Arts Greenhouse (Carnegie Mellon) and The Westinghouse Lighthouse Project (YMCA)—will feature award winning singer, poet, playwright, and rapper, Queen Godis, alongside performances by local teens. The event’s goal is to showcase the community building potential of hip-hop music.

The event will kickoff with an introduction from poet, educator, and activist Luqman Abdus-salaam. His talk will address the potential of hip-hop for community building by bringing people together and carrying empowering messages. Examples of positive hip-hop will be performed by teens from 4 different after-school programs, Arts Greenhouse, Westinghouse Lighthouse, Hip-Hop on L.O.C.K. and Community Empowerment Studios. Visiting Pittsbugh from Brookyn, NY, for this Friday evening performance, Queen Godis will take the stage to present her own music and messages. Throughout her career, Queen Godis has mastered the art of bridging diverse audiences with art that is as spirit moving as it is thought-provoking. She has worked as an education consultant, youth mentor, and guest lecturer at schools and universities across the US. In 2007, she coached a NYC teen poetry slam team to the top 3 in national competition.

All teens, parents, and interested community members are invited to come! Admission is free. Attendees will also have the chance to learn more about the participating organizations and ways teens can get involved to learn to make their own hip-hop music.

The partnering organizations believe that hip-hop can be a valuable source of empowerment for teens. It can help them build communities that are based upon sharing music, messages, and good times. Helping teens develop artistic, social, and economic empowerment goes hand in hand with creating strong and healthy communities. This potential of hip-hop culture is often obscured by the sensational images of hip-hop that reach magazines and TV. The Arts Greenhouse and Westinghouse Lighthouse are committed to building the positive community potential of hip-hop culture from the ground up by working directly with teens.

Staff from all partnering organizations will be supervising the workshop, and parents are welcome to attend. The Homewood-Brushton YMCA is located at 7140 Bennett Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.

For more information about Time To Build, visit www.pghbeatmakers.org.

The Arts Greenhouse is a free hip-hop music education program serving Pittsburgh teens through the resources of Carnegie Mellon. Thus far, this goal has been met through music technology classes, workhops on special topics relating to hip-hop, and performances that bring socially conscious artists to Pittsburgh. The Arts Greenhouse holds music technology classes at Carnegie Mellon, and workshops around the Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh teens, ages 13 to 19, are welcome to attend.

The Westinghouse Lighthouse Project is an after school youth development program that uses performing arts and multimedia technology to educate and empower youth.  The Lighthouse Project currently offers visual art, architecture, poetry, music production, video production, martial arts and step team.  Additionally, the Lighthouse provides students with academic support including tutoring, strategic goal planning, college preparation and job shadowing experiences. The Lighthouse is a free program open to all high school students living in the 15208 area code.

The Homewood-Brushton YMCA provides programming for all ages and income levels.  The new facility includes a state-of-the-art health and wellness center, full gymnasium, meeting rooms and computer lab.  The outreach programs and services include tutoring, counseling, youth prevention, family support center and a food pantry.  The Homewood-Brushton YMCA is part of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh.

The Hip-Hop on L.O.C.K. program is implemented by each student being given an executive position of a “MOCK” record label to create a music CD project from conception to completion. Upon completion of the Hip Hop on L.O.C.K. Project, students receive a certificate of completion followed by a live performance where students display their completed work in front of friends, family and the entire community. Moreover, apprenticeships and internships are created through partnering organizations throughout Allegheny county. Lastly, upon completion of The Hip Hop on L.O.C.K. Project, the graduates will have a full understanding of the art of Hip Hop as well as the entry-level skills needed to operate a business of their own.

I hope you had a wonderful New Years and holiday season!

The Arts Greenhouse Beatmaker’s Academy will be beginning classes again this Saturday, the 9th. Classes will be taking place from 1:30pm to 4:30pm, every Saturday (aside from Holidays – check the calendar) Classes take place on the Carnegie Mellon Campus, Margaret Morrison Hall, room 119A.

There are 11 stations in the keyboard lab. Seats are first come first serve, with a preference given to:

- committed participants (who come week after week)
- participants from the neighborhoods we’re focused on serving
- women

Participants must be in-between ages 13 and 19.

9:00 – 9:30am – Future Focus for Black Music (Keynote)
9:35 – 10:30am – Promotion & Marketing 101
9:35 – 10:30am – Radio Past, Present & Future
10:35 – 11:35am – Developing Community Voices
10:35 – 11:35am – Preserving & Sharing Musical History

Lunch – 11:30-12 (various food vendors on 2^nd floor UC)

12:00 – 1:00pm – New Technology Presentation
12:00 – 1:00pm – Blues & The Abstract Truth
1:05 – 2:30pm – Hip Hop at the Crossroads (w/ AG Program Coordinator Amos Levy)
2:00 – 3:00pm – Reggae & World music
3:15 – 4:30pm – Independent Artists
4:30pm – Wrap Up

Also:

Reception – Tana Ethiopian Cuisine 6-9pm (Cash Bar)
5929 Baum Blvd.

Radio Broadcast –  Sunday Morning with conference participants on my radio program. www.wrct.org, 88.3FM

Blues Brainlock Sunday evening 5-8pm
Malika’s Gallery @ East Coast Crab
$5.00 cover.

Arts Greenhouse Program Coordinator, Amos Levy, will be on the Hip-Hop Panel for the Each One Teach One Conference at Carnegie Mellon on Saturday 1-16-2010. The music and radio seminar will take place at Carnegie-Mellon University Center from 9AM-5PM. Admission is free of charge and open to the public.

For an wealth of information about the program, read the rest of this entry:

The man behind the event is Mr. Kevin Amos. At the University, Mr. Amos broadcasts his radio programs from the studios of WRCT-FM where he has been an independent broadcaster/producer for over 20 years.

The 2008 sessions were highlighted by presentations on Music terminology and its economic implications by Bob Davis of Soul-Patrol.com in addition to a talk on the impact of Pop music on American culture and the role it has played in movements for social change presented by Jasaga David Sawyer.  To view a recap of the 2008 event go to:

http://www.soul-patrol.com/eachoneteachone_2008.htm

Amos has gathered participants on panels covering Jazz, Blues, R&B, Reggae/World Music, Hip Hop, Rock, Radio, Preserving musical history and Independent artists.

Some of the topics discussed will be on:

• Hip-Hop…at the crossroads
• Developing Community voices: Media justice for all
• Radio: Past, Present and Future
• Reggae and World music
• Preserving and sharing musical history
• Promotion and Marketing 101
• Blues and the abstract truth
• Independent Artists
• And a New technology application presentation

Mr. Amos has put together a dynamic group of folks from international, local and national levels that he has been associated with in his 31 years in broadcasting.

They include:
Emmai Alaquiva, Jerry Lopes, Andrew W. Thornhill, Christiane D, Ed Travesari, Bob Davis ,Bob Wensel, Marva Josie, Carlton Hines, Paradise Gray, Mike Moscato, Myron Ruffin, Mena, Patrick Arena, Bunny Brisette, National Opera House, Wesley Goodman and Renee Asher.

Notes on the Panelists

Ed Traversari has over 30 years live entertainment management expertise including being partner in the local Pittsburgh concert promotion company DiCesare Engler Productions.
DiCesare Engler produced concerts at the Stanley Theatre (which they later sold to the Cultural District to become The Benedum Center), the Syria Mosque, AJ Palumbo Center, Mellon Arena and Heinz Field among others. His duties at DiCesare Engler included talent buyer, director of marketing, production manager and General Manager of the Chevrolet Amphitheatre at Station Square.
In 1999 DiCesare Engler Productions was purchased by SFX Entertainment, which was later sold to Clear Channel Entertainment and most recently spun off to Live Nation, the largest producer of live entertainment events in the United States.
In addition to Ed’s teaching, he consults on various projects including working with PBS TV producers TJ Lubinsky and Henry DeLuca producing concerts for PBS television, and producing Culture Festivals at Sandcastle.

http://www.pointpark.edu/Academics/Schools/Business/Majors/SportArtsandEntertainmentManagement/EdTraversari

**
Paradise Gray was raised in the South Bronx during the days of Reaganomics, the trickle down theory was in full effect. With live entertainment being financially inaccessible, the young people began to create their own forms of entertainment.

This raw, new music scene crafted in the inner cities of New York is now affectionately known as “Hip-hop”. The voice of the ghetto that has grown to become a Multi-Billion Dollar industry that has in recent years out-sold all other forms of music in America.

Paradise was a young street D.J. mentored by some of Hip-hop’s Legendary founding DJ’s: Disco King Mario (R.I.P.), Pete DJ Jones, The Grand Imperial J.C., and D.J. C.C. Howard. Paradise earned street credibility as a D.J., Rapper and Break-dancer. Paradise jokes: “I never liked getting paint on my hands and clothes, so I was a horrible Graffiti artist”.

Paradise is also a writer and photographer with articles and photographs appearing in The Source Magazine, XXL, Right On! Magazine, YO!, Wax Poetics, Big Red News, VH1’s 30 Years of Hip-hop History TV Special, “It’s Like That” (Run-DMC’s Autobiography) by Bill Adler and many early Hip-hop magazines including The Hip-hop Hit-list and Rap Masters.

An archivist and Hip-hop Historian with a great Hip-hop memorabilia collection: (The Paradise Collection), Paradise has been a photographer, writer, producer, promoter, artist, activist, and manager of entertainment for The Legendary Hip-hop Club “The Latin Quarters”.

The Latin Quarters was the incubator of “The Golden Era” Of Hip-hop where Over 80% of the legendary artists honed their skills and made their connections. Some of those artists include: Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, KRS 1, Public Enemy, Nice & Smooth, Salt & Pepa, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Chris Rock, Slick Rick, Heavy D & The Boys, EPMD, LL Cool J, X-Clan and many others..

In 1987-88, Paradise helped Lumumba Carson form The BlackWatch Movement that spawned the groups: The X-Clan, ISIS, Queen Mother Rage, Unique & Dashan and Professor X himself as an artist. The BlackWatch Movement was critical to the grassroots consciousness of New York City’s youth and was instrumental in changing the face of Hip-hop to one of Black Pride in the late 80’s to early 90’s. Both of The X-Clan’s albums: “To The East Blackwards” and “XODUS” are considered Classics and are a must listen to for anyone into Black Conscious music. Dubbed “The Grand Arkitech Traxtitioner Paradise” Mr. Gray was a member of the groups production team that included Jason Hunter (The Grand Verbalizer Funkin-Lesson Brother J), Anthony Hardin (The Rhythm Provider Sugar Shaft), and Lumumba Carson (Professor X The Overseer). The X-Clan were nominated for an NAACP Image Award.

From 1999-2003 Paradise Gray was the executive director of urban music at the infamous Internet music company MP3.COM, the company that invented the Online Music Revolution and was last big IPO in the Dot.com boom era. MP3.COM was the precursor to all the music downloading companies and controversy.

Paradise C0-Hosted and organized The 2007 and 2008 Pittsburgh Hip-hop Awards, The 2007 Central PA Hip-hop Awards and The 2007 Philly Hip-hop Awards as a consultant for 360 Entertainment. Mr. Gray owns and operates two small businesses in Pittsburgh PA: A Recording Studio and “The UndaGround Lounge” (A Hip-hop Art Gallery, local music, custom t-shirt retailer and live performance/party rental space).

A community activist with a deep love for people, Paradise served as the Director of “Almost Home” for 3 years. (a program that feeds 60 kids twice a week and offers mentor programs, free internet usage, home work assistance and guitar, voice and drum lessons, “we allow children to play video games and socialize, learn and have fun all in the same place, it at least keeps them out of the streets during a critical time of day”). – Paradise

Paradise works with the “Ministry Of Art’s And Sciences” of The Millions More Movement Pittsburgh LOC. He also works with The National Hip-hop political Convention’s Pittsburgh LOC. Mr. Gray’s community service does not end there, as he as serves on the board of a newly formed coalition formed by Blackmen who head community service programs in Pittsburgh “One Hood”. One HOOD was created to promote unity among young men, to strengthen and support each individual members programs and to promote peace in local Pittsburgh neighborhoods and across America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnw2WxVcSx4

**
Christiane Leach is co-founder and former Executive Director of Sun Crumbs, a trans-cultural multi-arts non-profit. Sun Crumbs mission was to bring Artists and Communities together by presenting, mentoring, promoting and sponsoring the work of Pittsburgh artists.

The majority of their programs were open to all ages. Sun Crumbs sponsored the first Foundation funded Poetry Slam team in the nation. In 3 years the Pittsburgh Slam Team rose from the ranks of 48th to 11th in the nation. Their monthly Poetry Series paired national poets and local poets, as well as brought poets into the Pittsburgh Public Schools for Poetry workshops. Their “Bustamyth Series”� presented such programs as The Real McCoy; No Dogs, No Blacks, No Irish and Miscegenation which explored Asian stereotypes through lecture, humor and art. They have sponsored many exhibits, such as Strip Off, Natural Selection, Loaded: Does Art make People Kill and Beauty of the Male Nude. They struggled to validate the work of artists by providing opportunities, venues for performance and compensation for their work.

Christiane was also one of three producers of the wildly popular and imitated Dark Night Cabaret. Dark Night Cabaret features the best and the eclectic of Pittsburgh artists in all genres.

Christiane performs with Soma Mestizo, the Deep Dark Sexy, and controversial world funk band of
Pittsburgh. Soma Mestizo’s most recent releases are Interim II featuring remixes by Pfafamos, and a track off of Indigenous Revolution records which features Asian Dub Foundation, Producer Adrian Sherwood and Omar Perry. Their international Silversun E.P., release features deep house remixes by the dynamic duo DJ/Producers MKL vs. Soy Sos. Christiane D’s lyrical and vocal talents are also featured on the 3 Generations Walking albums that can be heard in the hippest clubs from Paris, LA to Japan. She has had the honor of writing 5 jazz songs for the Diva of Jazz, Phat Man Dee, which are featured on her debut album, “Life Just Goes On”. She recently mentored a young performer, Lyse, who sings in Japanese, as an image consultant. She has provided this singer with connections to musicians, producers, designers, and photographers and helped her produce her demo cd, which is awaiting a major contract with an International Fashion house.

She received a 2003 PCA Fellowship for World/Jazz/Blues musical composition. Christiane D has also produced various music events with Element Five and received a Sprout Fund grant to produce two MINI m music festivals and Listen to This, which brought critically acclaimed the Goddess of Hip Hop poetry, Ursula Rucker. She is currently working with Liz Berlin to produce a festival celebrating performers of the feminine persuasion.

For the 2 1/2 years, she was the Program Coordinator for the Brew House Association, an artist non-profit, coordinating exhibitions and performances. She has exhibited with various group shows and is a member of Women of Vision, an art group comprised of women of color. She exhibited her Surrealist drawings in a solo exhibit entitled, RODEO EGO. The opening night was a Surrealist Costume party celebrating Salvador Dali’s Birthday. 3 “Exquisite Corpses” were created by 9 Pittsburgh based artists, films shown were a collaboration between Christiane D and Chris Ivey of HyperboyMedia, Dance performed by Staycee Walters and members of Xpressions Dance co. and musical talent provided by Master Percussionist and recent transplant, Simon Jaeger. With a giant chocolate cake created, based on one of her images. She is currently working on a series entitled, Executive Distinction.

She completed her first play, Saffronia”: The Mulatto Slave, under the direction and production of Saints and Poets non-profit. She performs her poetry as well as teaches performance poetry throughout the Pittsburgh area, from The Power of the Pen, to the Western PA History Museum, Young Writers Workshop and Write in the Middle. She was a recipient of a 2002 40 under 40 award and spoke at the 2002 annual Allegheny Conference. Christiane was also at out initial Each One, Teach One Seminar in 2008.

**
Black radio has always been a reliable source and companion within the black community. And, thanks to American Urban Radio Networks and its hundreds of affiliates, black families, business people, educators and the like can still connect with their community through the speakers of their radios.
Having a broadcast license is an obligation to the community. The words on the license say ‘to serve the interests of the community.’ It doesn’t say to play the best records in the world.
With nearly 40 years of serving the community, American Urban Radio Networks has managed to stay current and cutting edge, tailoring its programming to suit its ever evolving audience.

Jerry Lopes, President of Program Operations and Affiliations says American Urban Radio Networks is in a constant state of growth and expansion. “I think the people that we serve determine how well we are doing our jobs here. National Black Network and Sheridan Broadcasting Network really were created to serve the under-served information needs of African-Americans and both networks independently and now collectively are doing so by providing a myriad of programs that address the informational needs of the people that we serve. So they determine the success of our network company and they essentially determine what information and what priorities programmatically we’ll focus on.”
Lopes says American Urban Radio Networks vigilance when it comes to serving its target audience never flickers. The company’s consistency and reliability have been the hallmark of its existence. “We’re serving the black community,” he says proudly. “We never waver. There have been many who have come after us, but to this day no one has done it better than American Urban Radio Networks….”
“I think today more than ever we are fragmented in terms of radio formats. And here is a vehicle like American Urban Radio Networks that has consistently delivered. You will find us on radio stations all across the country and people can count on us for information. This is sort of like the drum. This is where people come to get information.”
Of all the programs it offers, American Urban Radio Networks is most proud of its news. “Our news, I think today, is just as important as it was in 1972,” says Lopes. “Although, I will say, that certainly today there are a number of different kinds of vehicles by which people can receive information – from the Internet to other competing entities out there that are trying to compete for the African-American audience. But the information that we provide is specifically focused on pertinent information as it relates to the African-American community.”

With the emergence of every major news story, American Urban Radio Networks has been there for its audience: in Washington, D.C., on the front lines of Any City, USA, in the trenches of society uncovering and reporting the news and events that shape our lives and our opinions about the world in which we live. American Urban Radio Networks’ commitment includes embracing the rich culture of African-American people and catering to their passions and interests from the concert halls to the gridiron. “Our people are always in need of information specifically as it pertains to them,” says Lopes. “We hunger for it and I think that as we go forward, that’s what we do, we create new programming to address the ever changing needs of the people we serve.

As renowned and respected leaders in the African-American community and in the broadcast world at large, American Urban Radio Networks and its staff have been more than just objective bystanders reporting on events. They have been fire-starters, initiators and co-signers of activities and movements that have been and continue to be beneficial to the members of their audience. From HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, to getting out the vote projects, to informing listeners about the census, American Urban Radio Networks has been an active voice resonating throughout the African-American community.
From 100 Black Men of America to the National Council of Negro Women, American Urban Radio Networks has been a reliable and steadfast partner to those seeking to improve the lot of black Americans in particular and all Americans as a whole. Says Lopes, “As I reflect on the past three decades, American Urban Radio Networks, Sheridan Broadcasting Network and National Black Network have played a significant role and our work is not done. There is much to be done, but we’re up for the challenge.”

**
Emmai Alaquiva of Ya Momz House, LLC, a full-service recording and production company located in Pittsburgh’s East Side, received a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for music composition and arrangement for the production of the soundtrack for WQED Multimedia’s eminent documentary; Fly Boys: Western Pennsylvania’s Tuskegee Airmen.

On Friday, December 11, 2009 local teens are invited to participate in a free, two-hour workshop at the Young Men and Women’s African Heritage Association (YMWAHA) on the Northside of Pittsburgh. The event—presented by The Arts Greenhouse and co-hosted by YMWAHA and Warhol Museum Youth Programs—will feature local DJs sharing knowledge, and experience with hands-on practice session. The goal is to teach teens building community with music culture.

The event will kickoff at 5pm with an introduction from poet, educator and activist Luqman Abdus-salaam, explaining the power of DJing as the catalyst and hub of hip-hop culture. Different musical genres will be represented at the workshop, including Mary Mack (post-punk), DJ Thermos (hip hop), and James Gyre (electronic.) After demonstrations by each of the DJs, teens will be invited to “try their hands on the wheels!” Equipment available to try will include turntables, cd decks, mixers, and software.

All teens ages 13-19 are encouraged to join! No equipment or prior experience is necessary—just an excitement about learning how to DJ and sharing music with peers. Come ready to spin some fiery grooves!

The partnering organizations believe that helping teens develop artistic, social and economic empowerment goes hand in hand with owning and creating culture. Historically, the art of DJing has been a vehicle by which individuals can develop stronger communities; bridge divides of gender, age, race, and class; and create safe spaces for recreation in their neighborhoods. By teaching teens to become owners and creators of their own culture—rather than just consumers—it helps them to develop a more active engagement with the world around them.

Teens that are the most motivated and inspired to DJ, will be encouraged to participate in the Warhol’s 2010 Youth Invasion, an annual Spring event when high school students take over the Warhol Museum for an entire week. Teen DJs will have a chance to put their passion to practice in an environment that fosters artistic expression with peers from across the City!

Staff from all three partnering organizations will be supervising the workshop, and parents are welcome to attend. The Young Men and Women’s African Heritage Assocation is located at 1205 Boyle St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212 (near Allegheny Center.)

For more information about Go, DJ! GO! and The Arts Greenhouse program, contact Amos Levy, Arts Greenhouse Program Coordinator.

1) The workshop has been moved back to 4:30 to 7:00

2) Dr. Kimberly Ellis (aka Dr. Goddess) will be joining us for this workshop, but was confirmed too late to make the flyer

On Tuesday, December 1st, a workshop at Carnegie Mellon will discuss how sexism, misogyny, objectification, and feminism affect women and men in hip-hop. Participants will debate these issues with a panel and explore ideas in writing exercises and breakout groups.

The workshop, entitled “Women in Hip-Hop, Part II” is the follow up to a workshop that took place in the Hill District on November 19th. At that workshop, teens developed questions which will guide the discussion at Carnegie Mellon.  The upcoming workshop will be geared for university students, but open to all. Join us at the Carnegie Mellon University Center, 5000 Forbes Avenue, in the Danforth Lounge at 4:30pm on Tuesday, December 1st.

The featured guests for the event include notable women engaged in hip-hop scholarship, business, dance, music, and poetry. Our featured guest is Dr. Kimberly Ellis, playwright, scholar, poet, and activist. Ellis brings deep insight as a Ph.D in American Studies. She will be joined by Teena Custer, aka B-girl Teena Marie, who teaches and performs contemporary dance. Teena also performs with her crew, Venus Fly Trap – the first all female/all hip hop styles b-girl crew in the U.S. Other panelists include Sterling Berliant, promoter for Atlantic Records, and Jessica Moss, local rapper at the start of her career. Yona Harvey, director of the Creative Writing program at Carnegie Mellon, will lead a writing exercise. Luqman Abdus-salaam, who brings years of experience as a poet, record label consultant, and educator, will moderate the event.

For more information on the workshop contact Amos Levy, Arts Greenhouse Program Coordinator at 412 268 5279.