[VIDEO] Teens Remix The 瓜神app In Projects In North Carolina And Beyond

Education

American Graduate Series

瓜神app's American Graduate Project is part of a nationwide public media conversation about the dropout crisis. We'll explore the issue through news reports, call-in programs and a forum produced with UNC-TV. Also as a part of this project we've partnered with the Durham Nativity School and YO: Durham to found the 瓜神app Youth Radio Club. These reports are part of American Graduate-Let鈥檚 Make it Happen!- a public media initiative to address the drop out crisis, supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and these generous funders: Project Funders:GlaxoSmithKlineThe Goodnight Educational FoundationJoseph M. Bryan Foundation State FarmThe Grable FoundationFarrington FoundationMore education stories from 瓜神app

[VIDEO] Teens Remix The 瓜神app In Projects In North Carolina And Beyond

瓜神app | By Carol Jackson

Published February 17, 2014 at 7:25 AM EST

Pierce Freelon (left) and Apple Juice Kid with students from the community

In an after-school project called "" a group of middle and high school students from Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC, take 瓜神app news reports and add inspiration: beats, sound effects, and music. They create a fresh, new take on traditional journalism in the Beat Making Lab.

In February 2013, the students listened this story by reporter :

McCain.mp3

Listen to Jeff Tiberii on Franklin McCain.

The six students then worked with beatmakers and educators Pierce Freelon, Stephen Levitin (aka Apple Juice Kid), and Ryan Levin to take Jeff's original story and add their own soundtrack. Here's the result:

http://youtu.be/yfA10eiCqOk

The students who worked on the audio for the McCain story are:

Xavier Al-Mahmoud, age 17, sophomore at Carrboro High School
Kalil "Prodageez" Davis, age 17, junior at Carrboro High Shcool
Coleman "Lil Echo" Davis, age 17, junior at Carrboro High School
Simon "DJ SIMZ" Lee, age 16, Chapel Hill High School
Uriah "nef" Shaw, age 15, freshman at East Chapel Hill High School
Alex Smith, age 14, 8th grader at Smith Middle School

About The Founders And The Origins Of The Project

Apple Juice Kid (left) and Pierce Freelon; Beat Making Lab co-founders

Pierce Freelon is front man of the genre-bending The Beast, hailed as a "natural, engaging blend of jazz and hip hop," by . Apple Juice Kid has created beats for major recording artists including MosDef, Wale and MC Lyte. They teamed up to create a project for teens.

The Beat Making Lab project started as a class at UNC-Chapel Hill, and then evolved into a worldwide phenomenon. Their "lab" is portable. It includes a laptop, a keyboard and a microphone.

Global Beat Making

The Beat Making Lab shows up anywhere: in Chapel Hill or Africa. They take out their gear and help kids make beats.

Take a look at a lab they did in Goma, DR Congo:

http://youtu.be/_dTk3iiOZS8

Back To North Carolina, Late Winter Early Spring 2014

In recent weeks, students in North Carolina have been working on two documentaries and a music video project as well. We will release those videos in the coming weeks.

This project is a part of , a public media initiative aimed at addressing the drop out crisis. It's made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.