For most parents, it’s common to enroll their children in afterschool activities from football and basketball to cheerleading and karate. Now a new class is opening up its doors to teach hip hop as an afterschool activity. A Plus Kids, a non-profit agency, has added a hip hop curriculum to a variety of other courses that includes radio broadcasting, music, dance, acting, fashion and photography. The multi-faceted music and arts school, which also has a Spanish division, is designed to cultivate young talent for a future in the entertainment industry.
Based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, A Plus Kids is expanding its schools to 13 cities to include Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Atlanta, Jacksonville and Los Angeles. In having a vision for growth they recognized the lure of hip hop; “We have a gospel class already but most of the kids weren’t interested in learning gospel music. When I asked if they wanted to do hip hop the kids and their parents became excited,” explains Radio Moe, program director.
The hip hop class, taught by renown Hip Hop Historian and rap artist Sean XLG teaches kids, teens and young adults how to rap. The class begins with an overview of hip hop history to educate students on how the art form was created. “In learning the origins, students will develop an appreciation and respect for the craft and the pioneers who developed hip hop culture,” states Sean XLG, the schools’ National Director of Hip Hop.
The class will focus on the disciplines of songwriting, vocal performance and recording. In addition, there will be a series of live shows involving the students that will include performances by legendary rap acts from Chubb Rock and Whodini to Grandmaster Mele Mel and Kool Moe Dee. “I’m in a position to teach the youth how to rap so we’re going to have fun and we’re also doing this clean in terms of the lyrics so there’s no profanity or violent content involved,” adds Sean. Sean has partnered with Kool Rock Ski of the legendary Fat Boys and Tony Martin of the HBO series The Wire is assisting with the acting and script writing classes.
For more details, visit www.APlusKidsUSA.com or contact E-mail: apluskids@apluskidsusa.com or 855-275-4300 ext. 701.
