Something out of Nothing

The other day I had the chance to go check out the Rebel Diaz Art Collective, a Hip-Hop community center in the South Bronx. The center was started by a few young Hip-Hop artists who were basically tired of bitching about all the social issues effecting their communities and decided to act. The center is an old candy factory that includes a studio, classroom equipped with mac laptops, a small outdoor deck and a stage room. All the walls had amazing graffiti on them, done by a professional graffiti group. I was able to eat lunch with a few of the directors in the studio and I found out a few amazing things about this community center....

For starters, the oldest director of the center is 31, and the average student is between 18-21 (although they do have younger kids as well, the youngest being 14). Essentially it is all young adults, teaching fellow young adults anything to do with Hip-Hop. The center teaches editing, producing, MC'ing, performing, creating art and discipline. It is rare to have a successful program without any old heads. The  result is a vibe that you are with your friends, learning from friends as opposed to the typical teacher-student relationship. Furthermore they discussed the idea of horizontal leadership. In other words if you are working there, at any point in time, the other directors may not be there because they're doing a show or something, and you have to step in as the boss. Everyone shares the responsibility of being a leader which requires a huge amount of trust among these guys.

The second amazing part about this studio is how it has evolved. This group of guys started from nothing, and are now doing great things. And that is what Hip-Hop is! The music came out of the South Bronx during a time where everything was being taken away from the community, the music literally came out of a disastrous time for the South Bronx. This center was able to win a number of awards to build up their studio. They were lucky to find this abandoned building to start the center. And there an awesome group of dudes who make socially and politically conscious music.

They have open mic every Friday...heres the link to their site

RebelDiazAC


Here's a music video from one of the Pioneer's of the center....