Tiger Youth
Class Acts: Motivation from Music (Miami Herald)
The horn riffs from the Beyonce/Jay-Z hit Crazy in Love ricochet in the music
room at North Miami Middle School, where a handful of teens are tossing around
ideas for an upcoming concert.
The room’s dark walls are dotted with concert posters of Paul McCartney, Jimi
Hendrix, the Beastie Boys and Bela Fleck. Somehow, a brief guitar passage from
a Deep Purple rock hit of the early ’70s sneaks into the sonic stew.
A handful of teens sit at desks in a circle and toss ideas concerning song
choices for a coming spring concert.
The majority want to perform hip-hop tracks from the likes of Lil Wayne,
Beyonce and Will Smith. One kid mentions Sexy and I Know It by contemporary
pop act LMFAO. Someone else suggests the somber Sarah McLachlan ballad, Angel.
Still another pulls Survivor’s Rocky III oldie, Eye of the Tiger, out of the
mothballs. Lil Wayne’s Blunt Blowin’ draws a raised eyebrow from mentor Chad
Bernstein, who has the final say.
“We might have to do some lyrical adjustments,” he said, drawing chuckles.
Just a regular Wednesday afternoon at North Miami Middle’s Guitars Over Guns
(GOGO) after-school mentoring and music program.
Building partnerships
The …