Anti-Weapons Projects

57 young people in 2007 died at the hands of a gun or a knife, this project has been created specifically to tackle this youth culture crisis!

At the British DJ & MC Academy we are devastated with the facts and figures that show how many young people are now using guns and knives as a standard practice. We are passionate about changing this, we want to help teach young people that they do not need protection with a weapon, we teach positive affirmations building healthier self-esteem with eliminates the need to feel protected.

The young people in London don't have many positive role models; they walk out onto the street, they turn on the TV and all they see is glamorised petty crime, knives and guns. Some of their older peers are in gangs and drug dealing to gain status, they feel they need to join these gangs for protection. This project will give them strength and courage to speak up against this so they no longer feel they need the protection by knowing and using the power of their own words and creating inner-strength.

These young people need to start rubbing shoulders with positive adults who can offer them a fresh injection of expression through creativity. In turn the young people will be able to open up, learn new skills and expand existing idea's. If this project is successful it will inspire these young people to speak out against gun and knife crimes and do similar positive activities when they grow older and help that younger generation. Our ethos is to pave the way for the future starting here and now when its desperately needed.

Advantages

At the British DJ & MC Academy our teaching methods are relative to the young people; we speak their language tackling serious issues in an informal setting. Helping young people to find their social standing, raise awareness of their environment, goal setting all through creative methods that are viewed as 'fun'.

Majority of the vulnerable young people only know how to express themselves through words and rhymes. Recently a young person was killed in Leyton stone over a grime lyric that he spoke on the radio. At The British DJ & MC Academy we teach the power of words and how to use them in positive way. Every young person wants to be a celebrity, we teach them the power in that status and how to use it correctly benefiting their communities.

All the tutors at The British DJ & MC Academy are established active underground artists who only work doing positive music and young people look up these artists, as artists gain respect through our knowledge and wisdom of the music industry and the challenges.

We help young people participate in activities they would not normally participate in because its a subject that is of interest. Music, drama, DJiing and dance, providing a space for young people to creatively express themselves learning through informal social education.

Who will benefit?

The young people will have something new and imaginative ways to help occupy their minds.

The community as a whole will benefit from a fresh injection of new creative ideas.. The young people will benefit by gaining new skills, sharing new ideas, activity working towards a positive outcome and working integration of different communities.

Parents or carers are determined to regain a sense of community spirit. The young people will also benefit via sharing and exchanging of news aimed at uplifting the spirits within the community. By co-coordinating a community performance created by the young people we will be taking a positive step in helping parents and carers achieve their aim, we will also benefit from this experience by sharing and creating new ideas with a new group.

How will we measure our success?

The project will be monitored using questionnaires handed to each individual involved in the workshops. Handing out questionnaires prior to the workshops to ensure the information received is what the young people really want to do. From there, we feel confident that we can achieve our aims, the questionnaires will be used as a tool during and after the workshops to check on our success and establish how we can achieve better projects for the future.

The young people and parents will also give verbal feedback which will be recorded and used as a guideline to show our mistakes (if any!) and achievements. This is important for us and will give us a clearer idea on how to constantly improve our workshops.

The audience reaction will indicate our success as well as uplifting the spirits of the young people and the community.

We will include a follow-up workshop six months after to talk the young people and to fill-out a final questionnaire, we may use individuals as case-studies.

Rappers swap violent rhymes for more positive lyrics / 16th April 2009

Budding rappers are ditching violent lyrics in favour of more positive rhymes after attending workshops in a project to combat gang violence.

Professional DJs and MCs from the British DJ and MC Academy worked with teenagers from Waltham Forest estates at the Soul Project charity, in Wood Street, Walthamstow.

Shanaau Briain, 27, also known as MC Angel, who worked with the youngsters, said the teenagers began writing negative lyrics reflecting their anger at their 'situation' but by the end of the course, the lyrics were more positive.

She said: "What we do is we try and work with them on a conceptual basis.
"We try and get them to think about positive things. For example, we read out Nelson Mandela's speech after he was released from prison and asked them to write lyrics about it.
"Subconsciously, they became much more positive in their outlook."

So instead of guns and violence, the young people have been rapping about more positive activities, such as getting good school grades.

One participating 15-year-old from a Walthamstow problem estate, said: "Before I decided to change the way I behaved I robbed two people and was heading for a life of crime.

"When a friend of mine got stabbed, that made me change my mind.
"He said to me 'maybe this will happen to you next time'.
"It was like a light and so I decided to change the way I behaved."

The Soul Project is a social enterprise which aims to support parents in raising children and advising young people.

Radio One DJ Crissy Criss presented awards to the 16 teenagers who took part in the scheme. The academy, which now operates in five London boroughs, was set up in February.

Kerry O'Brien, also known as Lady MC, one of the academy's co-founders, said: "Our overall aim is to support the young people through every stage of their lives to become more developed, confident and focused."

The Lyrics Before...
Come to my slums we got guns
Try hype get something in your lung
Nah you don't want it with my team
We will lay you flat on these streets
Forget about school I'll ride for the cause
And I'll ride real deep so you better stay in doors
Before we rain on your team and leave you flat on the floor

The Lyrics After...
I'm trying hard in school and I wanna get good grades
I never used to care but I had a little change in the way that I think
I gotta new perspective keeping it positive my bad thoughts get neglected
I'm trying to blow all over this music scene
I won't let the bad path get the best of me because hopefully next year the A and R's will be selecting me
And I'll be the next best thing in the scene