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On The Record

'Beats Not Bullets' is a positive force for these Baltimore City students

By Sheilah Kast,
Melissa Gerr
Published August 30, 2024 at 9:51 AM EDT
Pictured: Alumni of Beats Not Bullets. The non-profit teaches hip hop and music production skills to create a positive path for Baltimore City students. Photo: E. Brady Robinson
1 of 4  — Beats Not Bullets group shot .jpeg
Pictured: Alumni of Beats Not Bullets. The non-profit teaches hip hop and music production skills to create a positive path for Baltimore City students. Photo: E. Brady Robinson
E. Brady Robinson
Eddie The Artist is an alum of Beats Not Bullets. The non-profit engages Baltimore City youth in after school programs where they learn music production. Photo: E. Brady Robinson
2 of 4  — Eddie The Artist E. Brady.jpeg
Eddie The Artist is an alum of Beats Not Bullets. The non-profit engages Baltimore City youth in after school programs where they learn music production. Photo: E. Brady Robinson
TAYYBANDZ is a Beats Not Bullets alum and creator of BE YOU YOUTH LLC. Photo: E. Brady Robinson
3 of 4  — Tayybandz E. Brady.jpeg
TAYYBANDZ is a Beats Not Bullets alum and creator of BE YOU YOUTH LLC. Photo: E. Brady Robinson
Rich Croce, AKA MC Bravado, (L) and Brandon Lackey run Beats Not Bullets. The after school program engages at-risk youth in Baltimore City through hip hop music and training in production skills. Photo: Barley Moon Photography
4 of 4  — Meet & Greet
Rich Croce, AKA MC Bravado, (L) and Brandon Lackey run Beats Not Bullets. The after school program engages at-risk youth in Baltimore City through hip hop music and training in production skills. Photo: Barley Moon Photography
Barley Moon Photography/Barley Moon Photography

When there are dozens of ways that youth can be led astray, seduced by social media or maybe more dangerous fascinations, how do you capture their minds and hearts?

‘Beats Not Bullets’ teaches middle- and high-school students skills in the music recording industry as a way to keep them focused on positive activities and lead them toward healthy life choices. Rich Croce and Brandon Lackey, who help run the program, explain how it works.

Links: Beats Not Bullets, BNB Application form, MC Bravado music, The LineUp Room, Label Necklace, record label, music video 'Belief'.

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On The Record WYPR ProgramsOn the RecordBaltimore musicBeats Not Bullets
Sheilah Kast
Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
See stories by Sheilah Kast
Melissa Gerr
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'
See stories by Melissa Gerr