Check out these tracks from the newest album from Broad Street Studio, featuring 19 different hip hop, reggaeton, R&B, and pop hits. It has 27 of Providence's hottest young artists and producers. These song were created in our beat making and mc writing workshops at Broad Street Studio and in Rhode Island's juvenile detention facility. The tracks were recorded in the Delgado Recording Studio and they are straight banging! Check out a sample track from the album and while your at it venture over to our online store and pick up a copy.

Una Loca (E.Nasty and Plan B).mp3

Broad Street Studio is hosting it year end showcase on December 17th at 6:00. We will be featuring some of Rhode Island's most creative up and comers in hip hop, photography, visual arts, fashion, design, and dance. One featured artist is Simcha Davis. Simcha has been working hard in AS220's Fab Lab designing clothing, jewelry, and other merchandise. Come check out her work and that of over forty other young artist!

Broad Street Beats is in the thick of it, working on new material, including a surprise collaboration with the Broad Street/UCAP step troupe.

Another highlight will be the debut performance of an original tune written by BSS instructor, Susan Sakash, and featuring drum breaks by Norland, Brittney and Dan. Take a sneak listen to a recent rehearsal. Shout out to guest horn - lydia Stein on the baritone. This songs so new it doesn't even have a title...enjoy!

All the mystery to be unveiled at next week's BSS Showcase - Thursday December 17th from 6-8pm in the as220 performance space. Show up and show your support!

Check out some of the work that Kafumba Bility and other young people in Providence, Rhode Island are doing in the AS220 Labs, the public technology studio and hacker space at AS220, a community arts organization in Providence.

Kafumba is a member of AS220's Broad Street Studio youth program, which offers arts and technology workshops to at-risk and under-served youth at AS220's building in downtown Providence and inside Rhode Island's juvenile prison.

This holiday season, Kafumba and about 30 other youth are taking a product design class at AS220 Labs, taught by AS220 Labs staff and a designer from Providence-based medical device product development firm Ximedica. The young people have been making and selling handcrafted merchandise in AS220's Fab Lab - a suite of personal fabrication equipment and software created at MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms that includes a laser cutter, milling machine and vinyl cutter.

AS220's Fab Lab was launched last year with support from the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the City of Providence and numerous individual donors.

"I get a simple drawing of theirs and try to get them on the laser cutter within five minutes," says Jeremy Radtke, the arts, media & technology coordinator in AS220's youth program. "I really quickly show them the process of scanning their images, bringing it into GIMP and tweaking the contrast. The idea is, once they understand the process we can begin making all kinds of great things."

The photo below is Kafumba's first, five-minute work - a simple drawing from his sketchbook. He and others have designed and laser cut jewelry, birch plywood holiday cards and other products that are being sold at Craftland, a retail store in Providence for local artists and artisans.

Kafumba, a freshman at Community College of Rhode Island, is picking up his ESL credits there and plans to transfer to a four-year art school next year. He is working in AS220's Fab Lab to improve his college portfolio.

This work is being done on a shoestring budget - the young people at AS220 Labs have accomplished all this in the Fab Lab with a $500 supply budget that is quickly dwindling. AS220 is currently in the middle of its 25th Anniversary Annual Fund Drive. Any size donation will help us meet our annual budget. Donations can be earmarked specifically to support the work of our youth in the lab. Please help us! Donate today at www.as220.org.

Thank you!

This week we interviewed Chris Da Great, a local hip hop artist with AS220. We asked Chris about his experiences on and off the stage with music alongside what he thought about the current state of hip hop and where it leads him. The state of hip hop isn't what it used to be, says to the rapper, making it a struggle to balance unprecedented yet marketable sounds.

Click the link below for a listen:

chris showcase int. 1.mp3

What do you get when you combine a group of artist who love hip hop, dressing up, and entertaining? Chaos Co.

This week Chaos Co stopped by the studio to discuss their latest work and some experiences they've had with music. The group has just under ten members including an amazing female vocalist. Their crazy face paint, clown suits, positive and funny attitudes make them an act that you want to check out.

chaos int. wav final.R.mp3

This summer AS220's Broad Street Studio took part in an unprecedented collaboration between The Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, the Office of Mayor David N. Cicilline and Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston to provide workforce training and summer jobs opportunities to the Providence's youth. Utilize funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, BSS employee 30 young people to complete projects as diverse as painting a large mural on a building in south Providence, to creating an entire product line of merchandise to represent the studio, to building a library of original beats for to share and reuse with Rhode Island hip hop community, and documenting the different job training programs that happened around the city.

Check out a new video created by Harken Productions of some of the work we did!

This week students at AS220 talked about street bands and their role in the music world. Norlan and Kenny, both musicians in a street band, discussed the different genres that make up music today. Conversations focused on the differences and similarities between different music styles. Also discussed; the state of music today, how music influenced communities and the youth, and the perceptions people have about hip-hop, rock and classical music. The beat used in this podcast was "Nuevo" out of the Broad Street Studio library.

Click here for interview.mp3

DJ Justin Lake interviewed Broad Street Studio member Phoenix on her latest literary work. Based upon real events and people, she is in the process of writing a novel. But writing isn't her only talent. She also writes original music to be performed at Elementary Showcase the second Thursday of every month.

Click here for the interview.mp3

For this week's podcast, Broad Street Radio DJs sat down with Ms. Ivy to talk about her new album, her musical influences, and the native Georgian's upbringing. In between conversation, spat rhymes and read her poetry. The discussion took a turn for the philosophical after DJs and Ms. Ivy entered into contentious territory and debated the perception of women in mass-marketed hip hop culture.

ivy interview1.mp3

One million years ago when I was in art school if you were having trouble with an assignment the joke was " If you can't make it good make it huge, if it still sucks make it red." The work by Photographic Memory students ( AS220's Youth Photography Program) Ray Min, Arline Gould, Anthony Villavicencio, Kia Davis, Kourtnie Aileru, Courtney Mitchell, Miguel Rosario and Alan Martinez doesn't have to be huge or red, because it is great. See for yourself and help us celebrate. Our opening is Thursday Oct 22nd from 7-9 at City Hall. Come one come all. We hope to see you there.

Gear up and download. Broad Street Studios has launched its first-ever radio broadcasting class. Drawing upon city block buzz and the lyrics in their notebooks, students have been recording music tracks, newscasts and conducting field interview. Using the Delgado recording studio to create podcasts and eventually stream live broadcasts online, AS220's youth program will be showcasing the music of local artists - plus their own creative projects. The class draws upon AS220 resources as many Broad Street students are accomplished musicians and emcees, some affiliated with the Broad Street Beat Library.

Saturday's class recorded the station's first promo. Take a listen... bssradio.wav. Check out the website each Saturday to download weekly podcasts.