BRL Film Crew Receives 10K Grant

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 23:10:09 -0800

The BRL film crew received a $10,000 challenge grant from the East Bay Community Foundation. However, the Foundation is requiring us to raise $10,000 to match their grant by March 1, 2010. It is an honor to be recognized by such a respected community foundation, and an extremely valuable opportunity for the film. We know this may be a difficult financial time for many people, but even a small contribution can greatly assist us in achieving our fundraising goal. Please help us meet our goal.

Holiday Battles

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:16:19 -0800

December 15th and 16th BRL held its 1st Holiday Battles at Oakland for its students to compete and show their skills. Day one featured an emcee battle and day two featured dance and beat battles. Winners from the battle each took home a $50 cash prize. The event was a huge success and more events are planned for spring.

March for Richmond Rape Survivor

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:01:11 -0800

On Saturday, November 7th hundreds of people gathered to show their love and support for a 15-year old girl who was brutally rape, beaten and robbed by a group of young men on her way home from a school dance at Richmond High School.

Shawn, a senior at Oakland High School and youth of Beats, Rhymes & Life spoke along side the Mayor of Richmond and community organizers about violence that plagues many communities and what needs to be done to stop the cycles.

Cultural Competence Summit

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:38:07 -0800

On November 17th, the BRL Youth were invited to perform at the 16th Cultural Competence & Mental Health Summit at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, California. The BRL youth stole the show receiving a standing ovation from 745 people. In addition to the performance, BRL founder Tomas Alvarez talked about Rap Therapy as a culturally responsive form of treatment for many youth in Oakland and urban settings across the country.

BRL Alum Reaches New Highs

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:14:21 -0700

BRL is extremely proud to announce the achievments of one of our alumni. Now a third-year college student in New Orleans, G-EAZY was among the first youth that participated in the Beats, Rhymes & Life pilot program in 2004. Summer 2009 he completed his first cross country tour promoting the release of his new album, The Epidemic, which is now available through itunes. Find out more about G-EAZY through his myspace music page.

BRL Celebrates 5 Years

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 15:25:23 -0700

On June 26th over 200 people converged to the Oakland Metro Opera House to celebrate fives years of Beats, Rhymes & Life using Hip Hop as a catalyst for change and development. Among the crowd, youth, their families, local artists, media and a mass of BRL supporters. The event featured musical performances by the BRL youth, presentations, awards ceremony and sets by some the Bay Area’s most talented Deejays. Check out this amazing photos from the event taken by John C. Liau and the touching article written by reported Heather Ehmke below.
๏ 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY PHOTOS
๏ ARTICLE ON BRL FROM EXAMINER.COM

BRL Mural at BTECH

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:26:50 -0700

BRL invited New York-base Borish from the Trust Your Struggle Crew to paint a mural for the students of Berkeley Technology Academy. Many thanks to Borish for his time, creativity and commitment to the youth community.