Youth from YOUmedia Chicago were featured on the Educator Innovator Blog. The article focused on YOUmedia Chicago as a site as well as the opportunity that YOUmedia provides for youth to pursue their own interests.
“When Chancellor Bennett was suspended during his senior year at Jones College Prep in 2011, few would have guessed that just two years later he would be featured in major news publications and headlining Lollapalooza. During the ten-day suspension, Bennett, who is now more commonly known as ‘Chance the Rapper,’ took to Chicago’s YOUmedia space to cut his first mixtape, aptly titled ’10 Day.’ The tape was an underground hit, which has since been downloaded over 100,000 times. In 2012 Complex Magazine named him one of ’10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For.’
“While it’s a surprise that Chance the Rapper has ended up on this path, even more remarkable is that he’s not alone. Chance is one of many YOUmedia youth who are making their creative mark on the world, and taking the skills they honed with YOUmedia’s mentors to college and beyond.
“‘As soon as I found out about YOUmedia, I started going there every day,’ said Dominique James, who is now pursuing a double major in English and French at Howard University in Washington, D.C. ‘It was a very interesting mix of people hanging out and being productive.’”
By Kelsey Herron
Originally posted at Educator Innovator
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