Huntsville Artists on Hiphop Music Project Give Back to Youth in Community

Young adult hiphop music artists, Joseph Tafari (Loam), Donovan Patterson (NvndDon), and Jalen Roberts (Love Child) joined Word-Xpress in its mission to connect with Huntsville area youth through the company’s Hiphop Poetry Community Project.

In 2019, Word-Xpress set out to reach 100 students throughout the Huntsville area to facilitate expressive writing activities that empower the younger generation to value their voices and express themselves.  Word-Xpress provided its program through non-profit organizations programs such as the North AL Boys & Girls Clubs and Alabama A&M Upward Bound. Word-Xpress also supported an arts education residency at McNair Junior High School, sponsored by the AL State Council on the  Arts, North Alabama Arts Education Collaborative (NAAEC).

Artists Loam, NvndDon, and Love Child participated on the Word-Xpress Hiphop Music Project, collaborating in a studio environment to express themselves through the power of the spoken word, hiphop and music production.  As part of the Word-Xpress Hiphop Music Project, participating artists were encouraged to extend their experience outside the studio into classrooms and the community to inspire Huntsville’s area youth. The three artists were motivated to teach and coach young middle and high school students to be their authentic selves, to be creative, and to share it out loud with their peers through the art form of hiphop and poetry. At each location, students wrote their lyrics and verses with the facilitation of a special topic authored by  Word-Xpress and the coaching and support of the artist team.