Keeping their momentum going, the teenaged artists in Lawndale High School’s Beats & Bars after-school program have finally released their first official project, Who They Wish I Was. After impressing us with the video for the EP’s title-track a few days ago, the collective had us eager to jump into their proper full-length as soon as possible. Now, the time has come and the results should be celebrated.

Production-wise, Disrupt and CashmoneyAP made sure to provide their classmates with soulful canvases that set a high standard of quality from the very start. The emcees held it down on their end as well, spitting with sincerity about their struggles while keeping their heads high and rhyming in hopes of a better future. Bravo, Akua, Hotshot, Seloner, $toney, Cee’Jay, Q’Ross and Terentino all shine through their own unique personalities and it’s not hard to find yourself rooting for them by the end of the EP.

Who They Wish I Was is a testament to all the great things the youth can accomplish with proper mentorship and their teacher, Navarro, should definitely be commended for the work he put in over the school year to give his students an outlet to express themselves. Making a Hip Hop project under scholarly guidelines is a tough challenge to face, but Beats & Bars were able to overcome this hurdle with the help of Navarro and their genuine interest in the craft. Check out the project above and read what Navarro had to said to TheseDays regarding the recording process of the project:

Making an album sounds cooler than what it is to a group of teenagers. It takes a lot of work and patience. Helping them understand the importance of intros, interludes and outros to make it sound like a complete piece was something I needed to convince them about. Once we got those first songs done they got in a groove and we had a lot of fun. A lot of laughing, a lot of serious discussions also. I needed them to get to a point where they felt comfortable to talk about something a little deeper than what they're used to listening to.

 I really appreciated them being able to reach that part of themselves and speak on the realities of their lives.