Radical Cypher Series

Project Description

My project for the City of Boston’s inaugural RIRJ cohort was the Radical Cypher Series which was to be a series of rap cyphers conducted and performed by young men of color in the Boston area. The young men were Erick “Lando” Caridad, Calogano “Seefour” Chambers, Jacory “Exoshakeem” Martin, Tomo Singh, and Justin “Juda” Vuelto most of whom were working with me at Teen Empowerment Studios. We met once every week starting in April 2021 and worked to create songs together that highlighted the issues that they faced as young men of color in their communities. Over a series of meetings with the young men we decided to release an album in collaboration with some of the other youth at Teen Empowerment Studios and host a singular event showcasing our work together. The event featured music and dancing because one of the young men, Juda, was more comfortable with dance than he was with music by the time our event came around. Our event drew in a sizable audience over the summer at the Melnea Cass Recreation Center and Pool. Under the collaboration with TE Studios some of the young men’s work was able to be featured in the film that Teen Empowerment released that summer, Senseless Smoke.

As young people of color we don't always have the space granted to us to take pride in our work so we granted ourselves that space. We engaged with our peers, loved ones, and community members to put on a show that highlighted the hardships we experienced while simultaneously uplifting our ability to thrive under such circumstances!