“When you learn, teach, when you get, give.” -Maya Angelou

Last Spring, with guidance from Ronda Brown, Lead Teacher of Crenshaw High School’s Visual and Performing Arts magnet, the m.a.m.a. earth family completed an 8-week pilot session of ALTER: An After School Arts & Writing Program for grades 9-12. At Crenshaw High School, students have access to a media lab and recording studio and this program provides them with the opportunity to learn about writing, recording, producing and media arts. We are happy to collaborate for a second year with Crenshaw’s Visual and Performing Arts program and have secured funding to bring the program back for 2014/15.

The writing portion of this year’s ALTER program will be centered around developing students into artists of expression who will learn new tools and techniques based on Hip Hop fundamentals. The power of the written, spoken and recorded word and its relationship with music, history and culture will be explored to give students another context from which to use their artistic powers to create on paper and in the studio. Students will be writing and discussing their lives through the lens of Hip Hop, and recording original music with the help of professional producers and performing artists.

A BIG thank you to the amazing companies that have donated snacks for the kids!

About our facilitators:

The writing curriculum will be presented by artist, teacher and performer, Emeka Simmons. Emeka brings a wealth of experience from achievements with the LA Department of Cultural Affairs, Drum Cafe West and LA Youth at Work, to name a few. He has taught and performed all over the world in places like Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico and has shared the stage with artists like Damien (Jr. Gong) Marley, Smokey Robinson and Akon. Emeka has been a part of hundreds of classes, demonstrations and workshops at various institutions like UCLA, Santa Monica College and UCI.

The production curriculum will be facilitated by Denis Deft Martinez. In addition to working with the likes of Ice T, 2Pac, Jurassic 5 and countless others, Denis is known for giving back to the community through charity and community-building events. For the last ten years, he has been affiliated with the LAUSD mentoring programs, Annual Day Of The Child, and Para Los Ninos after school program in the downtown Los Angeles skid row district, and recently Denis and cousin Henry Hen Gee Garcia teamed up with Los Angeles Teen Mentors to launch their very own After-School Curriculum.

We are so happy to have these two amazing and accomplished individuals helping us to present another edition of ALTER to 9-12 graders at Crenshaw High School.

About us: m.a.m.a. earth is a Los Angeles-based grassroots community organization, founded by Jaime Kailani Bayot – big sister to Grammy-award winner, Bruno Mars and 1/4 of new singing group, The Lylas. Our mission is to inspire others to give back in their own communities while raising awareness about issues that affect us all. 4mamaearth partners with schools, local and global non-profit organizations to present enrichment classes, hands-on workshops and fundraising events.

Find us @4mamaearth on