Beats, Rhymes, & Life: Youth Music Showcase,

About the event

Like many other cities, my city is filled with starving & passionate musicians anxious & eager for the world to hear them, however most of the time its nearly impossible for them to receive acknowledgment from the folks in their own city. The city of Richmond does not have or offer sufficient resources needed for local musicians to flourish and master their craft, and lacks the necessary support and recognition needed for local artists. Being an underage musician, I recognized that is especially harder for us, because people are typically not looking to help us or overlook us. I noticed this issue about two years ago and took it upon myself to create a resolution for this issue, which was to create some sort of platform for young/ underage musical artists such as myself. I applied for an endowment award at my high school during the 2018 school year, and upon receiving it, I was able to host the first ever Beats, Rhymes, & Life: Youth Music Showcase on October 20th in 2018, which received media coverage from various news & media outlets, as well as live coverage on the day of the event. People were very interested in what I had to say once they caught wind of the event, however it took around 20 unsuccessful attempts in trying to secure a venue before I was able bring this event to life, because many people did not believe that a high school student could pull off an event of this magnitude all on their own. This event helped bring different communities together regardless of age, race, & background and for an afternoon, everyone was able to witness first hand what the youth could create. And everyone came together because of music, and as an artist that's a pretty significant thing to accomplish. The first showcase was a success and many people are even requesting that there be more, however that can only be accomplished by acquiring the needed funds for sound equipment, t-shirts, food for the artists & possibly getting someone to record the event from start to finish. If I can receive all the funds, by February 22nd at the latest, I intend on having the next showcase on February 23. 

Please read more about the event, I have provided various links to articles & interviews below:

Interview with NBC 12

 Interview with CBS 6 

 Article 

Why should you sponsor?

To help support and empower the youth!

Zuri Fleming

My name is Zuri Fleming, and I am a senior at Collegiate School. In the spring of 2018, I realized that there is no voice or platform for local under age musicians to showcase their talent to the city of Richmond. As a fellow young musician, I took it upon myself to create a solution for this issue, and I founded the Beats, Rhymes, & Life collective, which is a platform for the youth, by the youth. I was able to produce the first ever Beats, Rhymes, & Life: Youth Music showcase which took place on October 20th, 2018 and received media coverage and press from various news outlets such as NBC12 & CBS 6, as well as live coverage the day of the event.

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