Finding your voice: How one nonprofit is reaching kids through hip-hop
Hip-hop and mentoring. It doesn’t come to mind as fast as peanut butter and jelly, but Hip-Hop University is betting on it being a winning combo.
Hip-Hop University, based out of North Carolina, is on a mission to improve the landscape of opportunity for local youth, and they do it through positive hip-hop culture.
I had the opportunity to speak with Albert Carter, one of the co-founders of Hip-Hop University, after being impressed by the work of their organization. I was also intrigued by the monthly print and digital magazine they make in Lucidpress. He and I talked about Hip-Hop University’s story and the ways that they’re using Lucidpress to build a great brand that has the power to change kids’ lives for the better.
The story
Hip-hop has been a part of Carter’s life since he was young. “Growing up in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Philadelphia, I was in search of an identity that would make me appear cool while still being myself,” he writes. “I found comfort in knowing that hip-hop was a place in which I could do just that.”
So when Carter was looking to start a mentoring program that would be relevant and appealing to youth, hip-hop was a natural choice. With a lifelong background in hip-hop (including work as a rapper and manager) and years of mentoring experience, the combination just made sense.
Teaming up with his co-founder Reginald LaRoche, who he met in a mentoring program, Carter established the Hip-Hop University.
Today, Hip-Hop University is a successful nonprofit, having been nominated for Educational Leadership Program of the Year in 2015 and receiving coverage from a number of local news outlets. And that’s not to mention all the kids that have benefited from a safe, positive place to learn and grow.
The magazine
Growing up, Carter read a lot of hip-hop magazines. LaRoche and many of the board members of Hip-Hop University did as well. Naturally, they were excited about the opportunity to make one of their own.
But it wasn’t just that. Two of the major goals of Hip-Hop University are to provide mentors and promote literacy. A magazine is a unique medium to do both. Through Hip-Hop University’s in-person programs, local mentors work with kids face-to-face. A magazine makes it possible to have what Albert Carter calls “mentors from afar.” National hip-hop artists with a positive message can mentor from anywhere in the country when their stories are featured in the magazine.
Along with the “mentoring from afar,” promoting literacy happens naturally when kids read the magazine.
Sometimes literacy is specifically addressed in the content of the magazine. For example, a recent article titled “Kick the Phonetics” suggests a method in which struggling readers use the lyrics of their favorite hip-hop songs to expand their vocabulary.
Albert Carter sums it up by saying, “What better way to promote literacy and talk about hip-hop than through a magazine?”
Creating the magazine
Hip-Hop University determines what they’ll put in their magazine based on the monthly theme. For example, March is Women’s History Month and April will be Earth History Month, during which they’ll address environmental issues.
These themes are covered in articles authored by a combination of staff writers and contributors from around the country. To find great articles from contributors, Hip-Hop University sends out an email blast to Hip-Hop University members nationwide, inviting them to submit content for the magazine. Some articles make it into the next month’s magazine and some are reserved for future use.
Carter also told me that it’s common for hip-hop artists to express interest in being featured in the magazine. Hip-Hop University often features these artists, but their one stipulation is that any artists featured in the magazine have to promote a positive hip-hop culture. That positive culture is a key part of Hip-Hop University’s brand, and one they’re careful to maintain.
Once the content is in, Carter logs in to Lucidpress to take care of the layout and design. His favorite part about Lucidpress is the templates.
“[They’re] easy to maneuver,” he says. “I love the templates.”
The audience
“Kids love it,” Carter says about the magazine. Students enjoy reading about an artist they dream about meeting or one they’ve actually met through the program.
But Hip-Hop University Magazine attracts readers from all age groups. Though their target audience is ages 11–25, research shows that their readership falls more in the range of ages 11–36. Not a bad problem to have.
Age aside, Carter describes their target audience as “the mentor and the mentee.” They are writing for the students who are being mentored, but also for those who will be doing the mentoring. In this way, the magazine becomes a forum — a community — of sorts where artists, students, and mentors can have a positive conversation.
The results
Since Hip-Hop University is a nonprofit that measures success based on the positive impact they have in their community, their metrics focus on the kids they’re able to help.
The topics and articles in the magazine often spark conversations during the program, and the kids enjoy going home and telling their families what they’re learning.
An impact that Carter feels particularly passionate about is the way the magazine helps homeless kids achieve literacy. Some members of Hip-Hop University’s program are homeless and don’t have access to books, so the copy of the magazine they receive is one of the few things they have to read. “They keep the magazine and read it at night,” Carter tells me. He says it’s heartwarming to see the magazine have such a powerful impact.
Hitting the right beats
Hip-Hop University shows awareness of the key elements of building and maintaining a brand: they know their audience, they use a voice that their audience will relate to (in this case hip-hop), and they put their members (the equivalent of customers in for-profit organizations) first, producing content that will be relevant and helpful to them. They’re also careful to make their message consistent.
The magazine is a key way of communicating and promoting these values and their brand. It could be considered “cornerstone content” for them. And, like any great organization, nonprofit or otherwise, the ultimate aim of all this is to make people’s lives better. For Hip-Hop University, that means kids with better reading skills, a positive place to learn, and mentors who empower them to achieve their dreams.
All in a day’s work.
You can make a magazine or a variety of other great-looking marketing materials for your brand with Lucidpress. Sign up for a free trial to start creating!
About Jarom McDonald
Jarom McDonald works as a content specialist on Lucidpress’s marketing team. Outside of work, Jarom loves watching movies, occasionally watching birds, eating pizza, and driving a Prius (a vehicle he will defend passionately). Follow him on Twitter: @jarom2011.
Originally published at www.lucidpress.com.
