At the end of our third week, I’m happy to report that the teens and Sonya have finished up two complete tracks.  The next step is moving onto the mixing phase, where all the levels will be set and the wordplay the teens have weaved into their recording all becomes clearer and makes sense.

I’ve heard a rough mix of the tracks so far and I can hardly contain my excitement about them.  There are two things that stand out to me about these tracks.

First, the lyrics are all from the heart.  When I hear what these teens are singing and rapping about, I hear honesty.  I hear them singing and rapping about their lives.  It amazes me how in tune to the moment they are.  I think we can all learn something from that.

Second, the artistic ideas put into their vocal deliveries is just amazing.  Wait till you hear how the teens weave their lines together with overlapping lines, harmonies, and more.  They’re all saying their own thing, but the themes are so universal that they all connect together and create such beautiful music.

Here are the instrumental tracks if you didn’t catch them:

(next week, we’ll have the finished tracks!)