MONTREAL-- While many youth programs focus on teaching kids to sit up straight and keep silent, rapper Dice B is more likely to focus on teaching his young charges how to keep a killer flow and drop some massive beats.
The youth coach at the YMCA on Park Ave. has been helping out young people with dreams of becoming performers and that means putting out a new CD with the young talent, to be sold in local stores, every week.
And his musical protégés appreciate his input in advancing their art.
“To me it’s an opportunity because you can't walk on the street and find someone like Dice B giving you some tools, some hope,” said aspiring rapper Jordan Benoit-Ancion.
Another credits him from transforming her poems into something hummable.
“I didn't know that I could sing my poetry so Dice B really taught me how to let out my emotions and I learned that they're not just words. It's what you feel and what you've lived,” said Caroline Witzig.
Dice B, who has considerable experience in the music business, teaches the kids that they’ve got to put their shoulder to the wheel if they hope to get to want to become the next Biggie, Tupac, Snoop or Jay Z.
“If you really want to be in the industry, if you really want to be a real artist, a recognized artist, well it takes a lot of work,” he said.
But teaching the kids is anything but work in his eyes.
“I love being here, it’s like freedom,” said Dice B.
