11Alive’s Neima Abdulahi organized an educational kids “cypher” (gathering) with two young Atlanta hip-hop talents – Bankroll PJ and Street Bud.
Neima gave them a challenge. The artists were asked to rap about the value of education and staying in school. The artists were hand-selected for the project because of their skill-set and prominence in Atlanta.
Fourteen-year-old Street Bud gained industry recognition after winning the fourth season of Jermaine Dupri’s Lifetime reality talent show “The Rap Game” in 2018. Street Bud has a strong following on social media and rhymes beyond his years. He’s managed by his mother Cori.
Bankroll PJ has more than 300,000 followers on his Instagram account. The 8-year-old rapper’s rise to fame started in a viral video of him counting money several years ago. His strong personality caught the attention of many blogs and media outlets. PJ started rapping and decided that’s the career path he wanted to pursue.
Super music producer Mr. Hanky contributed two instrumentals for the artists to write rhymes to. After the artists recorded the tracks, they arrived to the 11Alive studio to perform their educational rhymes in person.
Neima Abdulahi wanted to positively influence the young artists and allow them to encourage their young fan base to value education and show that school is cool! She hopes this project sparks a conversation centered around how hip-hop can influence the youth and empower the young generation.
Neima produced a 30-minute docu-series last year for 11Alive called “Third Coast ATL” which explored Atlanta’s dominating hip-hop scene, the influence, economic impact, the dangers and how Atlanta is the mecca of the billion-dollar industry.