Meet the Directors of Beats & Rhymes, the Extracurricular Rap Program Behind “Hot Cheetos & Takis”

Fader’s got an interview up with Raphael Jones and J.T. Evans, the former “real-world producers” who now serve as the co-directors of the truly inspirational Minneapolis after-school program Beats & Rhymes, which has blessed us with 2012’s instant hit “Hot Cheetos & Takis” (above) as well as the sizzurpy, Dre-lite “My Bike” and more. Jones and Evans had never worked with kids before, but have arrived at a few solid take-aways:

Gauge Skills
EVANS: Some kids come in with experience writing verses, and some kids are just really interested in rapping. If a kid’s never made their own verse, I’ll ask them to rap their favorite verse from a Nicki Minaj or Drake song to see where their skill level is at. Some kids write their own verses completely, and some kids are better at delivery. We always try to encourage them to start by thinking of what they want to say, even if it’s just to write a list of stuff they like to talk about.

Encourage Healthy Competition
JONES: When we have a few different beats and kids don’t know which song they want to be a part of, we’ll do like an NBA draft. J.T. and I act as captains and draft the kids we want for our songs. Then we compete to see whose team can make the best song; other classes come in and scream for which song they like best. Songs get done faster that way, and it’s fun. Hip-hop is competitive. Our kids already want to be the best.

[Fader]