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Sasco helping to transform youths through music
December 17, 2021
Dancehall artiste Agent Sasco, who worked with the male wards at the Metcalfe Street Secure Juvenile Remand Centre in Kingston to build a recording studio, has promised to participate in monthly music sessions with the young men to help them develop their skills and give them added exposure to the trade.
Sasco, who is a We Transform Programme ambassador, said that he has benefitted from the "transformational value of music," throughout his career.
He urged the young men to use the opportunity to change their lives in a positive way.
"As much as we celebrate and welcome creative freedom, I must say that we can all agree that nothing that emerges from the studio should in any way be promoting or endorsing or suggesting any kind of idea, activity, culture value, or whatever, that will land someone in a space like this," he said.
Wards at the facility now have the opportunity to explore and develop their talent in music, following the opening of the Black Diamond Music Studio at the facility on Wednesday. The studio was established through collaboration involving the Ministry of National Security, the Department of Correctional Services through the We Transform Youth Empowerment Programme, and the Digicel Foundation.
It is equipped with computers, mixing board, speakers, microphones, headphones, a recording booth, among other things.
The wards will be exposed to training in music production and engineering, which will enable them to tap into their creativity while gaining marketable skills.
Dr Horace Chang, the national security minister, said that the studio provides another educational option for those wards who are not interested in the traditional subject offerings. He said studies show that young men who drop out of school often have a lack of interest in traditional subjects. The minister said "Music can be one of the greatest factors in not only maintaining unity in our country but in transforming the behaviours of those we consider as troublemakers in the most volatile communities".
