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The
Pied Piper of Watts
Compton-born musician triggers cultural revival in Watts
By
Gary Walker
Bulletin
Staff Writer
Watts,
a community with a rich musical legacy, has experienced a renaissance
of sorts since the beginning of the year, and that resurgence
is due in large in part to a man named Cornelius Mims and his merry
band of music students.
The groups of youngsters from the surrounding neighborhoods make
up what is called Perform, which is part of Subject2Change, a musical quartet
of professional musicians who delight in imparting their talents to the
children of Watts. Besides learning the joys of singing, the members of
the group, who range in age from junior high to high school, get the added
bonus of learning the ins and outs of the music business from a seasoned
pro.
Growing up in Compton and later moving to Gardena, Mims, a bass guitarist,
says that he was surrounded by a group of young musicians in the 1970s
who helped foster his early musical training. “There were so many
of us that had these great musical gifts as young kids, and we all pushed
each other,” he related. Even to this day, Mims said many of the
people that he played with are, like himself, active in the music industry
and they still maintain contact with each other whenever they can. “It’s
a clique that started 30 years ago that is still going on.”
Mims came to Watts when a childhood friend learned that he was looking
for a venue to develop his dream of establishing a performing arts program.
The friend, Greg Burkes, who is the executive director of the Los Angeles
Youth Opportunity Movement, brought him aboard in February. And that’s
when the fun began.
“The sky’s the limit”
“We’ve come into contact with some great youngsters in the
area, and they’re really excited about what we are doing,” Mims,
a wiry, energetic man, said while he gave a reporter a tour of the facility
last
week.
“The performing arts gives people such a diverse way of expression,
and all of them can be correct,” he pointed out. “There are
so many styles that you can do... the sky’s the limit.”
The facility, dubbed Yo! Watts, offers the students from Subject2Change
a venue to express themselves through music, and the parents of some of
the youngsters are as equally excited about the center’s possibilities
as their children are. LaTrice Simmons is happy that her son Jared comes
to Perform. “I know here that he’s in good hands, and he is
getting to do what he loves-which is sing,” she stated.
An important component of Subject2Change and Perform is the advantage
of having a teacher who has a long, illustrious history as a musician who
has played with some of the top performers in the world and who can not
only offer them instruction in music, but also allows them through his
connections to gain access to the inner workings of the entertainment industry
with a behind the scenes look at what goes on in “the business.”
Herbie Hancock, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder,
Anita Baker, and En Vogue are some of the stars that Mims has worked with,
and those professional experiences have given him the insight and the know-how
to train the next generation of singers, sound board people, composers,
etc.
“I tell our kids that not all of you can be the star,” Mims
said, “But
that doesn’t mean that all of you can’t have a successful career
in the industry,” he added.
Subject 2Change is not only a musical program, but also a performing
entity. The program’s participants get an opportunity to perform
live and hone their skills earlier than in most training grounds, and again
Mims’ connections have made that a reality.
“Councilwoman Janice Hahn has been very, very supportive of Subject2Change,” the
organization’s director said. “We have been able to cultivate
a wonderful relationship with her office, and due to her we are known
as the ambassadors of music in this area,” he said. “Anybody
who needs live music, they call us.”
“Us” is comprised of Mims, Nysa Shenay David Anderson and Michael
Thompson. All of them double as instructors or musicians with Perform.
Shenay teaches the children their singing lessons, and is overwhelmed
each time that she watches her young charges perform “We’ve
seen a lot of changes in the kids since we’ve been here,” she
began.
“We’ve seen changes in some of their grades, more confidence
and more discipline and we think that this is a great alternative to things
like
gang-banging,” the teacher stated. “They are like sponges;
they absorb everything. They never cease to amaze me.”
Adrian Velez of Yo! Watts is another believer in what Mims and his
group are doing.
“When we heard that Cornelius wanted to bring his program here and
provide free music instruction to the young people in Watts, it was
really hard to turn down,” he remembered. “We were really blessed
that someone who is active in the music industry wanted to provide
music to the youth of Watts.
“From the beginning, I knew where his heart was and what his intent
was,” Velez continued. “It was to help young people.”
“It’s a rush to see these kids perform, and my drive is to
instill in them what was instilled in me as a young man,” Mims explained. “Having
a real foundation, being motivated toward a goal and believing in
yourself; that’s what I’m trying to show them.”
Velez feels that that Yo! Watts has benefited from Subject2Change,
and vice versa. “A lot of young people have been able to tap into
their talents, or there may be young people who want to learn about the
music industry but don’t know to go about it,” he noted.
“There is a cavalcade of different careers inside the entire entertainment
industry that so many kids in this community are unaware of,” Mims
stressed. “That’s what we want to do... show them all the different
jobs that there exist in the music industry.”
In the year that Mims has been in Watts, he has experienced things
that he had never seen growing up in Compton. Without elaborating, he mentioned
that some of the children have been in “very compromising situations
at home,” and Mims found himself playing the role as mentor and as
he termed it “an interventionist.”
“For me, it was a life-changing experience,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for the music program, some of these kids wouldn’t
be able to deal with some of their situations at home,” Velez put
in. “Some of them have told me that.”
Mims believes that he has his program in the ideal place for it to
really take off, but like so many worthwhile programs, funding is a major
concern. “All of the teachers work for no money, and I hope that
eventually I’ll be able to dedicate myself to Subject2Change full-time,” he
said. “So many of the kids look forward to this, because for many
of them, this is the best thing in their lives,” he added.
To learn more about Subject2Change, please call (310) 488-4366 or
visit their website at www.subject.2
change.com.
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