LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two men from West Louisville are using their own money and time to help young people who dream of pursuing a career in music.
"It gives them a different outlook, something different to do and it keeps kids off the streets," co-owner of "5X5" studio Rashawn Verner said. "It’s giving back to the community and at the same time we're going to be mentoring them so they're going to learn how to musically express themselves."
A state of the art sound studio is under construction in the basement of the Portland Community Center.
"Showing them how to engineer, produce, record just give them a different trade," Verner said. "A different skill set cause everybody is not going to be a professional athlete."
Verner and Ryan Kilgore, both music engineers from West Louisville, are funding the project with money from their own pockets. The "5X5" studio will include a wing dedicated to a non-profit afterschool program for kids.
"We're going to teach them engineering, making beats, mixing and mastering," Kilgore said. "We want to do more than just music, you know. We want to mean something and we want to look back and say that we had a positive effect on the community and the future of it."
Verner and Kilgore say the goal is to have part of the studio ready in January and have it fully finished by March. To learn more about the project or to contribute, email rayluv9@gmail.com.
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