Anthony Arnold, left, practices on the mic inside a recording studio south of Lawrence as fellow hip-hop partner Dave Elias awaits his turn. The pair are part of small group of Lawrence High School students who take part in a school hip-hop class.

In a rural recording studio south of Lawrence, posters of Green Day and Against Me adorn the walls, overlooking Marshall amplifiers, guitars and a drum kit.

It’s not exactly a venue that exudes a hip-hop vibe. But on this particular day, a batch of high school students have invaded the studio to lay down their own raps and beats.

“Getting recorded for the first time has been the most fun,” says Dwane Jimerson, a senior at Lawrence High School. “I’ve never experienced that before – actually being inside a booth. I was surprised how it sounded like what was in my head. I didn’t think it would sound that good.”

Jimerson is one of seven students from LHS who are participating in a school program designed to help “at risk” teens connect with each other by creating a hip-hop CD. On top of that, the students will showcase the project with a live performance this Saturday at LHS.

The program was founded by school psychologist Jeanette DeVilbiss.

“I was looking for a variety of ways to motivate the students,” DeVilbiss says. “A couple students talked to me about rap, which I really had no experience in at all. After I heard it several times, I thought maybe there was something to this.”

The psychologist gathered a group that could get together during the school day to work on their rapping, beatboxing and various hip-hop skills, provided their behavior was good and they kept their grades up in all other classes.

“None of these students have any other activities at the high school they’re involved with, so this is a really special group,” she says.

DeVilbiss recruited artist friend Amy Carlson to help with the recording. It just so happens Carlson’s college-age sons had converted the family’s garage into a comfy recording studio, complete with glass partitions and isolation rooms.

“I didn’t realize hip-hop was such a collaborative effort,” Carlson admits.

“I thought it was more of people just making these raps by themselves. But these kids apparently write a line, then pass it off to somebody else, who adds to it. I was really impressed that there was this mutual effort in developing their art.”

Carlson, a printmaker who ran the ceramics studio at the Lawrence Arts Center for 12 years, says she’s often been a witness to how the creative process can bring out hidden dimensions in people. She cites one of the students who is a chronic stutterer.

“He can’t hardly say what he wants to say, but he’s a terrific rapper,” she says. “What they’ve found in writing these raps is that he’s got an unbelievable vocabulary.”

Pro guidance

DeVilbiss also recruited accomplished rapper Richard Thomas – a 1993 LHS grad who goes by the stage name GQ – to offer guidance to the participants.

“(The students) are very respectful to all of us, but they really pay attention to GQ,” DeVilbiss says.

In addition to helping with the mechanics of melody and lyrical flow, Thomas strives to give his apprentices a reality check.

“I’m trying to encourage them to make music that their family and school staff can listen to,” he says. “I tell them, ‘You guys don’t live a terrible life like the New York rappers you’re listening to. You’re living a wonderful life here in Lawrence.’ … They don’t have enough experiences to venture into that ‘I’m a bad guy’ world. Instead, the authenticity comes from their youth.”

Therefore Thomas, one of the original members of influential Lawrence hip-hop group Bombsquad, suggests writing songs about day-to-day life in Kansas, or high school, or simply being 17.

“Some are supposed to be troubled youth who are dealing with whatever disadvantages they have. I’m encouraging them to speak on that,” he says. “Maybe speak on why you’re not the coolest kid in class. Speak on why you weren’t voted most likely to succeed. Make a rap up about that.”

The big night

Funding for this high school program comes via a recent grant from the Lawrence Arts Commission.

“To be honest with you, I was surprised they funded it, with all the stuff that’s been going down at Last Call,” Carlson says, citing the recently closed dance venue that became a magnet for criminal activity.

“I thought if we didn’t have the right mix of people on (the commission), they’d think, ‘I’m not gonna support that gunslingin’ stuff!’ But apparently they were up for it.”

This is the third year of the program, yet the first to feature a multi-song CD project and live performances. In addition to a set by GQ, several of the students will take turns on the mic, including a group within the LHS class that has been together for two years called UDC (Undisputed Champz). Also appearing will be a hip-hop girls dance troupe from Central Junior High School.

However, not all of the students in the program are ready for the stage.

“I can’t perform live. I’m too nervous,” says LHS senior Cassie Horn. “But maybe if the spirit moves me, I might just have to jump on with the CD and let them hear my voice.”

Either way, Horn’s track “I Thought It Was You” will be unveiled on Saturday. She says the song is about being mistreated in a past relationship.

Discs will be on sale at the show, with profits going back into the music program.

“It’s given me a way to express my creativity in some way I’d never thought,” Horn says. “Usually, I thought of writing or art as the only way. I didn’t know rapping could get it out, too.”