PAUL SCHRAG: FAB 5 BUILDS COMMUNITY THROUGH HIP-HOP >>>

Fab 5 â€" a local organization that aims to elevate the community through the mediums contained in hip-hop culture â€" is back to breathe some L.I.F.E. into the city as it kicks off another boot camp for kids who wanna know where to go. The L.I.F.E program, which kicked off last weekend and will run through 10 Saturdays, will take about 20-30 kids through a series of workshops designed to get them up to speed on three of the four heads of hip-hop culture: DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing, along with music production workshops led by producer extraordinaire Ohmega Watts (he’s not a bad MC either).

Each Saturday session will include three hours of education, followed by a group discussion. At the end of the 10-week session, Fab-5 staff will help students plan and execute their own jam, "Four for the Finish." All aspects of the event will be organized and planned by the students, featuring live mural painting, a student/instructor break dance battle and a student DJ showcase. Like the Zen masters, Fab-5 father Eddie Sumlin hopes to teach these kids, who average about 12 years old, more than the hip-hop skills curriculum.

“We’re bringing kids together from all over Tacoma,” says Sumlin, adding that classes are open to people of all ages. “We’ll have people from the eastside, northside, Hilltop and Stadium. We really want to make this about community organizing. We’ll be planning an entire event from start to finish.”

True to the art and culture they’re teaching, the goal of the L.I.F.E. program goes beyond the skills employed. All of the skills, once learned, will be channeled into a fund raiser of some sort, says Sumlin. He hopes that by working together, students of L.I.F.E. will learn that, to quote Dead Prez, it’s bigger than hip-hop.

“When they leave this class, we want them to know how to bring people together for a cause. Most of these kids will be like twelve. When they’re sixteen, we want to see what they can do with all of this,” says Sumlin. “We want them to know that they have a voice, and let them know that they can come together and make an impact. As instructors, that’s our favorite element. We want to make moves outside of just making art.”

Oh, but the moves are likely to be worth watching. Fab 5 crew has assembled a solid team to introduce these kids to the elements of the game. Ohmega Watts, who got started in New York and made a name with Lightheaded crew, is a master in the studio. Watts and the kiddies will have access to all the equipment they could ever want, including a full recording studio. DJ Save One, J Fresh and Reign will handle decks lessons. Would-be bboys and bgirls will have the fortune of being taught by members of Tacoma’s own Dancebroomz. Little street artists, and big ones, will get plenty of spray paint, and will receive instructions from some fine local writers. Graffiti students will also have a microchip implanted in their skulls that will inhibit them from using spray paint for any purpose that doesn’t involve commerce and proper permitting. Not really. But this isn’t just going to teach kids how to spray paint. Students will learn color theory, fundamentals of visual design, typography and more.

“We’re not one-dimensional with any of this,” says Sumlin.