(upbeat music) - You'll wanna stick around for what's coming up next on "You Oughta Know."

The future is female.

Montgomery County Community College is preparing the next generation of women in audio.

Passing the torch, a Society Hill pastry chef mixes the past with the present, and creating conscious hip hop lyrics that make you move and think.

(upbeat music) Thanks for tuning in, so happy to have you.

I'm Shirley Min.

This year mark's 50 years of hip hop, but there's more to writing rap songs than rhyming and explicit language.

For those who compete in PQ Radio One's "How Dope are You?"

Contest, it takes creativity to write uplifting lyrics.

- I came here a couple months ago, and my first time coming here, I did curse in my first song.

When I first came in, I wasn't where I was, where I'm at now.

Mentally I was a different person.

As time went on, every month that I came, I started to develop mentally, spiritually, and I became a better artist.

♪ I be getting money, I ain't never gonna stop ♪ ♪ I know they was hatin' ♪ ♪ But these (indistinct) ♪ ♪ I'm gonna keep on runnin' ♪ ♪ Til I reach the top spot ♪ Then, as time went on, me coming there and, and being surrounded myself by positive people, and a positive event, I just started getting better and better just at life.

And especially in my music.

My music really, really took a whole turnaround.

It just me going to that "How Dope Are You" event, it really changed my life.

- [Purple] Being in the management world and music.

You know, I managed rappers, I managed singers.

I was part of the wrong narrative for a long time.

And when I got the opportunity to have my own show, I wanna do some more music that that's not killing nobody, you know?

And then as I began to become more involved in the community and the gun violence in Philadelphia started to spike, and my people were dying, and young black men and women are- Blood is on the streets at a-a, alarming, tragic, scary rate.

I decided that I can no longer push a negative narrative.

(soulful music) ♪ All these blessings come and keep on runnin' ♪ - [Purple] So we want to on purpose, change the culture and change the narrative.

And that's what "How Dope Are You" is all about, changing the narrative of the music.

♪ I'm healed, I'm healed, I'm healed.

♪ - [Andre] So, so a while ago I was looking to connect with open mics.

It's very hard as a young artist to want to go against the grain, you know, go against that mold and say, you know what, I'm gonna speak my truth.

You know?

But I think Purple has given a space for us to do that.

And we're, we're really pushing that, because what you hear more, more often when I'm speaking, to other young people, other artists, like we, they don't want to rap like this.

Like nobody wants to hear about, you know, death and destruction all day.

Nobody wants to celebrate like, the destruction of our community.

- Together as a community and using our voices, using our power, to actually bring people together and build bridges.

[Andre] (off-screen) We got so many people that are refreshed to hear you talk about something else than killing somebody.

You get what I'm saying?

And so, yeah, I'm grateful that these spaces are being created, and we have to continue to collaborate with spaces that are created, and continue to, you know, just keep 'em sacred.

- Welcome everyone to... [Purple] We get all kinds of people who have been traumatized in all kinds of ways.

And the young people here in Philadelphia, especially West Philadelphia, were lacking a safe space to share, to share their thoughts, their feelings, their emotions.

A lot of them felt alone.

So my husband and I, Thomas Blackwell, who he's always out there talking to the young people and, trying to find a way to help them save themselves.

And in doing that we build relationships, and have conversations.

So they were able to tell us what they need, and we were able to listen to what they needed, and to apply what they needed- A safe space.

- Throughout my teenage years, I've been like I was robbed at gun, gunpoint, at like 14.

- [Purple] My hope is that we as a community, stop suffering in silence.

Stop suffering and working in silos.

That we need to realize that we have to come together in community to heal.

♪ I thought I was enough ♪ ♪ How bad, don't treat me like I'm little ♪ ♪ I'm dribblin' ♪ - [Purple] The more that we preach, and teach, and push love, the more that we win.

So we want to, we want to perpetuate that message.

We want it to be contagious.

We want people to know that yes, we are fighting to change the culture of the music on purpose.

♪ Too bad and I'm basic ♪ ♪ But I can't have a main chick ♪ ♪ 'Cause last time I was jankin'.

♪ - "How Dope Are You" open mic series against gun violence, happens every fourth Wednesday of the month.

While hip hop has evolved since 1973.

It didn't always include sexually explicit, sometimes violent or misogynistic lyrics.

Here to talk about how today's lyrics may affect young listeners, is therapist Dante Barfield.

Dante, thank you so much for being here.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- Now I wanna make this clear, that this is not about bashing, or vilifying hip hop and rap music.

I personally, huge fan, but all genres of music, sometimes the lyrics have come under fire.

Can these lyrics, if they have a lot of curse words in them, if they say things like the B word when referencing women, can they be detrimental to the development of young listeners?

- That's a great question.

And I think some of the words like, can it be detrimental?

I think any lyric from any music genre can have a- Can play a role in our children, our youth and adults, negative or positive.

I do know that language in itself, is the most important factor.

That if you tell somebody something bad within any, within any way and add a different beat to it, whether it be a slow R&B beat or a fast hip hop beat, or a nice calm country beat, that might be filtered in a way that could be negative.

Anything from drinking a beer, maybe in a country song, to grabbing a gun in a rap song.

Are both of those, both of those possibly harmful to you to youth?

Yeah.

Without a doubt.

But I think on the other side, the positive, if I were to say, right.

From my experience as a mental health clinician, that it does outweigh the negative.

- Right.

- And why do I say that?

Because with this is the only voice that I believe our youth have.

That when I go listen to people, I'm not listening to a 14, 16, 18 year old.

I tend to be listening to adults, right?

So youth need a voice.

And when I hear their voices and I hear their music, I do not hear all the negativity.

I do hear the words though, socially seemed explicit, right?

That we have to be careful of.

Without a doubt, it is not okay to go around saying certain words.

But I'm not, I don't hear kids running around rapping lyrics all day long in like in public areas.

They tend to be saying, hello, hi, what's up?

- Well we just, we just ran a story about, you know, a group, a nonprofit trying to encourage creatives, to rap with clean lyrics.

- Yeah.

- And that's a beautiful thing.

But that's not gonna happen always in the music culture, that is now.

- How can parents, and I'm a mom and I have an 11 and 8 year old, and sometimes they hear music, that I listen to that has all these bad words in them, and there have been questions.

Now I can't control everything they're listening to, but there are times when I will play a song, and they ask me questions in the car, and I'm like, we don't say these words.

We definitely don't say certain words.

And then I explain why.

Is this the best parents can do when we're trying to guide our kids through like this music landscape?

- Yeah.

No, this is awesome.

I love that.

And I think I'm gonna take the word best, and say I think parents can do what they seem as best.

Right that what is the best parental practice?

I'm not too sure, but I do think teaching your kids is a great start.

And I do think that you being the immediate barrier, and filter of what these words mean is the greatest.

I'm a parent myself.

I cannot wait to teach my daughter what certain words mean.

I don't want her to learn from Cardi B, I want her to learn from Dante B and that is me.

Alright?

And there are certain things that I'm excited, and I think parents can be super excited to teach them about the explicit nature of our society.

Now we just get music to be the context.

- That's our classroom today.

Our classroom is this song on the radio, maybe the song today is Tupac - Changes.

Maybe tomorrow's song is another one that we hear on the Grammys, right?

Certain... We are as parents, some of the greatest teachers of our kids, and we can guide them, and teach them and steer them into the words together.

- So there's nothing causal here.

Like I'm gonna listen to gangster rap.

Now all of a sudden, you know, I'm gonna be a gangster.

- Gangster, yeah.

If that were true, we would have a lot of gangsters.

I would be a gangster, I would not be a therapist, I would also be a basketball player.

I would also be a, yeah, I could go through the multiple things, right?

So I will say, right, that thinking one lyric, or song or even multitude is gonna now lead this person say "that's who I want to be".

There are rappers out there who will promote both at the same time.

It is our choice to help guide our kids to what is best.

- Rap didn't always start like this.

Like the Sugar Hill gangs.

- [Dante] Yeah.

- You know, slick Rick, these are examples where there really is, music in this genre that kind of can fit whatever people like.

- Yes, without a doubt, there are so many different genres out there.

I mean there are, there are, there's rap that- There are rappers who do use the explicit words, but in ways that'll just make you want to say them.

'cause they almost bring beauty to 'em.

And there are rappers who don't need to say all these words, all the time.

I can name a multitude right now and then.

- You can just not listen.

- Yeah.

- Right?

- I mean the choice of listening is tough too, right?

Because I do think we are hit with a lot of this is what you should listen to.

I do think we have to buy an album, and listen to the tracks that aren't on, aren't on the radio.

- Okay.

- I do think we have an opportunity to do that, and teach our kids that too.

- Dante, I could talk to you for many, many more minutes.

- Yeah.

- But that is all the time we have, Dante Barfield, thank you so much for this riveting discussion.

- This is awesome.

Thank you so much too.

- Well, once you write the lyrics and then lay down the beats, it is time for the audio engineer to step in, and women in audio are making waves here at WHYY, and at Montgomery County Community College.

(funky EDM music) - [Joyce] To walk into a control room full of men, you need to know what you're gonna be doing.

You need to know your task.

- [Shirley] Joyce Lieberman knows what she's doing when she enters a sound studio control room, or the editing room.

As an audio engineer at WHYY, she's worked with the likes of Terry Gross, but her path to becoming an engineer was in defiance.

- [Joyce] My mom told me and my two other sisters that girls should be teachers and nurses.

- [Shirley] Determined to prove that women could become anything, Joyce embarked on a career in a field dominated by men.

Determined to empower other women, interested in becoming audio engineers.

- [Joyce] I learned about a group here at WHOY, called Radio Free Women, and I decided to go to a tech school, and then I applied for the job here.

I think that public radio, and public TV has been very kind to women engineers.

- The next wave of women engineers, are getting their start at Montgomery County Community College.

- You can hit play like it.

And then that's, now that's the intro.

That's the first verse, right?

So watch.

- I'm David Ivory, director of the sound recording, and music technology program here at Montgomery County Community College.

- (woman off-screen) So I'll let you know when they come, and you can also mess with his vocal too if he wants to.

So that's that one.

- [David] This program, it was mainly developed to give students access to quality recording equipment, the latest technology, and the technology that students will see in the field.

We feel that if you know what's going on, and you just be a professional, and have the respect about that, you're gonna go a long way.

But if you are confident in your own skin, you can just be comfortable with that, and say it's okay, I got this.

And that's kind of what we try to teach, especially the females, you know, they come in a little bit more insecure, say than some of the male students and you know, we instantly try to level that playing field.

- I had to do some sound effects like movie production.

So I had to record my own sounds, which is kind of fun, and a little bit stressful.

And I had to like automate them, like sequence them, make sure that the, the cameras eyes, and ears are like are together, you know, and synchronize.

And then the running part, which I also have to EQ, and then add like some panning, like so when she ran from like left to right.

- We're literally the only school around that has this kind of opportunity.

Even here, this is a brand new theater.

This is the latest consoles in the Met, is at the Kimmel Center.

We teach the students to be able to work on a pro piece of gear, immediately.

- [Siona] Being a woman in a male dominated career.

It's kind of trailblazing.

I feel as though I am like, responsible for the upcoming woman who also want to join in.

There's also like a nice little apples thing in there, that I've worked really hard on.

(women conversing off-screen) - Yes.

I love getting... - Right?

- [Siona] It's definitely a little nerve wracking sometimes.

Like when you are, like you walk in and you're like the only girl in a room.

- I think for the first time in like in my life, I've been like actually like looking forward to going to school.

- Should you go back?

Should you go back?

- Maybe a little bit of reverb on this way?

- [David] Can we go back on that?

We have several students that are working in the field right now, right out of, right out of this program in various IT companies, in convention centers.

We have a student that's in Ireland right now, working at the studio that U2 works at.

One of our girls is now an engineer down in Nashville.

- Everyone is super supportive, especially the teachers, and they make a point to tell you that like this industry is like, it's hard and it's gonna be hard for you, and it's especially gonna be hard for a woman.

So they try to prepare you for that really well.

And I really appreciate that.

- My next guest is a woman of many talents.

Madhu Bora is the suburban news editor here at WHYY.

She is also an artist.

Madhu, welcome to You Oughta Know.

- Thank you so much Shirley.

I'm so grateful to be here.

- You are the resident artist at Grounds for Sculpture, and as such have put together an exhibit, it's called Local Voices, memories, stories and portraits.

And it tells the stories of members of the local Indian community.

This is a multimedia exhibit.

What, what will visitors see?

- So when they come in, it's, it's like you said, it's a multimedia exhibit.

It has beautiful portraits and banners of our storytellers.

These 15 individuals that were chosen to tell their deeply personal stories.

There's also a video installation of them narrating the stories that they picked, that they wanted to share.

And objects that are deeply personal.

Some of them are connected to their stories, some of them are connected to who they are, and the faith that they come from.

- And the images, the subjects chose, the images themselves also.

- Absolutely.

So the whole thing was to empower our storytellers to have full agency.

So they got to pick what, how they wanted to be represented.

You know, we just told them, come wearing clothes or, or put on makeup, whatever makes you feel celebrated and beautiful.

So they came in dressed, and then we took the photos, and we worked with an amazing group of BIPOC women photographers who are also journalists, and there was, you know, relationship building before they went into the photo shoot.

And our storytellers actually also had the agency to pick the photos that were going up.

So they, they, you know, were in full control as to what stories they wanted to share, how they wanted to be represented visually, and also the objects that are there.

- How your journalism training was put to use.

How so?

- Absolutely.

You know, it was finding, finding these sources, our storytellers.

Right?

Also, you know, why we decided to do this was because, you know, I, we looked at the demographics and outside of India, in the western hemisphere, in New Jersey, Bombay is little India, right?

And that has the highest concentration of Indian people, outside of India.

So, so who are these people?

I mean, that's how it happened.

And also like debunking the theory of like India, as a monolith and that, you know, India is a sum total of all these different ethnicities, and faiths and languages.

And so within this exhibit, you know, our audience get acquainted with folks from, you know, more than seven different faiths, and speaking 12 different languages.

So it really celebrates the diversity of India, and in the rich tapestry.

- And you were born in India?

- [Madhu] I was born in India.

- This is clearly a deeply personal exhibit for you.

- [Madhu] Absolutely.

- Did you find you still learned things along the way?

- Oh yeah, absolutely.

I mean, you know, I really, felt, you know, this whole thing about like documenting our stories and telling our stories and especially like, you know, after 2020 and the racial reckoning and, and also during the pandemic when so many of us lost our loved ones and elders, and so much of wisdom went away with them.

So I was on this personal mission to like, you know, document stories, and then gathering these group of amazing storytellers.

It was also like such an act of spirituality, you know, coming into places where, you know, storytellers are these magical beings, they delve into memory, and share deeply personal experiences, and to hold space is also something really sacred.

So I felt like it was for me, it was in a way like mourning, as well as celebrating all the stories that were lost with some of my ancestors, but also shedding light on, you know, who we are as people, and I was transformed and you know, really transported by all these stories.

- Madhu Bora, this is beautiful.

The exhibit is called Local Voices - Memories, Stories and Portraits.

It's at the Grounds for Sculpture, in Hamilton, New Jersey through January 7th.

Madhu, thank you so much for being here.

- Thank you so much.

- Well, you are in for a sweet treat with this next story, a Society Hill baker is carrying on the legacy passed down to her from her former employer.

- I started out in my grandmother's kitchen.

It was like tradition.

She cooked and baked a lot.

I eventually got interested, and started helping her, and so that was like kind of how we bonded.

We bake and cooked together.

So I went to high school, and I had a baby my senior year, come his second birthday, he wanted a SpongeBob cake.

So I was like, you know what?

I think I can totally make this myself.

All the guests at the party were really impressed, started out just making cakes for friends and family, and then they started telling everybody.

Doing that I was like, you know what?

I want to take this a little bit more seriously.

So I attended the restaurant school at Walnut Hill College.

During my tenure there, we did a tour of France.

I definitely took a lot that I learned there, and it influences the way that I make pastry now.

While I was in culinary school, I wanted to work in a pastry shop, right?

I wanted to like get some real experience, in a bakery every day.

And so I found this little bakery right off South Street.

She was kosher and parve.

She took a chance on me.

Her name was Roz Bratt.

The name of the shop was Homemade Goodies by Roz.

And so I worked here with her.

We made pastries and wedding cakes.

Fast forward a little over a decade, she upon her retirement, sold me the shop.

I think coming from being Jewish owned, you kind of understand the marginalization, of another group of people.

And so the transition from a Jewish owned bakery, to an African American owned bakery, just like honoring our ancestors who weren't able to do this kind of thing.

Also taught me that relationships in your career, are really important.

She was here for 25 years, so she wanted to make sure that it was in really, really good hands, and she wanted another female owner in her space.

And I'm just happy to be here.

We focus a lot on very highly decorated things.

We do a lot of French inspired pastry.

I like to bring in my own southern roots to a lot of our recipes.

So it's just kind of a culmination of all the things that I've learned.

A lot of the neighbors, they love coming in here.

It's a very happy place, and they were very welcoming to the changes.

Also, I decided to create an educational program that taught pastry as well as like, the business side so that kids can learn that they can start a business at any age, at whatever education level, that you can create a future that you would like to see.

And then the adults were like, well, you can't leave us out.

We want to learn too.

And so we started teaching classes to adults, and I love sharing my knowledge, and everything that I've learned.

Our "Cake with a Twist" class is a cake decorating party for adults 21 and up, and they're given buttercream, and sprinkles, flowers, whatever the theme is for the event.

Step by step, we decorate a cake and when it's done, you get to take it home.

And then we have appetizers, and drinks and we dance and sing and its a lot of fun.

Sometimes it feels surreal that I'm here, but it's also very heartwarming that the thing that I set out to do when I was a kid, is the thing that I'm doing today as a career.

And I hope that I can be an inspiration to whoever has a dream and wants to do a thing.

And they may have stumbled along the way.

There may have been some roadblocks, but dreams come true.

- The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society recently unveiled its fall seek and stroll, walking tour.

Showing off the city's fall foliage and flowers.

I checked it out for myself, and found it was a great way to get out and enjoy the city.

It's sweater weather, and the perfect time to enjoy some fall colors.

(whimsical music) (whimsical music continues) The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society shared a walking tour throughout center city.

The 1.3 mile route starts here at Love Park, and guides you through some of Philly's most iconic spots.

(whimsical music) (whimsical music ending) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) And keep your eyes peeled for some fall plant highlights, at each Pennsylvania Horticultural Society garden.

(upbeat music) And the tour ends here at the Eastern State Penitentiary.

The self-guided tour takes about 45 minutes.

So grab a friend, enjoy the weather and get your steps in.

There's even a curated Spotify playlist you can listen to, with tunes inspired by each garden.

And be sure to share pictures from your walk with the hashtag PHS seek and stroll.

Well that does it for us tonight.

Thank you so much for watching, and we will see you back here next week.

Goodnight.

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