Our founder, SCETCH was raised in Los Angeles during the 80’s and 90’s, an era filled with violence, drugs and other peer pressures. As a young music lover and aspiring creative, he was faced with the stark reality that were no music or entertainment career training programs available in schools or his community.
He lived through the danger years in Los Angeles, between the ages 13 to 19, where there were no recreational or creative outlets for students if they didn’t play sports. “As a teenager, there was nothing positive to do in LA…you were either too old to go to Chuck E. Cheese or too young to get into the club”, says SCETCH. With limited recreational options, many of his peers turned to the streets, which turned out to be counterproductive and sometimes fatal.
He was able to make it out alive to pursue his creative dreams and enjoy a successful 20 year music, marketing and entertainment career doing something he loved. Unfortunately, there are many teen stories today that don’t have a happy ending. Many will never have the opportunity to develop their creativity, either due to lack of access, resources, program funding or access to a safe space to develop their skills.
Today, students who live in the multi-trillion dollar metropolis of Los Angeles are surrounded by music, media, entertainment, sports, technology, financial, business and corporate success stories, but these industries aren’t collectively contributing to developing the talent and employment pipeline in their own backyard.
Imagine what would happen if all the entertainment corporations in Los Angeles helped fund creative and career training programs in their respective industries. Students would be exposed to a world of opportunities available to them, which would help occupy their mind, time and energy in a positive way.
That was the motivation, which lead to SCETCH founding MUSIC to the Ears, as a bridge for underrepresented youths and young adults to discover, explore, and develop their creative interests and talents. He is dedicated to mobilizing the music, media, entertainment, sports, tech and business community in Los Angeles to build a bridge for future generations of aspiring talented creatives and entrepreneurs.