</p> <p>A new digital series from <a href="http://www.pbs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PBS</a> will shed some national light on one of the Triangle’s more unique music initiatives. </p> <p>In the fall of 2011, local producer <a href="http://www.applejuicekid.com/applejuicekid/HOME.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Juice Kid</a>, otherwise known as Stephen Levitin, began teaching a class at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Called the <a href="http://www.beatmakinglab.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beat Making Lab,</a> the course equipped college students with the skills and know how to produce high-quality hip-hop beats. In the spring, Mark Katz, the music professor who helped create the class and taught alongside Apple Juice, wasn’t able to participate, so Pierce Freelon, a hip-hop scholar as well as the MC for Durham’s jazz-and-hip-hop-bridging <a href="http://www.thebeastmusic.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Beast</a>, stepped in to take his place. After releasing <a href="https://soundcloud.com/beat-making-lab/sets/tar-heel-tracks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a compilation of beats from the Lab’s students</a>—all of which sampled music from N.C.-based artists—Apple Juice and Freelon took a more ambitious step: They traveled to Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to set up another lab in collaboration with the non-profit <a href="http://www.yoleafrica.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yole!Africa</a>.</p> <p>The success of those projects will be extended with <em>Beat Making Lab</em>, a weekly web series produced by <a href="http://video.pbs.org/program/pbs-digital-studios/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PBS Digital Studios</a>. New episodes will be uploaded every Wednesday to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/beatmakinglab?feature=watch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Beat Making Lab YouTube channel</a>. The 20-week series chronicles Freelon and Apple Juice’s efforts in the Congo as well as similar two-week initiatives in Panama, Senegal and Fiji. </p> <p>Per a press release:</p> <blockquote><p>During the month of May, Beat Making Lab will partner with Global Health organization Intrahealth and Speak Up Africa to set up all-female workshops in Dakar, Senegal. These sessions will showcase the talent of seven female MCs, singers and producers who, through their music, aim to spotlight various health issues in Africa.</p> <p>Beginning in June, the real-time series will feature episodes from Suva, Fiji.</p></blockquote> <p>The first episode of <em>Beat Making Lab</em> is streaming above.</p>
