Old-school hip-hop artist Kangol Kid came to town not to headline a concert, but to pop in on some elementary school kids.
He did see a show in the process.
Kangol Kid visited the Davis Street 21st Century Magnet School Wednesday night to watch the original production “Lazy Lester Leon.”
Written and directed exclusively for the Davis School by Sharice Sellem, the show takes the audience on a musical journey through history. The musical tells the story of Lester, an elementary student who develops bad habits from his new friends at school. He begins to dislike playing the trumpet. He starts to do poorly in school. He is grounded by his mother, who sends him to his room.
There, Lester falls deep into a musical reverie that leads him to meet musical greats like Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. They inspire him to work hard and resist peer pressure.
Kangol Kid, who lives in New York, has been making his own mark on musical history. His Untouchable Force Organization (UTFO) was a popular hip-hop group from the ’80s.
Referring to himself as a “parent” in hip-hop, Kangol visited the school to pass on some words of advice to the young performers, and to spread his success on to the future.
“I’m here because I get it,” Kangol said at Davis. “These are our future entertainers.”
Students flocked around Kangol Kid for pictures and autographs backstage before and after the production. Among them was Diva Carter, age 9, who played Florence of The Supremes in the production.
Diva, who hopes to become a famous designer, dancer or supermodel one day, was star-struck by Kangol Kid. “I was really excited because I never saw a hip-hop artist before or any celebrity in person,” she said.
Another student, Milan Cox, age 10, played Billie Holiday in the musical. Milan, who hopes to become a famous actress when she grows up, absorbed Kangol’s words of advice for young entertainers. “You have to work hard,” Milan said, “you have to stay focused.”
The Davis Street 21st Century Magnet School aims “to celebrate literacy through the arts, technology and multiculturalism,” Principal Lola Nathan said. This was the school’s second production of the year.