Blackpool youngsters get £29,000 scheme to rap their life of Grime like Dizzee Rascals

A new arts project aims to help young people from Grange Park and surrounding areas express themselves, nurture musical ability, build social connectivity and raise their aspirations.

Grime On Grange will capture their stories through music, providing professional guidance and a platform for young people to vocalise their problems, whilst painting a real picture of life growing up in Blackpool.

It has been funded by a grant of £29,000 from Youth Music and will be delivered from the @ the grange community centre in Grange Park by Groundwork in partnership with Blackpool theatre and dance school House of Wingz.

Cath Powell MBE Community Development Manager @the grange said residents in some parts of Blackpool were often disadvantaged by conditions of high unemployment, social deprivation and poor levels of general health.

She said: “Since we opened two years ago we’ve been able to engage with the majority of residents from the local community, with perhaps the exception of some of the teenagers.

"However, last summer this began to change when we worked with House of Wingz to deliver a series of grime and rap workshops with local grime star Sophie Aspin.

"This pilot programme attracted 20 young people from the estate that had previously been hard to reach and it was amazing to see the way they interacted.

"It had a really positive effect and demonstrated the need for more creative youth projects to help reduce anti-social behaviour and help prevent young people from being exploited through activities such as county lines.”

Ashley Docherty from House of Wingz said “Kids in Blackpool need to have a voice to help them express themselves and how they feel about the world around them. many young people listen to grime music and engage in the culture already, so we are looking forward to channelling that into something productive for the kids of Blackpool and hope that it will raise their aspirations and empower them to get creative now and in the future.”

Cath said that Grime On Grange will be launched with an online platform, so even COVID 19 won’t be able to stop this project from getting started.

She added: "We’re delighted that Youth Music are supporting us with this grant.

"Our aim is to introduce young people to a variety of potential career paths, by helping them to develop an early love of music and by giving them the chance to work with professionals at House of Wingz and diverse role models such as Sophie and Josh. We are very excited to start the project as soon as possible.”

Founded in 2006, the Wingz crew competed and performed nationally for many years before establishing themselves on the Theatre scene in 2013. House of Wingz’ mission is to make music and Theatre more appealing and accessible for a younger audience.

Youth Music is a national charity investing in music-making projects that support children and young people aged 0-25 to develop personally and socially as well as musically with support form the National Lottery.