Growing Up Black

GROWING UP BLACK is the sixth album from Hill-Freedman Records, led by Music Technology teacher Ezechial Thurman, produced in partnership with World Cafe Live. The album features 34 original songs all written, recorded, and produced by the 10th grade class at Philly public high school Hill-Freedman World Academy.

The songs on GROWING UP BLACK amplify students’ perspectives on the challenges of the past several years, from the pandemic to racialized violence, and how music, in the words of teacher Thurman, “can be a force that helps promote positive change in our world.”

Hill-Freedman Records launched the making of its 6th album by exploring and celebrating the music of artists and producers from diverse genres from Pop to Reggae and Country. These artists and producers, who included Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bob Marley, and Charlie Pride spanned decades and represented a range of musical genres and cultures. As part of Hill-Freedman World Academy’s Music Technology course (an integral part of the school’s International Baccalaureate curriculum), and under the leadership of teacher Ezechial Thurman and WHYY Media Lab’s Lisa Wilk, 10th graders at Hill-Freedman created video documentaries about these artists, and researched their music to find inspiration for their own songwriting. From this research, and from the students’ own experiences and stories, the theme of “Growing Up Black” emerged as a theme for the album.

In the second half of the school year, Mr. Thurman and the students, were joined by a team of teaching artists from Hill-Freedman’s long-time lead partner, World Cafe Live. WCL teaching artists Kristal Oliver, Bethlehem the Vocussionist and Andrew Lipke collaborated with Mr. Thurman, joined by a group of student producers–veterans of past Hill-Freedman Records albums. Working in the Music Technology Lab and the school’s recording studio, this collective nurtured the creation of the 34 songs that make up this album.