AJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — When rapper David Banner was recording the music that launched a major label career, it came from a makeshift studio inside of a van in which he was also sleeping.
Now, he's making sure the younger generation will have access to the technology that wasn't available to him when he started his career.
The Clarion-Ledger reports (http://on.thec-l.com/1QF5H2S ) that through collaboration with his foundation, Banner is donating a recording studio to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi. It was announced last week as part of the ninth annual "Heal the Hood at Christmas" project in Jackson. It is the first of six studios that will be developed in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club chapter.
Overlooking the same basketball courts Banner used to visit to escape gang violence, the studio will allow kids to gain experience in many facets of the music industry, from songwriting, producing and performing to recording.
"I come back because I love the way I feel when I come in here," said Banner, whose real name is Lavell Crump. "Now you see that I can give back, hopefully one of y'all can get popping from this studio and come back and give some more money."
Boys & Girls Club President and CEO Penney Ainsworth said the studio also would be an important way to promote education and creativity.