Rapper Big Sean is continuing to use his platform and influence to give back to his community.
Recently, through his nonprofit, the Sean Anderson Foundation, the Detroit-bred artist opened up a $100,000 production studio at the Dick & Sandy Dauch Boys & Girls Club in his hometown, reports the Detroit Free Press. The new studio is a follow-up to him opening a fully equipped recording studio at his alma mater Cass Tech in 2015.
“The west side of Detroit is my old neighborhood,” Big Sean said. “It’s a full circle moment when your neighborhood supports you and holds you high, and you’re in a position to be able to hold it up in your own way and take it further.”
Shawn Wilson, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan says the new studio has three video-editing bays and an audio-mixing console. The facility, he says, will also offer live performances, movie nights and classes on topics such as screenwriting.
Big Sean’s studio is part of a larger transformation project at the Dick & Sandy Dauch Boys & Girls Club that includes a new innovation center with electronic gaming and other amenities sponsored by the Detroit Red Wings and Comcast/NBCUniversal.
This past Saturday, Big Sean celebrated the opening of the studio with a block-party event that kicked off his second annual DON Weekend, where he hosted a series of community-based activities including a free mental health panel alongside scholar Michael E. Dyson and psychiatrist Dr. Jessica Clemons.
“I think it can save somebody’s life if they have somewhere to go,” said the rapper in regards to his studio and the transformed Boys & Girls Club. “It can be the start of million-dollar companies…It all starts here. I think there are going to be a lot more millionaires and billionaires from Detroit, and I think the Boys & Girls Club is going to have something to do with that.”
Photo: Screenshot Detroit Free Press