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Meet Louisville’s youth hip-hop group The Real Young Prodigy’s

Louisville kids are making change through their music.

The Young Prodigys

The Young Prodigy’s performed at Harvard University’s HipHopEx conference in 2022.

Photo via WHAS11

A group of Louisville kids + teens are marching to the beat of their own drum their own beat and making a difference in our community using music.

The social justice youth hip-hop group The Real Young Prodigy’s started in 2016 when Wheatley Elementary School teacher Nyree Clayton-Taylor’s fifth graders wanted to rap in her creative writing class. She challenged them to perform at a celebration of Phillis Wheatley, and they rose to the challenge by forming The Real Young Prodigy’s. Now, around 30 students ages 8 to 17 produce music about social justice issues + Black history.

Their 2021 song “CROWN,” which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” helped push forward the CROWN Act, which expanded anti-discrimination laws in Louisville to protect hairstyles.

Their music has also tackled issues like reparations and, most recently, access to bus transportation in JCPS.

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