‘Mental ID’ album from KRUNK Movement reflects lives of young artists | The Homepage

Chell-E, 15 and a student at Urban Pathways Charter School, records her track “ANX” as part of The KRUNK Movement’s album, “Mental ID,” which was released on May 8. Photo courtesy of Center of Life

By Managing Editor Juliet Martinez

Anyone who despairs about the aimless, voiceless youth of today may not have listened to “Mental ID” by The KRUNK Movement yet.

Center of Life’s youth hip-hop program, the KRUNK Movement, released its newest recording, titled “Mental ID,” on May 8. The songs range from driving to pensive and revolve around themes of mental health and identity. They touch on body image, learning disabilities, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the challenges and transitions of teenage life.

The student-led KRUNK Movement program welcomes teens in grades 8 through 12 to learn about songwriting, art, and music technology and production. The year-round program focuses on cultivating young people’s creativity while building them up in a variety of ways. Participants get free meals, therapy, bus passes and tutoring as they expand their artistic horizons and learn skills they can use in any future career.

“We are more than just a hip-hop program,” said program coordinator and vocal coach Naomi Allen during a May 11 phone call. “While we are teaching [participants] different skill sets, we also give them the opportunity to practice those skill sets in real time, to lead in real time, to mentor, to teach.”

The album’s concept came out of the experiences of the young people who created it. The opening track, “Dedicated,” is by Krashoustar. It is an anthem focused on “hard work and dedication paying off.” The 18-year-old rapper is a student at Taylor Allderdice High School. He credits participation in The KRUNK Movement for helping him take a more disciplined approach to life.

“I’m more dedicated now in my work, and I take more, like, pride in it,” he said, echoing his song title, during an April 11 interview on the Saturday Light Brigade radio show. He described the album as an “outlet.”

“It’s called Mental ID because the whole album is just a list of mental battles that people face on the daily,” he said.

Fellow KRUNK member Chell-E spoke during that interview about her song, “ANX.” It deals with mental messages that cause anxiety.

“You disappoint the ones you love.” “You drama queen!” “Don’t let them down.” “Don’t make them think you’re a delinquent.”

Anxiety is familiar territory for the 15-year-old Urban Pathways High School student. But being part of The KRUNK Movement has helped.

“Before, I was like, really nervous, really anxious,” she said. “It was hard for me to do nearly anything. And then, coming to KRUNK, I kind of broke out of that a little bit more. I feel more comfortable on stage.”

One of the most powerful tracks, “Stand Down,” deals with the school-to-prison pipeline. It tells the story of Trey, a Black child with ADHD.

“Stand Down” songwriter MW KJ is a 17-year-old student at Pittsburgh Westinghouse High School. His song tells Trey’s story from three different perspectives. The first is a classmate who sees Trey fidgeting in the back of the classroom and wonders why he can’t follow the rules.

“Teachers just tag him a hazard, a pattern they want to repackage,” the classmate says.

Then Trey’s mother takes over the narrative, talking about taking Trey to the doctor and seeing her son struggle emotionally. “It made me wonder what I did and what he ain’t.”

Then she recalls the day he walked into a bank and she drove away, trusting him to handle the transaction. But she regrets trusting him.

“I just lost my baby, Trey. The police picked him up that day.”

The final narrator is Trey himself. “My mind keep racing, the problems I’m facing they blame it on me.”

The themes may be serious, but the album feels engaged, not defeated.

Ms. Allen said “Mental ID” came about because the students wanted to make their voices heard.

“‘Mental ID’ is an album about mental health and [students’] self identity, and how they identify in this world, while also talking about how they are perceived by their peers and their families,” she said. “But it’s challenging those perceptions and saying that that isn’t their true identity. That’s not how they actually identify.”

She said the program helps young people understand who they are and gain confidence in themselves because of its focus on cultivating their voices and talents with wraparound support.

“I really want people to understand that the youth, this generation and the youth in general [are] our next leaders, our next politicians, our next doctors, our next teachers. And so we really need to make sure that we show up for them, that we support them, that we’re listening to them, because they have a voice.”

For more information about The KRUNK Movement, email krunk@centeroflife.org.