Puttin’ on the Rap : Boys Home Contest Mixes Rhythm and Rhyme

There were two raps last Saturday night at the Pacific Lodge Boys Home in Woodland Hills:

The rap session, where achievers from the outside world--7A3, a rap music threesome from Hollywood that has recorded a couple of albums--told the adolescents they, too, can make it.

Then there was the rap contest, during which the youngsters tried to make it in the minds of the judges and their enthusiastic peers.

Together, according to the treatment center’s counselors and about 60 teen-agers, the two raps worked.

“It was great. I was able to do my own rapping,” said Robert, 15, “and I learned that normal people can be successful. I used to think that only people with connections could make it. Listening to 7A3 made me see that if you work hard, you can make it.”

Which is why the center held its first rap contest.

The Pacific Lodge Boys Home deals with adolescents released by probation and social service departments. As juveniles, they frequently committed such crimes as burglary and assault. They usually stay from 6 months to a year.

‘Tell a Story’

Carl, 16, arrived at the center 2 months ago. And Saturday night, calling himself M.C. Sheriff and wearing a brown cowboy hat, he rapped about when he was arrested. He didn’t pretend to use a lot of beat.

“I just wanted to tell a story,” Carl said. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to rap like everyone else, so I came up with my own style. Rapping gets your feelings out. You feel better about yourself.”

Robert and Ray, 18--they called themselves the Dynamic Tuo--took the contest seriously. They practiced for 2 months, and they wore all black, from sunglasses to jeans. Their lyrics were dark, as well:

Mass confusion.

Utter destruction.

Burst of radiation.

A volcanic eruption.

They twisted and turned, promising “we can’t leave till we rock this joint.” The crowd rocked, and the Dynamic Tuo seemed satisfied.

“We just wanted to show how we can put words together and keep them to the beat,” Robert said. “It was just something to attract their attention.”

But most of the praise was reserved for the evening’s third, and final, contestants: In Full Effect. The threesome, even though they practiced only for a few days, performed in total synchronization with the beat and used some fancy footwork. With each move, the audience grew more impressed.

First-Place Rap

“Bust this,” In Full Effect shouted in unison after each verse. In other words: Check us out, and see if you like us.

The judges did, awarding them first place for their rhyming and rhythm. (Prizes included records and posters.) In Full Effect took it nonchalantly.

“We don’t plan to lose,” said Ed, 18. “We do things effectively.”

Ed said the threesome didn’t have much preparation because they live in different cottages at the center.

All three groups also had to write lyrics that contained no sex, drugs or profanity. “That’s because we don’t have any profanity on the grounds here,” explained Charles Bouldin, a counselor at the center.

The contestants adjusted well, but it may have been a bigger problem for 7A3. Two of its members, Brett, 20, and Sean, 17, are Bouldin’s sons.

“I told my father that they’d want to hear the dirty songs,” Brett Bouldin said. “But I didn’t bring them tonight.”

Gang Question

Instead, 7A3--named after the apartment the Bouldins occupied years ago in Brooklyn--brought their songs of hope. One of them, titled “Why?” deals with the gang violence in Los Angeles.

“Why does a brother kill another for the color of the rag?” They sang.

The adolescents stared in silence, clearly moved by the question.

“It’s not a question, though, that can be answered,” Brett Bouldin said later. “We’re just asking it.”

The group then proceeded to do their recent rap single, “Coolin’ Cal,” about California. It set the mood for spontaneous, free-style rapping by all of the contestants and others in the audience. With nothing at stake, the audience rappers were more energetic than the contestants.

“Where were you guys when we were looking for participants?” Charles Bouldin asked. No one answered. They just kept on rapping.

Robert couldn’t stop smiling.

“People rap to express themselves,” he said.

That goes for both raps.