Grammy-nominated songwriting/production team Da Internz (Justin Bieber, John Legend) took time to teach a group of Braddock Drive Elementary students about the true gift and craft of songwriting. Here, Da Internz recall the ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ SCORES in their new home of Los Angeles.

Two years ago we participated in an amazing program, the ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ America SCORES in Chicago – it turned out to be an unforgettable experience.  Here is the song we did:

When asked to return for a second time, this time in our new home of Los Angeles, we of course jumped at the opportunity. We love the program because we believe in what it stands for. This year we were able to work with the America SCORES LA students from Braddock Elementary in Culver City.
The group of kids this year seemed three-times the size we had in Chicago two years ago, so at times it got a bit crazy, but we managed. After meeting the kids at their school on Day One and getting the basic introductions outta the way, we split the group up having the boys go against the girls in a singing contest. 

It was close but the young ladies of Braddock Elementary took no prisoners in serenading the boys with a beautiful rendition of “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.

Not gonna lie, it took the whole first day for the kids to warm up to us completely, but by day two we all got on the same page and quickly turned into a mini-family.

Whether it was chatting about favorite singers/bands, exchanging video game tips or even writing/recording songs – working with the kids in this program was a crazy dope experience. One thing that seemed to come up come up constantly was what the kids wanted to be when they grew up and how exactly they were gonna make MONEY. Hence the name of our song “MONEY!”  So once the theme of the track was locked in, Day Two revolved around learning the new song.

Day Three it was time to hit the studio! Surprisingly, all the kids were ready to record and most knew the song we had written the day before BY HEART. It was such a pleasure recording with the class and we feel this song could be our best ASCAP @ America SCORES song yet!

After the students left the studio we were able to work our magic on the track: “MONEY” was performed by America SCORES kids of Braddock Elementary and Da Internz; written by Priscilla Renea, Marcos Palacios, Aaron Michael Cox, Ernest Clark and recorded at Sound Boutique Studios at The Songwriting School of LA. Check it out:

Opportunities like this are extremely important because you just learn so much. We remember when we were kids growing up and how important it made us feel when people took the time to come visit our classes. The fact that we had the opportunity to do the same for these kids was a blessing in itself.

The ASCAP Songwriter Residency this year booked: 9 songwriters, 10 cities, 13 schools, 13 recording studios, 368 kids. Of those schools, 11 were with founding partner, America SCORES, a nationally acclaimed after school program in multiple schools in 13 cities.