Give a Beat

Give a Beat was founded in 2014 on the guiding principles of electronic music culture: peace, love, compassion, inclusivity, and understanding. Our organization was created to channel the positive aspects of our music community to respond to the systemic racial and economic inequities inherently built into the prison industrial complex.

Since launching our Youth Music Production and DJ program in 2015, we’ve expanded to having three variations of our landmark programs and routinely offer DJ, music production, and educational programs inside and outside youth and adult correctional facilities.

In 2019, in collaboration with the Arts in Corrections program (a program of the California Arts Council), Give a Beat launched the Prison Electronic Music Program (PEMP) in two California State Prisons. In 2021 and 2023, we ran two cycles of the On a New Track Reentry Mentoring program, pairing formerly incarcerated individuals with mentors in the music industry. In 2022, we launched our groundbreaking record label, Give a Beat Records.

Give a Beat has impacted 5000 people who have been affected by incarceration, giving them a therapeutic outlet for creative expression, the chance to discover talent, and the opportunity to open up creative and income-generating opportunities through the power of music.