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On a Thursday evening in August, a few dozen people gathered around a mix of yellow high-top and picnic tables at the corner of Tremont and Boylston streets. This little pocket of space, called the UnCommon Corner, managed by Emerson College in partnership with the City of Boston, offers daily entertainment. On this day, a group of young musicians performed for the crowd.
Singer Rose Love sang several beautiful songs, with support from DJ Troy Frost, from her 2024 EP “Femi9” and had the crowd chanting the lyrics from “What’s better than this?” Rapper and singer Lukie Spitta performed a variety of songs with DJ Quis, including the powerful track “HoldOnaMinute,” which he calls a classic “cookout song.” Then, Jac Mestel from the band Happy Little Clouds rendered a memorable performance while passionately playing the guitar.
The musicians are recent graduates of MusicJumpstart, an artist development bootcamp created by rapper and creative entrepreneur Red Shaydez. She selected 12 artists from nearly 100 applications.
“I could feel their hunger,” Red Shaydez said of the artists she chose. “You could hear their story and they had actual goals they wanted to achieve in the near future.”
Members of the MusicJumpstart cohort. (Courtesy Sando Films and Abraham Lopez)
In May, the cohort participated in a two-day intensive focused on music business development, marketing, performance and career sustainability. This was followed by an additional evening session with musician and Berklee College of Music faculty member Roy Studmire for a songwriting challenge and a media day in June, where they learned interview skills and participated in a photoshoot. The program culminates with the concerts on UnCommon Stage, in partnership with BAMS Fest and Emerson College. The rest of the artists perform on Sept. 4.
The program was supported in part by a $30,000 Neighborhood and Downtown Activation Grant through the Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, with additional support from Focusrite and Elite Team Logistics. The idea for it has roots in an earlier workshop Red Shaydez hosted at the Dorchester Art Project in 2020, she said.
“One day, I was on my Facebook feed and I saw a lot of my peers complaining about the lack of resources that Boston had and their lack of knowledge when it came to knowing where to start when it came to pursuing a music career.”
So, she asked her social media followers if they would come if she hosted the workshop. And when she eventually did, “How to Jumpstart Your Music Career in Boston” ended up selling out and became a prototype for MusicJumpstart.
“A lot of artists don’t know that when they opt to be a musician, they’re also opting to be a creative entrepreneur,” she said. As an independent artist, she figured she could use her experience to help.
Lukie Spitta performing during a MusicJumpstart session. (Courtesy Sando Films and Abraham Lopez)
For Lukie Spitta, 30, MusicJumpstart was a way to get more involved in the artist community and network. Joibeatz, 26, who met Red Shaydez while interning at a Cambridge studio, was interested in tips and tricks to help her “as a creative entrepreneur on the business side,” she said, like learning about taxes and licensing agreements.
The program, Joibeatz said, “was me taking initiative, to take my artistry side more seriously in terms of consistency.” Up until then, she said she spent much of her time on engineering and working on music for other artists.
For Spitta, whose varied musical tastes include everything from 1980s and ‘90s R&B and hip-hop, to Earth, Wind & Fire and the Eagles, the program helped him evaluate his current standing as an artist and take stock.
“It allows you to do a self-evaluation, right? You kind of see where you are, and then, even if you’re someone who’s a little bit more seasoned, or if you’re somebody who’s really brand new, you still kind of get the same perspective,” he said.
The group also participated in a wellness and mindfulness workshop. JoiBeatz wished the session was longer. “We discussed how we balance self-care while also wearing many hats as ‘artrepreneurs’ and what we do currently to deal with the workload on top of our personal lives,” she said.
The MusicJumpstart cohort in a wellness and mindfulness workshop. (Courtesy Sando Films and Abraham Lopez)
Wellness is critical to Red Shaydez, so she wanted to make sure to include it in the programming with workshops on mindfulness and yoga as self-care. She counts listening to her body’s signals as one of the ways she knows she’s on the right path, and her spirituality helps keep her grounded.
As far as her career is concerned, Red Shaydez shared that long-term sustainability is one of the most significant challenges she and likely many other artists contend with. In addition to making music full-time (with a new project in the works), her main priority is continuing to grow MusicJumpstart. To do that, she needs to secure funding.
“We’re looking for and we’re open to donations, we’re open to collaborations, because I want to take it on the road,” Red Shaydez said. “I would love to bring it into schools, into colleges, institutions.”
In the meantime, she remains connected to the artists. Those in the inaugural cohort have quarterly check-ins, access to consultations with Red Shaydez, and lifetime access to the MusicJumpstart platform.
“I don’t believe in sort of doing this great thing and then leaving and that being done,” she said. “I have an issue with endings.”
The MusicJumpstart cohort will perform on Sept. 4 at UnCommon Stage.
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