Multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated music producer Kevin “Khao” Cates is known, obviously, for his music and revolutionary tracks that draw artists like T.I., Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Wayne and more to rhyme over them. However, nowadays, Cates has his eyes set on an even loftier goal. He wants to be known as the ‘Mark Zuckerberg’ of education.
Currently, Cates is focused on giving urban youth well-rounded, holistic access to education and resources, using technology as a way to get through to the young people, and show them that there are many ways to achieve a goal.
On Saturday, education leaders, other celebrities and thousands of youth in the Atlanta, Georgia area will come together for Cates’ first annual Young & Winning Summit. The free, full-day event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Riverside Epicenter will promote artistic expression through dance, music, TV and Film, but as it relates to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (S.T.E.A.M.). There will be robotics and science presentations, TV and film panel, a talent show, a dance competition and other events. It is Cates’ latest way of seeking to “empower our youth and expose them to ways their education can open doors in their fields of interest.”
“We will just be educating our youth from all areas, exposing them to different things…The future is now…how do we expect them to just hop in a lane if they haven’t seen a glimpse or even know what it does?” Cates said.
“As someone who built my career in music and creative arts, I think it is important for celebrities and successful creatives to give back by sharing knowledge and information with young people in an impactful way. They are the leaders of tomorrow,” he added.
And Cates is definitely one of those creatives who is using his music production skills to create new and innovative ways to help kids learn. Late last year, Cates dropped his KoolAR book, for young kids learning basic math and reading, merging Hip Hop music with fun, animated characters through Augmented Reality (AR) technology.
“They use this app that comes along with it. The app is on your phone or tablet and as you aim your [device] at the actual book, the book comes to life and videos are playing,” Cates explained to ESSENCE.
Little cartoon characters also materialize on the screen, dancing around and capturing the children’s interest.
“It’s a really interactive, augmented reality experience that keeps the kids’ attention and accelerates their learning,” Cates added. “We have students just four and five years old that know all the times tables and are reading fluently and different things like that.”
But KoolAR, as innovative as it may seem, was just the next step for Cates. He actually leaned into his interest in education as early as 2008, when he took a break from his own music to found Bridge Da Gap. The nonprofit focuses on using music, education and mentoring, alongside technology to give kids grade 6 through 12 a comprehensive social-emotional development curriculum, covering topics such as self-love, self-determination, anger, substance abuse and more. The program is designed to help urban youth cope and overcome the challenges that impact their ability to succeed in school and life.
That program was so successful that it was implemented across the United States and even in the Bahamas. Teachers then started calling on him to address not only the behavioral side of the issues students face, but also the educational side, focusing on improving test scores. So once again Cates got to working and created a full K-12 curriculum, dubbed the KOOLriculum, which fuses music (naturally) with science, math, social studies and reading.
“I took more time out, an additional five years and actually produced over 600 songs that teaches math, science, social studies, and English K-12th, and it’s aligned to the national standards and common core,” Cates said. “So, everything that the teachers have to teach the youth in class, I actually have music videos and songs for.”
KoolAR is just an extension of the KOOLriculum, which has also been adopted across the United States, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Jamaica and some African countries.
“All of the things I’m doing academically started with my passion and pursuing the mission that God put me on to help save the next generation as far as their hearts and their mindset,” Cates said.
Cates was drawn to get involved in education as a way of leaving his mark on the world for better.
The first turning point, he told ESSENCE, was the death of his father, who would always tell him, “don’t just be successful, be significant.”
“After his passing I really went on this quest of saying okay, how do I become significant?” Cates said. “What is it that I need to do? And at that point, the things that brought me success weren’t as exciting anymore.”
He saw a need in education and decided to tackle it.
Education, according to Cates, is almost like an assembly line, usually being used as if everyone learns the same way.
“And if you don’t keep up with the crowd, then you get put in the, ‘okay, they’re slow. They’re in IEP classes. They’re not gonna make it,’” Cates said. “There are different types of learners, you know? Visual, kinesthetic, auditory. So, my thing was to meet our youth where they are, elevate them to where they can obtain the knowledge and have the same fighting chance as everyone else.”
“I think the importance of education is just everything…Really education is to me the new civil rights for us, because things are changing, technology is changing. There’re so many ways that people are just breezing our youth through school, and at the end of the day, knowledge is power,” he added. “So, I saw were there was a void and I know that God gave me a gift and so I went on to make it happen.”
Cates success with education lead to him winning a Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama, and the success in the schools where the KOOLriculum has touched is undeniable.
One particular school in Georgia, the B.E.S.T Academy 6-12, an all-boys public school in Atlanta, saw immense improvements after the introduction of the KOOLriculum and Bridge Da Gap.
One particular school in Georgia, the B.E.S.T Academy 6-12, an all-boys public school in Atlanta, saw immense improvements after the introduction of the KOOLriculum and Bridge Da Gap.
“This school was the third lowest schools in Georgia as far as academics and graduation rates. It’s in one of the worst zip codes in Georgia as far as youth with HIV, youth incarceration, homelessness, gang violence, school dropouts,” Cates said. “We came into this school and now three years later…now this school is the third highest in the state of Georgia.”
For Cates, these kinds of results are just the beginning.
Cates added, “To make change like that through our programs, we can take this anywhere and make a difference.”