Your Voice is Power
Fall 2022 Results
Top schools with most YVIP submissions
$325 gift card
November:
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Jones College Prep, Chicago, IL
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Monessen High School, Monessen, PA
December:
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Lane Tech High School: Chicago, IL
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Foshay Learning Academy, Los Angeles, CA
Grand Prize Winners
$500 Amazon e-Gift Card
Xavier, M
"We can empower each other and ascend to heights which oppressors can no longer affect us. We need to reform our society's current practices so that other minorities can stand up and promote equality"
Grade 10, Global Impact Academy
Fairburn, GA
Katherine, W.
"Equality is something that, as a young woman learning how to code, I have felt in the educational workspace. The inspiration for my song comes from my knowledge of housing discrimination in Chicago.. To honor acceptance within my song, the voices featured in my song are only artists of color, some of them being Pharrell Williams and Khalid."
Grade 11, Lane Tech High School
Chicago, IL
Noam, A.
Grade 10, Agoura High School
Agoura Hills, CA
"That’s why I created this song: as a gift to other people who’ve been singled out for who they are, whether it’s because of autism, ethnicity, gender, race, or otherwise. I hope that with this song, they’ll continue to stay true to themselves and keep reaching out, forming bonds with other people who’ve been in similar positions, and living their life to the fullest. We are the ones in control of how we treat each other, so let’s start making each other’s lives better"
Konstantine, N.
"I chose to remix two songs together: Common's "God is Love" and Khalid's "New Normal," because I thought that both songs portrayed individual themes that when combined, form a powerful commentary not only about the problems in our society but ways to respond to them. Together, these themes create an inspiring image of overcoming adversity and finding the strength and hope to combat these challenging times. The call to action is formed through both songs’ implementation of the concept of love and its ability to bring about positive relationships as well as change"
Grade 10, Agoura High School
Agoura Hills, CA
Giselle H.
"My song, "Unconditional," represents just how truly and undeniably conditional attaining equity is. There is no linear progress toward equality and not every challenge we face on this journey will have a clear-cut solution. In the end, there is no one simple definition of equality and justice. My song represents this visually by spelling out "Equity" with the music samples. This is meant to be a representation that there is a bigger picture to all of our battles and progress toward a more just future. To highlight the concept that there is no singular definition of equality, my piece reuses similar clips throughout the song but each time these clips appear they are always mixed in with a completely new sound sample."
Grade 10, Archbishop Molloy High School
Briarwood, New York
Vince L.
"I was inspired to make this remix due to all the hatred and war taking place in our world currently. I wanted to make this song to help advocate for peace and spread awareness of the horrible acts taking place across the world. My hope is that this song will be used as a sign of peace and protest. I want to promote equity and safety for all those affected by war. I hope I can make a difference big or small through my song."
Grade 10, Lane Tech
Chicago, IL
Emily, G.
Grade 12, Lane Tech
Chicago, IL
"Inspire. A 7 letter word that could impact a life, possibly even change the world as a whole. Music has always allowed me to express myself and my emotions. Through my song, I’m trying to show that we are all the same. We bleed the same blood, we breathe the same air. Different skin tones should not define us, should not divide us.We are better together, and I hope to inspire not only young Hispanic girls, but people of all backgrounds, ages, and beliefs. Thank you and enjoy my song!!"
Mariela, H.
"I made this song to share a few of the many stories of kids being separated from loved ones during the immigration process.. I looked up at many news outlets talking about the problem and sadly, there were many. I hope with this song I coded I can get the message out there that kids should stay with their parents and shouldn't have to worry that one day their parents will be taken away from them. I am very glad that I got the opportunity to be able to participate in this competition and be able to learn how to code in a whole different way and also get introduced to a whole new career option and get an important message out there."
Grade 11, Foshay Learning Center
Los Angeles, CA
Ayden, P.
"I created this song as a message to everyone that it is ok to be different and that anyone can do anything that they want to. This is mainly shown by Pharrell’s lyrics when he talks about “letting go” which means to let go of racial discrimination and to see that anyone can do anything they want. Later in the song, Common talks about the hardships of Native Americans and other discriminated groups of people. His lyrics are sort of a call to action to stop these things from happening, which we have been trying to do for so long."
Grade 10, Jones College Prep
Chicago, IL
Manuel, A.
Grade 12, Lakeside High School
Lake Elsinore, CA
"I have always had a passion for music as I am a musician and EarSketch gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts. My inspiration for my remix came from three different songs: God is Love, Entrepreneur, Underdog. I added a verse from each one of these songs as they all support a common topic of equity. I especially love Common's message from the song God is Love as it supports love for all. This is very meaningful to me as I believe we all need to support each other and not discriminate against one another and learn from our differences."
Finalists (Top 20)
$250 Amazon Gift Card
Nandini, I.
Grade 11, Agoura High School
Agoura Hills, CA
"In the summer of 2021, my brother and dad were about to go on a hike. It was 7 in the morning and they were ready to leave, when armed cops showed up at our driveway, telling my dad to put his hands up or they would shoot.. An hour went by until the situation was finally diffused and my dad managed to convince the cops that the house they were in front of was our own house, they were informed that they were accused of armed burglary and theft by a lady who was on a walk. In reality, they were standing next to our car on our property holding hiking poles. My family and the police agreed that this was a clear case of racism since it was bright outside when it happened and they were clearly doing nothing wrong.. In my piece, I mapped this incident to show my frustration regarding prejudice against people of color when they’re doing nothing wrong. My call to action was a simple apology, since an apology is all we wanted to move on."
John, K.
Grade 11, Agoura High School
Agoura Hills, CA
"Most of the inspiration for my remix came from the disgusting issue of police brutality in America, primarily targeted toward the suffering of African Americans. As a white male, I can’t say I have personally experienced something like this, and I cannot speak for those who have, but I have witnessed it, and I have felt for their suffering. The beginning of my song has a theme of sorrow, mourning those we lost to this issue, and recognizing we live in an imperfect world. The middle of the song is more fast-paced and is supposed to represent the struggles and all African Americans have to keep track of to avoid being victimized by these horrible crimes. The ending of the song has themes of triumph."
Mikalea, S.
Grade 11, Lane Tech High School
Chicago, Illinois
"My social message is one that regards low self-esteem and self-hatred. I feel as if this subject isn’t spoken about so much in media, yet appears to be a big problem, as mental problems usually are. This song is supposed to describe, albeit a bit difficult through music, the intensity of the lengths that one would go through to end this cycle of self-deprecation and realize how significant they truly are, despite the amounts that they have once said and thought."
Clarisse, M.
Grade 9, Palm Beach Gardens High School
Palm Beach, Florida
"I got the inspiration for my remix from my teacher and classmates in my AP CSP class. Equity is when every person is given the right amount of resources and opportunities so that they can all success. Equality is when every person has the same amount of resources and opportunities as the other people. Everyone should be given the chance to succeed. My song represents equity by giving each instrument their own chance to be heard. Each instrument contributes their part to a song and I think that's what makes music beautiful. Sometimes it's not just about equality in songs. It's about equity.."
Dagim T., Kamron D,. & Nani L.
Grade 12, Tucker High School
Tucker, Georgia
"For this project, it was important to push the message of black people letting go and rising above oppression. We want to evoke feelings of freedom and change within our culture. In Pharell’s song ‘Entrepreneurs' the message is to let go, put forth effort, and to not be afraid to make mistakes. Because if you don’t take the chance, you’ll never make it. We incorporated Khalid’s ‘New Normal’ to propel the message of African Americans being in an unfortunate situation that may be out of our control. But our life isn’t out of our control. What we make with our life and what we’ve been given can determine the outcome."
Ricardo, M.
Grade 11, Westview High School
Avondale, Arizona
"This song has a smooth sound with two artists, Pharrell and Khalid. I love the background music because when I listen to it, it helps me get rid of my problems."
Dominic, L.
Grade 11, Ocean Grove High School
Brisbane, California
Francis, B.
Grade 12, Jones College Prep
Chicago, Illinois
"In my song "Just a Season", I explore quarantine and how it has affected everyone, including myself. My inspiration stems mainly from Khalid, who sings the lyrics in his song "New Normal".The song explores the hardships during quarantine, and also gives a positive message of hope and encouragement towards the listeners who are affected by the COVID-19 virus. Something that I especially learned in making this song was learning how to weave in a message into my songs while also blending the sounds that I have together well. Creating true emotion in a song has been quite challenging for me, and I am glad that I got to explore how to put meaningful sounds and lyrics into my remix."
"This song is about the systems of economic and racial discrimination that are so prevalent and all consuming that they become invisible and seemingly unsurpassable. It always seems like nothing can be done, like no matter how much you give it's never enough."
Glen, T.
Grade 10, Simon A. Sanchez High School
Yigo, Guam
"I’ve seen articles/news shows showing how people of color are being mistreated and being described as dangerous. I want to spread a message to people that no matter what your race is or what color you are, that you can be something one day if you let go of the struggles of life because there's always something better out there than hiding in the shadows. People need to stop relying on what people say and just live their own lives the way they want to. The only person that controls your life is you."
Christiano C., Henoke B.
Grade 10, Foshay Learning Center
Los Angeles, CA
"Our song is about inspiring those who feel suppressed or face obstacles that just seem impossible to pass. We create a non-traditional mix of the song Entrepreneur with an electric genre. This mix of genres to us means that you shouldn’t be afraid of being you, of being yourself and it's perfectly fine! The intro in our song represents the problems in life that build up slowly. But you should know that you are greater than the problems you face and you can make it through. Pharrell represents the power in you that you just new to manifest and take out of you. At the end of the song we have the “I have a Dream today” speech with the bold beats that represents that you really do have that power in you, that power that motivates you to get up every morning and pursue your bold dreams and passions."
Middle School Winners
Top Artist
Floyd, K.
Grade 7, Brea Junior High School
Brea, CA
Runner-up
Giselle, O.
Grade 8, Foshay Learning Center
Los Angeles, CA
Elementary School Winners
Top Artist
Isabella C . & Camilla C.
Grade 4, Patrick Henry Elementary School
Long Beach, CA
Runner-up
Svaha, W.
Grade 4, Home school
Brooklyn, NY