It’s hard to talk to middle schoolers about their emotions. It’s even harder for middle schoolers to find the words to express what they’re feeling.
This is especially true for the Black and Latinx communities where it’s not ‘machismo’ or it’s ‘soft’ to talk about your mental health.

But there’s already an incredibly expressive and emotive language both caregivers and kids already speak fluently: MUSIC.
This project with Ad Council became a tool for kids and caregivers, showing them ‘when you can’t find the language, find the lyrics.’

The Album

We paired recording artists with Black and Latinx kids and a mental health expert to talk about what it feels like to grow up today.
The artists then turned those emotions into full length songs. The result is the Sound It Out album, available on Spotify.

The Conversations

The conversations that helped create these songs provided beautiful insights into the minds of the kids we were trying to reach.

The Album Becomes a Tool

On SounditOut.org, the album was turned into a tool to start conversations between kids and their caregivers.
Each song’s lyrics were broken down with annotations by the artist, as well as a mental health expert who provided tools and tips to start talking.

The Music Video

This is Howie and the Howl by recording artist Kamaauu, featuring the feelings of Howie, a 14 year old boy.