New York City Day 14:Uppademic showcase

The Shrine Restaurant/World Music venue showcased some of New York’s homemade talent June 22. The small restaurant/bar usually features performances by members of the motherland as well as local Caribbean performers. However, the multifaceted location revealed an outpour of young talent and drive.

Nathan Hosanna performing with Uppademic students

Local non-for profit organization Uppademics showcased the raw talent that’s been brewing in New York for the past 10-weeks. Students of the program came from all faucets of life. Creator Nathan Hosannah started the program in hopes of assisting the community in understanding the concept of ‘IRAC: issue, rule, application, and conclusion.’

“It’s a law school method that’s used to break down briefs and cases,” Nathan said.” He continued, “Issue: what do I want to do? Rule: what [are] the rules that I have to maneuver to in order to make this happen? Application: you actually trying to do something. Conclusion: the analysis of something. So we take that and bridge it into our program to bridge the gap between the scientific side and the artistic side.”

Finding the balance between the music and engineering was the main goal for Nathan once Uppademics got certified back in 2011. He believes that everything has a certain format in which you must artistically learn.

“If you look at science, if you look at academia, there’s an artistic way of looking at it.”

During the 10-week program at Uppademics, students are learning how to not only utilize the skills and talents that they have, but how to learn about how to expound on the many directions it can take them. The performances at the Shrine, gave those students the venue to perform their poetry, raps and monologues. One of the young men performing was said to have learned how to play the guitar in his 10 weeks of being a student.

Nathan recalled one of the best thing’s he’s heard from a student member of the program. “One of the best thing’s I heard is that ‘I realize that everything has a structure to it whether I see it or not.’”

If interested in being a part of the program, go to uppademics@gmail.com.