National Institute on Drug Abuse Collaborates with MusiCares and GRAMMY Foundation to Honor Teen Musicians during National Drug Facts Week

Strategic Insights -

During National Drug Facts Week, a seven-day observance launched by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the NIH collaborates with MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation to honor teen musicians who created original music compositions that focus on personal experiences living around drugs. Three teen musicians, Daevion Caves, Jordan Atkins, and Markeist "Ghost" Jones, and Vera Marquardt, won the MusiCares and GRAMMY Foundation's Teen Substance Abuse Awareness through Music Contest. The contest's winning entries will be posted on the GRAMMY 365 and Think MTV websites, as well as on the Above the Influence campaign site sponsored by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. The winners will also have the opportunity to attend a 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards "Backstage Experience" and receive a small cash award from the Visions Adolescent Treatment Center.

Key Takeaways:

  • Three teen musicians won the MusiCares and GRAMMY Foundation's Teen Substance Abuse Awareness through Music Contest, with first place going to Daevion Caves and Jordan Atkins, and second and third places going to Markeist "Ghost" Jones and Vera Marquardt, respectively.
  • The contest was open to teens ages 14-18 and asked them to compose or create an original song and/or music video that explores, encourages, and celebrates a healthy lifestyle or accurately depicts a story about drug abuse.
  • The winning entries focused on personal experiences living around drugs, with the first place winners, Caves and Atkins, creating a music video entitled "Drug Free State of Mind" that showed the boys living daily around drug use but having the courage to stay drug-free.
  • The second place winner, Markeist "Ghost" Jones, created a musical composition called "A Clearer View," a rap song that served as a cautionary tale about what happens when you decide to take drugs.
  • The third place winner, Vera Marquardt, used a ukulele to tell the story of her path to sobriety with an original musical composition called "Take It to the Days."
  • The contest was sponsored by MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation, with NIDA providing technical expertise in the judging process and points being given for accurate depictions of subject matter.

Statistics:

  • 3 teen musicians won the MusiCares and GRAMMY Foundation's Teen Substance Abuse Awareness through Music Contest.
  • The contest received entries from 14 to 18-year-olds.
  • The first place winners will attend the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards "Backstage Experience" on February 13, 2011.
  • The winning entries will be posted on the GRAMMY 365 and Think MTV websites, as well as on the Above the Influence campaign site sponsored by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

Sources:

  • The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
  • MusiCares
  • The GRAMMY Foundation
  • The Recording Academy
  • The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
  • The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy