The School Yard Rap founder is using music to fill the gaps American education left behind
When a student challenged his teacher to make a better song, neither of them could have imagined what would follow. That teacher was Brandon “Griot B” Brown, then an assistant principal in Los Angeles, and the challenge sent him home to record his very first track. Fourteen years later, Griot B has eight studio albums, a Billboard plaque, and a company that has put hip-hop in front of more than 1 million students across 24 states. June 2026 may be his busiest month yet.
Griot B on the music that started it all
Fresh Out, Griot B’s latest single, is a feel-good Juneteenth anthem built around the sounds and sights of a neighborhood cookout. The video captures the kind of celebration that Griot B says his family has kept going long before it became a national holiday.
“Black folks get together, it does not matter where they are from, it is a vibe,” he said. “In my family, we have been celebrating Juneteenth far before it was a national holiday.”
For Griot B, the song carries a message beyond the cookout. With politicians in several states moving to stop recognizing Juneteenth, he sees the single as a cultural statement. “It is seen as a Black holiday, when it is an American holiday,” he said.
Fresh Out also introduces a new line dance, which Griot B created himself despite admitting he has two left feet. He hopes it sparks a challenge that gets audiences moving and talking about the holiday at the same time.
How School Yard Rap hides the lesson inside the music
Griot B founded School Yard Rap on a straightforward idea. Kids in a media-saturated generation respond to music, so the music should meet them there. His productions cover history, STEAM, civics and leadership, but the teaching never announces itself.
“By the middle of the song, they are asking, wait, am I learning something?” Griot B said. “We are tricking the audience into learning while they listen.”
He credits the sound itself as part of why it works. Griot B works with younger producers to keep his music current, making sure it never sounds like a classroom exercise dressed up in a beat. “My music sounds like it should be on the radio, but it is educational,” he said.
School Yard Rap has now reached more than 1 million students across 228 school districts in 24 states and generated over $5 million in revenue through live productions, curriculum and programming.
The EP that Griot B says America needs right now
His upcoming EP, Good Trouble, drops on June 19 and tackles voting rights, civic participation and the history of Black freedom movements through hip-hop. Griot B said the project came directly from what he sees missing in classrooms today.
“There has been a very public and sadly politicized effort to make history demonized,” he said. “Our students do not know about the struggles it took for African Americans to receive voting rights.”
The six-track project moves through the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Children’s March and lands on a closing track called Ain’t Sorry, written after Griot B faced pushback from a school district over his music. “The truth does not play favorites,” he said. “It is just facts, and you cannot be mad at facts.”
A Juneteenth celebration built for the community
On June 19, Griot B headlines a Juneteenth Celebration and Community Care Activation at Robert Frost Auditorium in Culver City, California, expected to draw more than 1,200 attendees. The 90-minute show brings Black history to life through music, theater and crowd interaction, paired with a grocery giveaway and diaper distribution for families.
“Juneteenth is about building community and celebrating with each other,” Griot B said.
The month also included a performance as a selected opener for NPR’s Tiny Desk “On The Road” Tour stop in San Francisco on June 12, one of just 20 artists chosen from over 6,000 entries.
Fresh Out featuring Haillie is streaming now on all platforms. Good Trouble is out now as well. Follow Griot B on Instagram and TikTok at @thegriotb and on YouTube at @griotb.
