Phat jams: For East Palo Alto teacher Stephen Ashford, helping kids get fit has led to YouTube success, associations with the NFL and White House
Stephen Ashford is a P.E. teacher at East Palo Alto Charter School. In music circles, he is simply known as Kontac.
"Once I became a teacher, one of my students had one of my old CDs," said Ashford, whose rap career began when he recorded his first solo material in 1993. "And it made me feel bad because it had the parental advisory logo on it. And it made me stop. I realized I'm a role model to these kids, so right then and there I changed everything. And I just went the positive route with the music."
The 2008 single "School is Cool" urged at-risk kids to finish high school. In support of the Let's Move! campaign promoted by Michelle Obama, Ashford put together the song and video for "1 2 3 Let's Go" -- and a visit to the White House is planned for this spring to meet the first lady.
The latest effort by Kontac and his team of collaborators recently became available on iTunes. The song is called "SF Play 60" and its YouTube video has seen more than a half-million visits.
"It's reaching heights that I've never seen," said Erase-E, one of the featured artists along with Kontac, Ebonni Black, King Cydal and TaxFree.
Ashford was recognized by the San Francisco 49ers as one of the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom in November 2011. Aware of what he had done for the Let's Move! campaign, representatives from the 49ers encouraged the 38-year-old native of East Palo Alto who grew up in Richmond to turn his attention toward the NFL Play 60 campaign, which urges kids to be active for 60 minutes a day.
In his 13th year at East Palo Alto Charter School, the fight against childhood obesity is a natural fit for the P.E. teacher.
"I try to make it as fun as possible," said Ashford, whose daily classes last 45 minutes. "They're running a lot, but they're not realizing how much exercise they're doing because they're having fun."
That will to inspire and entertain at the same time has allowed Ashford to tap into a network that dates back to 1997, when he began to work with producer Mr. Mixx of 2 Live Crew and toured with the group.
"When I'm doing something like this, it's no different than charity or if you're going somewhere in the community and you're talking to people," said Erase-E, who began collaborating with Kontac roughly a decade ago. "So when he calls me to do stuff like this, I'm always there for him because I know it's for a better cause and I know that it could make a difference in somebody's life."
The producer for "SF Play 60" is Cholly J, who just happens to be Ashford's cousin. After sharing his vision for the project during the recruiting process for artists, Ashford wrote the hook for the single and came up with the concept for the YouTue viral sensation with video director Da'Ron "D-Struct" Satchell.
"Everybody just came in and did their parts to make it work," said Ashford, whose next project could involve the WWE in an anti-bullying campaign. "So it was a team effort."
And it only made sense to include kids in the making of the video, some of which made appearances in previous projects.
"The kids make it that much better," Erase-E said. "When we do videos, I get a whole other spark of energy having the kids around. It just makes you feel that what you're doing makes sense and counts."
All proceeds from the iTunes sales will support athletic programs around the Bay Area, with many P.E. programs suffering budget cuts in recent times, Ashford said. Students at East Palo Alto Charter School have printed CDs of the single and sold them for $2 apiece to fund class projects, such as a bus for a field trip and a mini iPad for the classroom.
Wild 94.9 radio has included "SF Play 60" in its programming and Ashford has a few radio interviews lined up for the next two weeks.
But maybe the best publicity could come in the form of a Super Bowl title for the 49ers.
"If they do well, it will help," Ashford said. "The two go hand in hand."
The original YouTube post for "49ers Play 60" had to be taken down after it was hacked. The current version can be found at 49ERS PLAY 60 MUSIC VIDEO - YouTube.
Phat jams: For East Palo Alto teacher Stephen Ashford, helping kids get fit has led to YouTube success, associations with the NFL and White House - San Jose Mercury News
Stephen Ashford is a P.E. teacher at East Palo Alto Charter School. In music circles, he is simply known as Kontac.
"Once I became a teacher, one of my students had one of my old CDs," said Ashford, whose rap career began when he recorded his first solo material in 1993. "And it made me feel bad because it had the parental advisory logo on it. And it made me stop. I realized I'm a role model to these kids, so right then and there I changed everything. And I just went the positive route with the music."
The 2008 single "School is Cool" urged at-risk kids to finish high school. In support of the Let's Move! campaign promoted by Michelle Obama, Ashford put together the song and video for "1 2 3 Let's Go" -- and a visit to the White House is planned for this spring to meet the first lady.
The latest effort by Kontac and his team of collaborators recently became available on iTunes. The song is called "SF Play 60" and its YouTube video has seen more than a half-million visits.
"It's reaching heights that I've never seen," said Erase-E, one of the featured artists along with Kontac, Ebonni Black, King Cydal and TaxFree.
Ashford was recognized by the San Francisco 49ers as one of the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom in November 2011. Aware of what he had done for the Let's Move! campaign, representatives from the 49ers encouraged the 38-year-old native of East Palo Alto who grew up in Richmond to turn his attention toward the NFL Play 60 campaign, which urges kids to be active for 60 minutes a day.
In his 13th year at East Palo Alto Charter School, the fight against childhood obesity is a natural fit for the P.E. teacher.
"I try to make it as fun as possible," said Ashford, whose daily classes last 45 minutes. "They're running a lot, but they're not realizing how much exercise they're doing because they're having fun."
That will to inspire and entertain at the same time has allowed Ashford to tap into a network that dates back to 1997, when he began to work with producer Mr. Mixx of 2 Live Crew and toured with the group.
"When I'm doing something like this, it's no different than charity or if you're going somewhere in the community and you're talking to people," said Erase-E, who began collaborating with Kontac roughly a decade ago. "So when he calls me to do stuff like this, I'm always there for him because I know it's for a better cause and I know that it could make a difference in somebody's life."
The producer for "SF Play 60" is Cholly J, who just happens to be Ashford's cousin. After sharing his vision for the project during the recruiting process for artists, Ashford wrote the hook for the single and came up with the concept for the YouTue viral sensation with video director Da'Ron "D-Struct" Satchell.
"Everybody just came in and did their parts to make it work," said Ashford, whose next project could involve the WWE in an anti-bullying campaign. "So it was a team effort."
And it only made sense to include kids in the making of the video, some of which made appearances in previous projects.
"The kids make it that much better," Erase-E said. "When we do videos, I get a whole other spark of energy having the kids around. It just makes you feel that what you're doing makes sense and counts."
All proceeds from the iTunes sales will support athletic programs around the Bay Area, with many P.E. programs suffering budget cuts in recent times, Ashford said. Students at East Palo Alto Charter School have printed CDs of the single and sold them for $2 apiece to fund class projects, such as a bus for a field trip and a mini iPad for the classroom.
Wild 94.9 radio has included "SF Play 60" in its programming and Ashford has a few radio interviews lined up for the next two weeks.
But maybe the best publicity could come in the form of a Super Bowl title for the 49ers.
"If they do well, it will help," Ashford said. "The two go hand in hand."
The original YouTube post for "49ers Play 60" had to be taken down after it was hacked. The current version can be found at 49ERS PLAY 60 MUSIC VIDEO - YouTube.
Phat jams: For East Palo Alto teacher Stephen Ashford, helping kids get fit has led to YouTube success, associations with the NFL and White House - San Jose Mercury News
