This Friday, the "Beats, Rhymes and Life" benefit will raise money for a film about a longstanding rap therapy project for Oakland youth.

The program is housed at Oakland High School and brings together a diverse team of mental health professionals, educators and community artists to offer youth of color counseling through arts and music.

Dubbed “For the Love: A Hip Hop Soiree,” the event will be held March 12 at The New Parish in Oakland. Some of the young people featured in the film, which documents BRL’s nine years in Oakland, will perform. There will also be a screening of selected footage. All proceeds from the adults-only benefit go toward matching a $10,000 challenge grant, which has a deadline of March 15, from the East Bay Community Foundation. [Donate online here.]

Guest speakers Friday include Beats, Rhymes and Life founder Tomas Alvarez III, Principal Alicia Romero of Oakland High and District 2 Councilmember Pat Kernighan.

“What drew me to the event is the idea of a film casting Oakland in positive light,” said Kernighan. “God knows Oakland needs that.”

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The feature-length film documents the trials and achievements of a group of Oakland youth as they embark on a journey to unleash their hidden potential as they learn to use hip hop as a catalyst for change. The film reveals how youth find creative and positive ways to cope with adversity. It will offer a glimpse into the world of adolescent youth as they discover their voices and find ways to connect with each other while creating hip hop music.

“The film project gives a voice to the youth to express themselves through art and say how they see their community, positively or negatively,” said Kerri Gawryn, the film’s director.

Production began in January 2009, with an Oakland premier set for January 2011. Upon completion, Gawryn said, the film will be distributed to other organizations and schools, and entered in film festivals. Gawryn’s last film, “Exposing Homelessness,” was picked up for distribution by Documentary Educational Resources a, a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to produce and distribute cross-cultural documentary films for educational use.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office and Mayor Ron Dellums’ office will both send representatives to “For the Love,” according to a statement from BRL.

There will also be a silent auction of “luxurious packages” from local businesses, including fine wine and local cuisine.

An after party hosted by Bicasso of “Living Legends” will follow the soiree at 9:30 p.m, featuring local DJ’s including Platurn from “Oakland Faders,” Pam the Funkstress from “The Coup,” Be Brown from “The  People” and a special performance by A-Plus of “Hieroglyphics.”

Tickets for “For the Love” cost $50 per person, with discounted tickets for artists and teachers at $25 each. Ticketholders are welcome to stay for the after party. “For the Love” tickets are presale only and March 10 is the last day to purchase. Tickets for the after party run $8 presale and $10 at the door. Tickets are available here.

WHAT? For the Love: A Hip Hop Soiree

DATE: March 12

TIME: 7 p.m.

LOCATION: The New Parish, 579 18th Street at San Pablo, Oakland, CA 94606

PRICE: $8.00 - $50.00

About Edwin Okong’o

Edwin Okong’o is a writer, journalist, humorist and satirist. He is a reporter for FRONTLINE/World and formerly an associate editor at New America Media. "Kenya: Sweet Home, Obama," a documentary he made on the 2008 U.S. presidential elections for PBS, was voted the People's Voice at the 2009 Webby Awards. Okong'o is a regular contributor to New America Now, an ethnic media radio program aired on various NPR stations. During the 2007 post-election violence in his home country, Kenya, Okong’o was a resource for news media including The New York Times, Al-Jazeera and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is working on his first book, a memoir about coming of age in Kenya. Follow him on his blog, http://www.ourmaninamerica.com.