Peace Family,

This year, I was accepted into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the Clazz International Music Festival in Tuscany, Italy, to perform with a live Jazz and Classical orchestra and undergo intensive vocal training. The Clazz International Music Festival in Tuscany, Italy, is an elite global incubator that brings together world-class classical and jazz orchestration to push the boundaries of genre and performance.

But this journey is about something much deeper than a performance. Earlier this year, after a fierce fight with cancer, my Nana, Barbara Lee Sheffield, passed away. Jazz was her absolute favorite music, and I have dedicated this entire milestone to her legacy.

While in Italy, I will be recording a live-instrumentation dual album experience called “My Nana's Favorite Album” & “Trip 2 Italy,” merging raw hip-hop with live classical strings and jazz instrumentation. Every note tracked and every piece of footage captured is in her honor.

This project is an independent blueprint. It is living proof that we can break into high-level art spaces and mainstream industries while maintaining our absolute integrity, making purpose the new standard for the culture.

The Equity | Impact Center stepped up early with a grant to cover half of our baseline travel, but I need our community to lock arms with me to finish the infrastructure. If my life, my work, or my art has ever impacted you, I need the community to help boost me to this next level of my career. As I elevate, we collectively empower, putting someone in position to dominate in the industry in excellence, purpose, and integrity.

Trip 2 Italy

The Italy Sessions: Building a community-backed blueprint for independent art, bridging Pittsburgh with Tuscany to commemorate the legacy of my Nanna, Barbara Lee Sheffield.

Team Members