February 06, 2023 I Event
Roland, Champion Team to Support South L.A. Youth
A young participant at the Beat Garden event on Jan. 21.
Roland and clothing brand Champion partnered with four-time Grammy award-winning songwriter James Fauntleroy at the Beat Garden event, which he hosted on Jan. 21 to support South L.A. youth through music education. A Champion x Roland x 1500 Sound Academy streetwear collection capsule debuted for the first time at the event, with proceeds benefiting SoLa Technology and Entrepreneurship Center Powered by Riot Games to provide more students with the opportunity to learn crucial skills, such as building their own computers, learning coding languages, learning music production and more.
“When I was young and growing up in South L.A., we did not have exposure to this technology at all,” Fauntleroy said. “One day, a guy came to our school and held a technology assembly. It was not that long, and he did not go that deep, just enough to open my eyes to the possibilities out there with coding, programming and this entire world of emerging tech at that time. That hour completely blew me away and changed my life forever. I was hooked! I always knew that when I had the chance, I would come back and do the same for the kids in my community.”
“We were really moved when James brought this story and his idea to us,” said Brian Alli, vice president of strategic partnerships at Roland. “Along with our friends at Champion, we have all worked to bring his dream to fruition. In addition to the capsule Roland and Roland Lifestyle dropped with Champion and 1500 Sound Academy, we were excited to offer free music creation software at Beat Garden and even an augmented reality surprise that James gave away.”
