This summer, we collaborated with Intrahealth International on a Beat Making Lab in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the Lab, we trained a group of 18-to-25-year-olds to compose original beats inspired by family/future planning and other health issues, fusing traditional rhythms and instruments with modern production techniques. We returned to Addis Ababa with Intrahealth in November and presented our work at the International Conference on Family Planning where we made a Future Planning beat with conference participants and former students. For more information on our Ethiopia Beat Making Lab, check out our 7-week radio series with NPR/PRI’s The World and other press (MTV, Vice, Wall St. Journal, etc.) and watch our episodes on PBS.

Lyrics [by Jillian Gedeon]

I wanna tell you something that you may already know
But it’s still a huge issue going on around the world
It has to do with your mothers, daughters, sisters, and your wives
It’s the importance of family planning and how it saves lives
There are two-two-two million women in the world
Who have an unmet need for the one thing that could
Save their lives, space their births, and give them the freedom that they need
To keep going to school or have a business on the street
This knowledge shouldn’t be a luxury; it’s a human right
So let’s stand together as one to end this fight
And get free contraception all around the world
To every man, to every woman, and to every sexually active girl

Youth are especially a vulnerable population
But they make the majority of every developing nation
The barriers they face to get the services they need
Such as culture, finances, religion, and inability to read
Makes the risk of birth among them 4x higher
Increasing unsafe abortion, a situation that won’t retire
Unless we raise our voices about the controversy that should go
Because no matter the age or country, every female deserves to know, that
They do most of the world’s work but get little pay
They always know what’s best for them but get very little say
But with increased availability, accessibility, and quality,
FP can speed development and gender equity