This story is taken from creamer at sacbee.com. Anita Creamer: 21 dreams playing out on new CD By Anita Creamer -- Bee Staff Writer - (Published February 10, 2003) By the end of music business class, some 50 students -- a cross section of ages, ethnic origins, talent levels and musical tastes -- have heard their Sacramento City College professor, German jazz pianist Markus Burger, tell them the cold, hard truth: "If it was meant to be that someone in here signs with a major record company, you wouldn't be sitting here," he says. "It's unfortunate. But they scout a lot younger than you are." They're undaunted, these students. Some are performers. Some want to produce. Others want to be audio engineers, and yet others want to manage recording artists. They all have dreams, and those who also take Burger's DiverCity Records class are living them. As Jabari Dora, who raps under the name of Cain Writla, puts it: "I was made for this. One day, people will see what I'm talking about." Along with 21 other artists, most of them Los Rios Community College District students, Dora recorded a two-disc compilation CD last semester for DiverCity Records, Sac City's new student-run, college-sponsored record label. Track by track, the CD is a little rock, a little R&B, a lot of rap and a ton of experience for the DiverCity Records class. The more these students learn about the independent recording business, Burger says, the less likely it is that major labels will be able to exploit them -- and the more likely it is that they'll find their niche in the music industry. And so they made a record while earning three hours' class credit: How totally cool. "It's fun," says James Newson, who's in charge of DiverCity's A&R department. He and his team screen and select which artists to record. Sure, that's fun. So is performing and producing. But as Burger -- who based DiverCity Records on his own experiences as a music student in Germany -- points out, someone has to be in charge of the label's accounting structure, too. Someone has to keep track of the label from a legal and business point of view; someone has to analyze consumer potential. Uh-oh. Not so fun. Someone also has to sell the CDs and raise funds to sustain DiverCity, which received seed money from the Sacramento City College Foundation and has incorporated as a nonprofit organization. Anthony Newson, who raps as BeGee, is in charge of marketing and distribution, and he's definitely having fun with that. "Everybody chips in," he says. "Right now, we're placing the album in stores. We're starting up shows to do performances, and we're bringing career days to local high schools." "And we're having a carwash pretty soon," says James, his brother. "As a nonprofit label, we don't have to just sell the CDs to make money," says Anthony. "We're going out into the community and getting youth involved." And sometimes, that can involve soap, water and dusty vehicles. Burger came up with the name in 2001 -- long before he began teaching the class -- because he was struck with the multiculturalism of his Sac City students. And then Time magazine designated Sacramento "America's Most Diverse City." "That was for us the jackpot," says Burger. A jackpot as well as a mission. "Our main concern with DiverCity is bringing together cultures," says the label's student CEO, Joe Littell. "We want to start breaking down some of the walls. We want to open people's eyes up to other kinds of music." Tasha Landaker, an audio engineering student who signed up for the DiverCity class this semester, simply wants the hands-on experience of working on a record label. Lacey Nelson's here for the experience, too -- plus, she wants to rap. "Eminem came out, and he's called a genius," she says. "It'd be different to see a white girl rap." Why not? In the name of diversity, and DiverCity, anything is possible. ------------------ About the Writer --------- The Bee's Anita Creamer can be reached at (916) 321-1136 or acreamer@sacbee.com.