Chicago Rapper Ridgio visited with Club members of the Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City on Friday, June 2 before performing at the LOK (Lindsey O’Brien Kesling) Wishing Tree Foundation Young Artists’ Expo at Lubeznik Center for the Arts for First Friday.
Ridgio, which is an acronym for “Realest Individual Doing God’s Incredible Overtaking,” encouraged the kids to follow their dreams and discover what they can do to “open that gate” and make those dreams come true. After several kids shared their future dreams, the rapper presented 11-year-old Avant with a shirt for his “most unique dream” of becoming a FBI agent someday. Ridgio shared that his dream was to “get a billion dollars and be able to give it back across the whole globe.”
The rapper inspired his audience to “Believe you can do it. Follow the Lord’s commandments – without a doubt, it can’t fail” and “Be the best person you can be.”
From the west side of Chicago, Ridgio is a former Boys and Girls Club member and a budding artist who seeks to impact the world with the true word of God through his music. A writer of all of his own songs, he performed three songs: “World of Dreams,” “Book of Dreams” and “I Ain’t Perfect” for the Club members.
Ridgio began taking music seriously at the age of 17; since then he has released three projects. He has performed throughout Chicago and appeared for the first time in Northwest Indiana on Saturday, May 20th in Gary.
He takes experiences from his troubled past and his journey with God to deliver a positive message, often including biblical references throughout his music. Ridgio stated, “Knowing God is real is important, but knowing what he requires from us as men and women is essential.”
"Ridgio's performance was outstanding for our kids,” said Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City Executive Director. “His message of doing the right thing and rising above the influence was the very message we send to our Club kids each and every day. We appreciate Ridgio and LOK for making this possible."
The rapper’s performance later that evening at Lubeznik Center for the Arts was part of the LOK Wishing Tree Foundation Young Artist Expo. The fourth annual expo was a family-friendly, multimedia showcase of lively youth visual and performing arts that included participants from each of the LOK Wishing Tree Foundation’s three partnering arts organizations: the South Shore Dance Alliance, the Lubeznik Center for the Arts and the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington.
“Showcasing these kids’ talents—and the fruits of our labors—has been a dream of mine since the beginning, and we are pleased to continue this tradition into our fourth year.” said LOK Founder, Dot Kesling.
Impressed with his positive message during a chance meeting, LOK board member Arlene Francis introduced Ridgio to the LOK Wishing Tree’s mission of unleashing the artistic dreams of youth. The mission culminates each year in early June for the LOK Young Artist Expo.
The LOK Wishing Tree Foundation lives love through carbon monoxide education and unleashing the artistic dreams of youth. In November 2010, Lindsey O’Brien Kesling “got her wings” at the young age of 22. Her tragic death resulted from exposure to unsafe levels of carbon monoxide in the Arizona apartment where she lived. Sadly, approximately 500 preventable deaths occur annually due to missing or improperly installed carbon monoxide detection equipment; an additional 28,000+ hospitalizations occur each year.
Lindsey’s family and friends transformed their grief into something new and beautiful: The Lindsey O’Brien Kesling (LOK) Wishing Tree Foundation. The LOK Foundation is dedicated to honoring the fullness of Lindsey’s short life by supporting her passions: children, love/laughter, and the performing arts.
Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City is a private, not-for-profit organization. It is a member of Boys & Girls Club of America, which is a nationwide affiliation of 4,100 local autonomous Club organizations that work to help young people of all backgrounds develop the qualities they need to become responsible citizens and leaders. There are three Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City sites: the Charles R. Westcott Center location, 321 Detroit Street; the Pine Elementary School Boys & Girls Club Extension and the Springfield Elementary School Boys & Girls Club Extension. These serve over 600 youth ages five to eighteen in the community. For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of Michigan City, please visit www.bgclubmc.org or “The Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City” on Facebook.