Grammy-nominated producer Marcos Palacios aka Kosine, one half of the music collabo Da Internz, is reaching out this summer to inner-city youth. The music producer recently hosted a pro football summer camp with the Chicago Bears to stop the violence in the city. The summer camp consisted of children ages 7 to 15 at Saint Joseph High School to give them something positive to focus on this summer. Check out the interview:
How do you think a program like this shapes our youth?
It gives them hope and an opportunity to see that football players in the NFL are actually real people. And, it’s not just about watching these people, but it’s about people coming together and kids can really see the “hey this is possible” mentality.
What other philanthropy work do you see yourself doing?
I have a foundation called The Palacios Foundation and it’s brand new. I’ve been focused on my career long enough and I’ve accomplished a lot. I’m super grateful for God blessing me beyond my wildest dreams, but now I feel like I’m in servant mode. So, that’s what the Palacios Foundation is about, switching gears and [to] start giving back more with a purpose.
Do you draw any life lessons from any competition that you go through?
Absolutely, sometimes I struggle to be motivated. I sometimes have that procrastination spirit, so whenever I add competition to anything, it just gives me that little edge I need. I love beating everybody at everything. I’m a winner! So I just try to keep that mindset and pass it along to others.
What are your future expectations for a summer program like this?
I just expect it to get bigger and better. I want to have more supporters here. I’m super grateful to have Ludacris pretty much vouch for this program, because he’s super busy; fresh off of working on his album that we helped executive produce and the movie Fast & Furious wrapping. For him just to take the time to do the video drop for us and basically cosign this event, is amazing. And, for us to have David Bass, Brandon Marshall and Kyle Prater — all of these NFL stars take time out, just means the world to me. So, I see this continuously growing and this is just the beginning.
What other programs do you think our young people need?
They need Da Internz University, and that’s in development. It’s a bunch of successful people in the industry and beyond just being teachers and giving back. That’s why we call ourselves Da Internz, because it’s nonstop learning and growing.
To check out more from producer Kosine, follow him on IG and Twitter @Kosineondabeat
