Coolio maps out musical tour

Inner-city-born rapper Coolio is working with the Los Angeles Parks & Recreation Department on what is being called the Mobile Musical Tour, a program designed to educate disadvantaged kids on all aspects of the recording industry. "We came up with this idea to do a mobile music bus," said Coolio, 35, describing the recording studio-on-wheels that is the centerpiece of the project, slated to hit the road early next year. He added, "... you set up a classroom in a rec center and have people go over the things they're going to be doing in the studio and give them a little mini-test. "Then, you take people out there [to the bus], and let them start working on it. We'll teach the kids the basics about engineering and soundboards all over L.A." Slated to begin sometime next year, the program will be part of a broader youth arts and entertainment project being assembled by the L.A. Parks & Recreation Department. "It will supplement an entertainment arts complex we're looking to build that will teach kids other elements of the entertainment industry, like film, TV, radio, editing, writing ... ," said Mary Braunswarth, Parks & Rec Department spokeswoman. "It will give kids a permanent place to go,[and Coolio's] van idea ... will give kids with some talent, that don't have money, a chance to go out and get recording studio time." Coolio (born Artis Leon Ivey) grew up in the ghetto neighborhood of Compton, Calif. Inspired to work on the Mobile Musical Tour and "Christmas Caravan" --his annual food drive for the needy-- by the lack of similar programs when he was a kid, Coolio said he has worked to develop the programs in the inner cities. "I wish somebody would have helped me or thought about me, and what I was trying to do,"Coolio said, " tried to give me some insight on ... music and different things."