How Jeanne Warsaw Uses MEMA Music to Help Youth Find Their Voice
When Jeanne Warsaw talks about music, she’s not talking about background noise.
For Jeanne, founder of the youth development arts organization MEMA Music, music has always been a lifeline. Growing up in the late 60s and 70s, she watched artists use their platforms to push for civil rights, call out injustice, and build community. Those records didn’t just entertain her — they shaped how she sees the world.
Years later, after a career working at Virgin Records, Sony Records, and Warner Bros. with some of the biggest artists in the world, including stadium-filling stars like Janet Jackson, Jeanne decided to do something different:
Use music as a tool for healing, identity, and voice for young people.
On Village Talks with host Damian Howard, Jeanne shares how MEMA Music (named after the loving nickname her mother’s grandkids used for her) brings message-driven music into classrooms and community spaces — and what happens when youth are given a safe space to process what they hear and what they live.
From stadiums to classrooms: why Jeanne chose youth over the industry
Jeanne spent years inside the music industry machine. Virgin, Sony, Warner Bros. — she saw it up close.
One moment stayed with her: watching Janet Jackson take the stage in a stadium and looking out over the crowd.
She remembers seeing “every different type of person that ever existed” in those seats. No fighting. No arguing. Just thousands of people held together by the same song.
Every time that happened, she would get chills and ask herself:
“How can I make this happen outside of this concert venue?”
That question eventually pulled her out of the corporate music world and into youth work. She knew two things:
1. Every young person listens to music.
2. Music can create connection where nothing else seems to reach.
So she built MEMA Music around a simple but powerful idea: use the music youth already love as a way to open them up, help them think critically, and give them tools to tell their own stories.
Why the 60s and 70s still matter for today’s youth
Jeanne’s approach is rooted in the era that formed her: the 60s and 70s.
She talks about how, in those decades, music wasn’t built around streams and algorithms. It was built around purpose. Artists used songs to say:
– Here’s what’s happening in society.
– Here’s what we’re going through.
– Here’s what needs to change.
She points to Marvin Gaye’s 1970 album and especially “What’s Going On” as a turning point. Gaye was a Motown artist, and Motown wanted to avoid anything political. But he pushed anyway.
That album became a concept record about war, racism, inequality, and hope — a landmark moment, especially for a Black artist at a time when Black music often wasn’t even played on white radio stations.
For Jeanne, this is key history for youth today. When MEMA Music works with students, they don’t just analyze current tracks; they trace the lineage:
– How Marvin Gaye took a risk so he could speak to reality.
– How artists during the civil rights movement used songs to move people to action.
– How those choices still echo in today’s rap, R&B, drill, K-pop, and more.
This context matters. It helps youth see their own playlists differently — not just as entertainment, but as part of a long story about voice, power, and truth-telling.
Meeting youth where they are: yes, even with explicit lyrics
MEMA Music does not shy away from the music youth actually listen to.
Jeanne is clear: every genre has messages. Rap, R&B, K-pop, drill — “there is a message in every song.” Instead of banning or avoiding explicit content, she uses it as a starting point for conversation.
The question isn’t, “Is this song appropriate?” It’s:
– What are you connecting to in this song?
– What does it say about your neighborhood, your streets, your reality?
– What is this song telling you about who you’re “supposed” to be?
– Who do you actually want to be?
By doing that, MEMA Music turns listening into a learning tool. Students are invited to think critically about:
– Violence and survival.
– Gender expectations.
– Racism and systemic inequality.
– The difference between image and identity.
And because the starting point is music they already love, students are far more willing to open up.
When the quietest student won’t stop talking
After 15 years of running programs in schools, Jeanne has seen the same pattern over and over.
They bring message-rich music into a classroom, often with students who are disengaged or struggling. They provide structure — prompts, activities, journals — but always anchor everything in the songs.
That’s when teachers pull her aside and say things like:
“That student hasn’t spoken all year.”
But when the music hits and the discussion starts, those same students suddenly:
– Raise their hands.
– Stay engaged.
– Dive deep into analysis of lyrics and messages.
Sometimes, Jeanne says, “they can’t even stop talking” because they are so invested in breaking down the song, connecting it to their own experiences, and sharing what it means to them.
This isn’t about turning every student into a performer. It’s about voice. Music becomes the doorway into critical thinking, emotional expression, and self-understanding.
A hallway, a journal, and a story that was hard to read
One story from North Lawndale stays with Jeanne.
She was running a MEMA Music program with a combined 7th and 8th grade class — a challenging mix on any day. Every student received a journal. After each song they analyzed, their only job was to write.
No pressure to sound like an artist.
No pressure to rhyme.
Just: how does this song connect to you?
One day, a younger boy was kicked out of class for behavior. Jeanne didn’t want him removed, but it wasn’t her decision.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
“Miss Jeanne, can I have my journal?”
She handed it to him. He sat in the hallway the entire hour, writing while the class went on.
When the bell rang and the other students left, he stepped back in.
“Would you read this?”
Jeanne said yes. What he had written was hard to read — a story shaped by pain and environment — but it was honest. The journal, grounded in the music they had been studying, had given him a way to say things he hadn’t been able to say to any adult.
That is the core of MEMA Music’s work:
– Give youth a safe container (music, prompts, journals).
– Let them connect the dots between songs and their lived reality.
– Create options for expression: writing, spoken word, PSAs, original songs, multimedia.
And then, crucially, honor what they share.
From analysis to creation: taking youth into the studio
MEMA Music doesn’t stop at discussion.
Once youth have spent time listening, analyzing, and reflecting, they move into creation. Depending on the program, that might look like:
– Spoken word pieces.
– Original songs.
– Poetry.
– Multimedia presentations.
– Public service announcements.
Then MEMA Music takes them into professional recording studios in the city. There, students get to record what they’ve created.
For many youth, this is the first time they:
– See the inside of a studio.
– Hear their voice played back on a track.
– Realize that their ideas can live outside of a notebook or classroom.
The result is not just a polished recording. It’s a concrete reminder: my story matters, my voice carries, and I can build something from what I’ve lived through.
Shifting from schools to community organizations
For 15 years, MEMA Music focused heavily on school-based programs. Jeanne has seen firsthand the opportunities and the constraints inside school systems — especially around discipline and behavior.
Now, she and her team are investing more in partnerships with community organizations.
Community spaces often allow:
– More flexibility in content.
– Deeper relationship-building over time.
– Programming that reflects neighborhood realities more directly.
Jeanne sums it up simply: “We’re ready. We just want to spread the love.”
Whether they are in schools or community centers, the mission remains the same: use music as a bridge to connection, conversation, and healing.
You can learn more about MEMA’s work at mema-music.org.
Why this work matters for the “Village of Support”
Host Damian Howard frames Village Talks around a core belief: when the village comes together, we can transform outcomes for students, families, and communities.
Jeanne’s work sits right in the middle of that idea.
She’s not asking teachers to become therapists or youth to become entertainers. Instead, she is offering a practical way for caring adults — educators, mentors, program leaders — to use something youth already love (music) to:
– Build trust.
– Open up difficult conversations.
– Support social and emotional development.
Music becomes common ground in the broader Village of Support surrounding each young person.
And, as Jeanne reminds Damian at the end of their conversation, this isn’t new. Songs like the Isley Brothers’ “Harvest for the World” have been calling us toward community and shared responsibility for decades.
The work now is to carry that spirit forward, with today’s youth and today’s sounds.
To learn more about the work being done to coordinate care across the Village of Support — and how SELvie helps make that collaboration possible — visit www.sel-plus.com/selvie.