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FLTBYS
Kota the Friend
Brooklyn independent hip-hop artist Kota the Friend and his FLTBYS (pronounced Flight Boys) culture brand contributed $10,000 to help PATHS High School dancers participate in an international arts experience in Basel, Switzerland. The initiative connects Kota's own background in Brooklyn public-school arts programs with an effort to give young performers access to opportunities beyond New York City. Kota, who attended Brooklyn High School of the Arts, launched FLTBYS while in high school and built the brand around freedom, creativity and an independent approach to building a career. The PATHS students were scheduled to spend 10 days training and performing at the Braswell Arts Center, founded by Bedford-Stuyvesant native Armando Braswell.
FLTBYS and Kota the Friend Donate $10,000 to Send Brooklyn Student Dancers to Switzerland
BROOKLYN, NY — FLTBYS, the independent culture brand founded by Brooklyn hip-hop artist Kota the Friend, has provided a $10,000 donation to support student dancers from Performing Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) at the Thomas Jefferson Campus in Brooklyn. The contribution will help students travel to Basel, Switzerland, for a 10-day international dance training and performance experience at the Braswell Arts Center.
The donation brings together two Brooklyn stories rooted in arts education, independence and opportunity. Kota attended Brooklyn public schools, including Brooklyn High School of the Arts, while Braswell Arts Center founder Armando Braswell grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant before building an international career as a professional dancer and establishing an arts institution in Basel.
FLTBYS: Building a Culture Around Freedom and Independence
Kota started FLTBYS (pronounced “Flight Boys”) while he was still in high school, developing an idea that would ultimately become part of the foundation of his independent career. The name and concept are rooted in freedom — the freedom to create, build, travel, make independent decisions and pursue a path without waiting for traditional institutions to provide permission or opportunity.
That philosophy has remained closely connected to Kota's development as an independent artist and entrepreneur. FLTBYS has grown beyond its origins into an independent culture brand centered on creativity, ownership, community and the idea of “taking flight” by creating your own opportunities.
The $10,000 contribution to PATHS reflects that mission by helping young artists gain access to an experience that can expand what they believe is possible. For Kota, the connection is particularly personal because his own creative journey began through arts programs in New York City's public schools.
“I became a writer, hip hop artist, musician and producer because of the arts programs that existed in the New York City Public Schools system, so I know firsthand the importance of the arts in school,” Kota the Friend said. “I'm committing $10k to support the dance program at Performing Arts & Technology HS, in East New York, Brooklyn.”
From Brooklyn Public Schools to an Independent Music Career
Kota attended Brooklyn public schools from elementary school through high school and was introduced to the trumpet in the fourth grade while attending P.S. 282. His development as a young musician helped him pursue additional arts education and eventually attend Brooklyn High School of the Arts.
Those early experiences provided Kota with a creative foundation that would later influence his work as a writer, rapper, musician and producer. They also helped shape the independent philosophy behind FLTBYS and Kota's belief that access to the arts can expose young people to possibilities they may not otherwise encounter.
“They are raising funds to take their student dancers to Basel, Switzerland to train and perform at the Braswell Arts Center for 10 days,” Kota said when announcing the contribution. “Asking my friends to support this initiative for the performing arts. Please donate what you can.”
From Bed-Stuy to Basel
The PATHS dance program is led by Marcella Jones, who previously taught dance at JHS 258 in Bedford-Stuyvesant before joining PATHS at the Thomas Jefferson Campus in 2005. The Brooklyn to Basel concept developed following a reunion between Jones and one of her former students, Armando Braswell, who returned to visit his former teacher at the Thomas Jefferson Campus.
Braswell grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant and went on to establish a professional dance career that ultimately took him to Europe. He later founded the Braswell Arts Center in Basel, Switzerland, creating a place where dancers can train, develop and perform.
During their reunion, Braswell and Jones reflected on how dance helped take him from a Brooklyn classroom to an international career. Those conversations developed into a plan to give Brooklyn public-school students an opportunity to experience international travel and dance education for themselves.
The participating PATHS students will spend 10 days in Basel, where they will train and perform at the Braswell Arts Center while experiencing life outside the United States. The program is designed to expose students not only to advanced dance training, but also to the cultural and educational possibilities that can emerge when young artists have opportunities to experience the world.
Creating Opportunities for the Next Generation
The Brooklyn to Basel initiative aligns closely with the philosophy behind FLTBYS: creative freedom can begin with exposure to opportunities that allow young people to imagine a larger future. Helping students travel from Brooklyn to Switzerland represents a tangible example of what “taking flight” can mean for a new generation of artists.
For Kota, supporting the students also brings his own story full circle. Arts education helped introduce him to music as a Brooklyn public-school student, while the independent mindset he began developing through FLTBYS in high school eventually became central to the career and businesses he would build as an adult.
The $10,000 FLTBYS contribution provides significant support toward the students' trip, but additional funds are being raised to help cover the overall cost of the program. Community members, arts supporters and others interested in helping the students participate can contribute to the original PATHS Brooklyn to Basel GoFundMe campaign.
Supporting the campaign helps provide Brooklyn students with an opportunity to train internationally, experience another culture and see firsthand where a commitment to the arts can take them.
About FLTBYS
FLTBYS (pronounced “Flight Boys”) is an independent culture brand founded by Brooklyn artist and entrepreneur Kota the Friend while he was in high school. Built around the idea of freedom and “taking flight,” FLTBYS represents creative independence, ownership, self-determination and the ability to build opportunities rather than wait for them.
The brand reflects the independent approach Kota has carried throughout his career while connecting music, art, culture, entrepreneurship and community. At its core, FLTBYS represents the freedom for creators to determine their own direction while building something they can own.
About Kota the Friend
Kota the Friend is an independent hip-hop artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur from Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Brooklyn High School of the Arts and a product of New York City public-school arts programs, Kota has built his career independently while developing FLTBYS as a broader cultural platform rooted in creativity, ownership and freedom.
About Braswell Arts Center
Braswell Arts Center was founded in Basel, Switzerland, by Brooklyn native and professional dancer Armando Braswell. Braswell's journey from Bedford-Stuyvesant to an international career in dance helped inspire the Brooklyn to Basel initiative and its goal of exposing Brooklyn students to international arts education and cultural experiences.
Source: FLTBYS Music + Entertainment
