LYRICAL MESSAGE

Union City Students Win Hudson County Shouts Down Drugs Music Competition

"Life is hard, yes it is, but drugs don't change that," is a line
from the winning song "The Lost One" by the hip-hop artists Street
Faction. The members of Street Faction won first place with their
anti-drug lyrics at the sixth annual Hudson County Shouts Down Drugs
music competition in collaboration with United Way of Hudson County
and Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ).

"Our music is about everything, and helps us to express what we go
through," said Joshua Sierra, 18. Longtime friends and seniors at
Emerson High School, Sierra, Sergio Cabrera Jr., Eric Gonzalez, and
Ruben Sosa Jr. make up the members of Street Faction. "Music is our
passion," said Sergio Cabrera, 17. "We've all been friends for a
while and we have our own group, which has been together for five years."

"We saw an opportunity and we seized it," said Eric Gonzalez, 18.
Street Faction was honored at Emerson High School at the school's
senior assembly luncheon on Friday, March 30. The luncheon was a part
of a daylong series of events honoring the school community. As
winners of the competition, Street Faction was presented with a
$1,000 music contract from the PDFNJ and United Way of Hudson County.

Message through music

Now in its sixth year, the annual Hudson County Shouts Down Drugs
music competition, which took place last month at the Newport Center
Mall in Jersey City, challenges high school students to create
original music and lyrics with substance abuse prevention messages.
"Music is an international language and very effective in getting a
positive message across in this age group," said Angelo Valente,
executive director of PDFNJ. "We felt it was a great way to use this
vehicle that has the ability to deliver messages in a positive way."

Street Faction took first place, while runners up included Youngsterz
also from Emerson High School, as well as other groups from Henry
Snyder High School in Jersey City and from Mount Carmel Guild High
School in Kearny.

"It challenges high school students throughout Hudson County to
create original music with substance abuse prevention messages," said
Valente. "This is a statewide initiative to get peer to peer
perspectives. It's really dynamic and an excellent way to reach young people."

The hip-hop lyrics of "The Lost One" tells the story of a young man,
who continues a battle with drugs and goes into how his life worsened
and the people that were hurt along the way. "It was really a group
effort," said Ruben Sosa, 17. "We all created our own parts and then
we just came together."

Sosa first participated in the competition two years ago with another
group, but wasn't among the county finalists.

However, this year not only have they won the county competition, but
on May 17 at Rowan University they will be competing with 13
additional counties in the statewide competition of New Jersey Shouts
Down Drugs. Now in its third year, this will be the first time
Emerson High School will be representing Hudson County in the state
competition. Past state winners have been from Ocean and Burlington counties.

Prizes

Now with the new music contract in hand and the opportunity for
statewide success, Street Faction will also be looking to break into
the music industry. "Right now we just finished signing with this
independent label, and we'll be doing a lot of performances along the
east coast," said Ruben.

In addition to their $1,000 music contract, Street Faction and the
runners up had their original songs professionally recorded and mixed
on CDs, which are distributed to schools and utilized at assemblies
and conferences throughout the state.

For more information on Street Faction, visit www.myspace.com/beatbangaz201