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Kansas City Today

Where Kansas City teens turn their stories into song

By Nomin Ujiyediin,
Byron J. Love
Published April 17, 2026 at 4:00 AM CDT
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An illustration showing the Kansas City skyline with the words "Kansas City Today"

A nonprofit program in Kansas City believes songwriting can help teens through mental health challenges. We'll stop by Rebel Song Academy to hear how students are finding their calm through music.

Since 2017, the nonprofit Rebel Song Academy has been found to help adolescents deal with a variety of mental health challenges by having them study composition and perform music together. KCUR's Brandon Azim reports.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

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Kansas City Today Teenagersmental healthMusiceducationtherapy
Nomin Ujiyediin
As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
See stories by Nomin Ujiyediin
Byron J. Love
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
See stories by Byron J. Love
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