The Memphis Library Foundation is set to host an official grand opening celebration for The Mound Lab, a new music production facility at Orange Mound Library. The Oct. 17 event will see the launch of a “fully equipped, free-to-access music studio” where Memphis residents can record, mix and produce songs.
Rapper Tyke T, aka Tyrone Stroble, who is serving as Hip-Hop Innovator-in-Residence for the Memphis Library Foundation, developed the concept for The Mound Lab. According to a statement from the Memphis Library Foundation, the space is “designed to break barriers for people of all ages in Memphis to record, mix and produce a record, providing a unique, hands-on experience at no cost.”
Located in Memphis' Orange Mound neighborhood — which has
also produced a legacy of rap artists over the years including 8Ball & MJG — The Mound Lab promises to be a “free resource for the next generation of musicians and artists to bring their creative ideas to fruition.”
Tyke T is hosting community programming on the first and third Saturdays of each month at The Mound Lab. The events began in September and will run through the end of 2026. Another three-month course will begin in early 2027.
Tyke T’s curriculum is focused on teaching “real-life skills” in music production and the music business. Drawing from his own experience, Tyke T’s courses will focus on the creative aspects of recording, while also “showing creators how to monetize and own their art.”
Tyke T’s involvement in The Mound Lab comes as part of the Memphis Library Foundation’s Innovator-in-Residence program, which engages local creative professionals across various business and industries to base their work in one of the 18 Memphis Public Libraries branches.
In exchange for an annual stiped, Innovator-In-Residence figures help build public programs designed to “inspire, teach and connect community members and guide them with the entrepreneurial skills to launch new career paths."
For more information or to sign up for the programming at The Mound Lab, go to Memphislibraryfoundation.org.
Bob Mehr is the music writer at The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at bob.mehr@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tyke T helps next generation of artists at The Mound Lab in Memphis
