Whiz Kid of the Week: Hip Hop Sensation Noah Acevedo

Whiz Kids is a weekly feature in which Patch profiles an outstanding youngster or youth group. This week's Whiz Kid is Noah Acevedo, who is awesome because he makes good music.

Whiz Kid: Noah Acevedo

Age: 11

School: Connors Elementary School, 5th Grade

Noah Acevedo, 11, comes from a prominent Hoboken family. His father and uncle, Miguel “Tito" Acevedo and , are community activists who also operate the through the Boys & Girls Club. His cousin is , a University of Kansas college basketball star with Hoboken roots who is projected to enter the NBA in a few years.

Noah is learning how to make music from his dad, who has been rapping for 20 years. Noah himself started rapping when he was around six while hanging around in his dad's studio. He has since recorded tracks and performed in front of audiences with hundreds of people.

With the help of producers who make the backing music, Noah writes his own lyrics. “I look for the beat first, then I write down the words that come to my mind,” he says. “If it's a slow beat I usually write about my life or a love song, but if its a fast beat I like to write a party song.”

Noah is also learning how to play classic musical instruments including the violin and the piano.

He's a good student too, having recently made the honor roll for earning all A's and B's on his report card. Thanks to the influence of his mother, a poet, he likes to study language arts, but also math and social studies. He likes reading about historical topics as far back as the Civil War.

Noah likes to unwind by playing basketball and skateboarding. He usually plays point guard, and his favorite NBA players are Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. He says he likes to skateboard when he needs to take a break from music, and he has been known to land a trick or two.

Noah hopes to make music when he gets older. Actually, he expects to become a big star.

“I'm going to live in the ,” he says.

Noah has the talent, ambition, guidance and experience at an early age to reach for the heights. That luxury hotel should start preparing his suite now.

Do you know a Whiz Kid, or even a whole group of them? Send any and all nominations to alanskontra@hotmail.com, and check back every Wednesday afternoon to read about some outstanding youngsters in your community.