Fair Lawn Teen to Perform Original Song at Anti-Drug Concert

Fair Lawn teen Kobi Balkin will be one of 33 New Jersey high school students performing his original music May 23 at the Ninth Annual Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey's Shout Down Drugs competition.

The competition challenges high school students across the state to create original music with lyrics that contain powerful peer-to-peer drug prevention messages. The event's winner will receive a $10,000 music contract from the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey to perform at statewide events.   

Balkin, a student at Chancellor Academy in Pompton Plains, will perform his original song “Rest in Pieces,” at the concert, which is being held at Newark's New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Balkin's "Rest in Pieces," is an ode to overcoming the temptation to use drugs. In it, he flows about his past struggles with drug dependency, but says he no longer needs to use.

"Goodbye, I don't need you at all," the haunting chorus repeats. "You pushed me down to the rocks/No lie I was pretty shocked/No more my ship sailed away/You're lost in the ocean blue while I'm living without you."

Balkin lists his musical influences as Janis Joplin, Michael Jackson and Eminem, and said he aspires to be an inspiration to youth.

Visit the Shout Down Drugs website for a profile of Balkin and the other teen contestants, and cast a vote for your favorite song. Balkin's song can be heard in its entirety on his contestant page.

Online voting, which is factored into a contestant's final score on the night of the concert, is open until May 23.

Tickets to the show are free, but must be reserved at www.shoutdowndrugs.com.

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