Chris Brown as a Musical Activist
When Hugh Christopher Brown built a studio
on Wolfe Island, in Ontario, Canada, he
didn’t realize that it would inspire him to not
only enter the nearby prison, but to launch a
groundbreaking music rehabilitation initiative.
He spearheaded the amazing Pros and Cons
Program that infuses the power of healing
for inmates by making music behind bars in
Canadian prisons.
It is a story he tells in a thoughtful TEDx
talk in which Chris says, “Human beings can
change for the better against great odds with
the emotional platform and patience that
music provides.”
Multi-instrumentalist Chris Brown has per-
formed with Ani DiFranco, Barenaked Ladies,
Crash Test Dummies, Joan As Police Woman,
the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Kate Fenner,
and many others. Chris also recently produced
highly acclaimed debut albums for Suzanne
Jarvie and David Corley and will soon be
releasing his newest solo record, Pacem.
I have listened to all of Chris’ CDs and
would not hesitate to call him “The Canadian
Van Morrison.” His songs and his musician-
ship are incredibly soulful, clever and inspiring.
In particular, I was blown away by his songs
“Superior” from Burden of Belief; “Oblivion,”
“Snow” and “Whoever Built This Would
Never Live Here” from Other People’s Heav-
ens; “Drive While You Sleep” and “The Lesser
Amount” from Geronimo; and “Failed” and
“Exquisite Corpse” from O Witness.
In addition, Chris is also a passionate and
committed social justice activist. As part of the
Pros and Cons music rehabilitation program
at Joyceville Institution, he produced an album
of the prisoners’ songs called Postcards from
the County. Chris continues to run music
workshops there.
The David Rockefeller Fund awarded
$75,000 to expand Brown’s program to more
prisons over the next few years. Chair of the
Fund Michael Quattrone said, “The David
Rockefeller Fund is pleased to support the
Pros and Cons Project. Hugh Christopher
Brown is an artist who understands the power
of music and mentorship to transform lives.We especially admire his passionate commit-
ment to bring that healing force to those who
need it most. Pros and Cons has the potential
to be a standing government program at a far
greater scale.”The Yoga of Music in Prison
Chris told me that his program brings “a
brief escape from the dominating identity of
being an inmate in a prison” and compares it
to yoga because “it takes great humility and
great courage to feel in a place where you
have so much pain. When that pain is brought
about by suffering that you have caused oth-
ers, it is usually avoided. The music provides
a platform for unyielding emotions the way
yoga provides a platform for the unyielding
body to find other ways of being.”
More than four years ago Chris was
inspired to start the Pros and Cons project
after the closure of the prison’s agricultural
program. His request to “go inside” and
work with the inmates was granted and he
began hosting biweekly music sessions at the
prison, encouraging the men to sing and write
music as well as to learn production, arrange-
ment, recording, and engineering skills.A Few Pros from Cons
Involved in the Project
Some of the prisoners who wrote songs for,
sang or played music on Postcards from the
County have now been released or are out on
parole. One parolee, Lloyd Ingraham, said,
“In my 11 years inside the Federal Prison
system, I have never seen anything touch the
hearts and souls of so many. It was with the
power of music that Chris was able to reach
out to the guys. The music drew them out and
sometimes it took a lot of encouragement to
convince them to get involved. But to see the
look on a man’s face as he listens to himselffor the first time on tape and realizes this is
an accomplishment and he is capable of doing
more than he ever thought he could, gave the
guys a new sense of purpose that brought
them out of the darkness that had been in
their life for so long.”
Another parolee, Adam Harris wrote,
“Music has been the only way I could
express myself in a positive way. However,
I never developed any associated skills much
beyond playing guitar and writing rudimen-
tary songs on my own, but never in a col-
laborative effort. Throughout our recording
sessions and time on our own, I developed
strong social skills that are helping me during
my current-day parole release. I fell in love
with music again. By receiving the positive
feedback from Chris and the other profession-
al musicians, my self-esteem started coming
back as I flourished under their guidance and
encouragement.”
Chris expressed that he is “so proud that
the art of all the participants over the last five
years is having such a profound effect on their
own lives, and now stands as an example to
help so many others. The practice of restor-
ative justice lowers crime and recidivism rates,
reduces violence and promotes mental health
in prisons. It also prepares convicts for re-
integration into society upon release.”For more information about Hugh Christo-
pher Brown and the Pros and Cons Program,
please visit ProsandConsprogram.com
For more information about the music and
Chris’ new album, visit wolfeislandrecords.
com/hughchristopherbrownPsychotherapist Ira Israel is the author of
How To Survive Your Childhood Now That
You’re An Adult: A Path to Authenticity and
Awakening: iraisrael.comMusician Hugh Christopher Brown Enters Prison to Relieve Pain
By Ira Israel // Photo by Kirsten Ritchiethe pros and cons Program
“...The practice of restorative justice lowers crime and
recidivism rates, reduces violence and promotes mental health
in prisons.”
COMMUNITY // MUSICIAN PROFILE