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Thanks to you, kids have a place to build their future.

Each afternoon of his childhood in East Liberty, Harvey “Frzy” Daniels would head to the Salvation Army’s afterschool program and play dodgeball, then grab a Huggie for 25 cents at the corner convenience store, walking past the drug dealers and hustlers. He’d go to the Presbyterian church where his father worked and help feed the homeless lined up for the soup kitchen. Then he’d go straight to Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – East Liberty. He’d make a beeline for the computers, play a little bit of The Oregon Trail and read comic books and stories about Greek mythology.

Frzy thought about those Greek gods, all of the statues they inspired, and wondered why he never saw any statues that looked anything like he did. “I remember reading about Achilles and what it means to have your name remembered. It’s based on inspiration. And I wanted to be what I had never seen.”

A few years later, his friends tricked him into entering an open mic contest. When he was called to the stage, his friends were howling with laughter. They had rapped for fun, sure, but nothing serious. Nothing like this. With 25 contestants, a panel of judges and a conference room full of people staring, Frzy stepped up to the mic, launched into a three-minute long freestyle rap he made up on the spot ­— no music, no instruments, no backing tracks. Just winging it. He won.

In the time since, Frzy has released three full-length albums and scored an Emmy, a Grammy nomination and a Guinness World Record for longest freestyle rap at 31 hours. The sheer volume of partnerships and collaborations he’s led since then might even be more impressive than the accolades. Frzy worked with WQED to release a hip-hop remake of the Pittsburgh-beloved “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” shared the stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and several emerging rappers for a musical collaboration based on his most recent album, and worked with Steve Madden on a campaign celebrating entrepreneurial icons.

In all of this work, Frzy never wavers in his commitment to showing the world what is possible. His kindness, generosity, creativity and unfaltering work ethic have established his reputation as a stellar person who wants to inspire people.

In early 2023, Frzy wanted to call attention to children’s books that speak out against hate and judgment but in a new way, something fresh. He knew just the right partner for the project. He contacted Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and From Books to Bars with Frzy was born.

The project is a nod to the unit of measurement in rap and hip-hop known as a “BAR.” Lyrical prowess as a rapper is based on an ability to tell a story, aka your “BARS.” Kids, and even most adults, don’t usually get the connection between children’s literature and rap. At least, not right away. “Then they have an ‘aha’ moment,” Frzy says. “I think sometimes children’s books get overlooked as great literature. These are the things that excite me to bring together and also being proud to say I’m known as one of the best lyricists in the game and it all came from children’s books with pictures in it.”

In collaboration with library staff, 50 children’s books were narrowed down to 31 — one for each day of the month. They chose books that were written in a rhyming pattern, with each sentence considered a “BAR.” Frzy and his assistant, Ange, went to the Library’s Oakland campus and sat for hours reading each book: Reading it to themselves. Reading it out loud to each other. Looking for lines, looking for BARS. It wasn’t about finding some flashy sentence. It was about finding something that resonated, something that just hit home. “Oh yeah,” he’d say, keying into a line. “That’s BARS.”

By April 2023, they were filming and shot the entire project in less than one day. “We did all 31 books in one take from one angle, then all 31 in one take from another angle,” Frzy says. They were shot in CLP president Andrew Medlar’s darkened office, a portrait of Andrew Carnegie hanging above the mantel as a fire, lit by a character generator in post-production, burns intensely. Each book, including Your Special Voice by Temi Adamolekun, is served up on a silver platter by the Library’s mascot, Andrew CARDnegie, before dramatic piano music drops into a hip-hop beat.

“If it’s change you hope to make, your voice can show you care. Find a way to use it. Be kind, spread love, and share.”

All 31 of the minute-long videos were released daily throughout the month of May 2023 on Instagram (@frzy & @carnegielibrary), TikTok (@therapperfrzy), and can still be found on the Library’s YouTube channel.

Afterwards, Frzy reached out to each author and illustrator to tell them about the project and thank them. “They were flipping out.  A lot of crying, very emotional. It was our baby. I’ve always loved the Library and doing this project felt like the Library saying, ‘I love you, too.’”

Because of you, the possibilities are endless for library users no matter who they are, where they come from or their personal circumstances. Thank you for making a difference.