A packed crowd filled the Josh Kraft Mattapan Teen Center (MTC) the night of May 30 to celebrate the release of the center’s youth album “Late Nightz.” As an intermission feature between performances, the teens held a fashion show to reveal the new merch created to represent MTC.
The album is the first one to be released by a Boys and Girls Club of Boston in over eight years and all praise goes to the 15 teenagers who wrote, produced, and performed “Late Nightz” at the direction of the club’s new music coordinator, Felipe Alvarez.

Music Coordinator Felipe Alvarez

Alvarez joined MTC in September 2023 and was involved in making an album with the kids from Day 1. Eventually, he started working with them during the club’s extended program from 8 to 11 p.m. From those late-night sessions, they created a 28-minute album comprising 10 songs, including a feature from Boston City Council president, Ruthzee Louijeune.

The release party opened with a solo performance by Toni Mosley, “one of the best singers in Mattapan,” as Director Rick Aggeler introduced her. She sang a cover of Laufey’s “From the Start” followed by an original song from “Late Nightz” – “I Can’t Let You Go.”

Toni Mosley and King David before performing.

King David performing in New MTC Merch.

“Music has always been a big part of my life growing up,” Mosley said. “The youngest age I started singing was five in my grandfather’s church.”
She started pursuing music seriously during the pandemic and has been with MTC since 2021. Mosley spent a month recording the new album with Alvarez and her peers.

“Sometimes there are some kids that have never done this before and they kind of discover something new or a new talent or a new way of expressing themselves,” Alvarez said. “I think that’s very exciting.”

For King David and Mosley, expressing themselves through music is no new discovery. The two grew up with a passion for the arts. “I’m not a stranger to performing,” David, a high school junior, said. He has been doing music since he was ten. Towards the end of the release party, the crowd was screaming “Nightz” in response to “Late” as David performed on stage solo, with a smile on his face.

At the fashion show, several kids, including David, sported t-shirts and sweatshirts highlighting MTC as they walked toward the stage. At the end of the night, each attendee was given free merch to take home.

Alvarez thinks his position at the center for the last few months is similar to that of music producer Rick Rubin. He’s not the one making the music, but he’s encouraging the students to do so from behind the scene.

“I want them to make the beats and write the music, but sometimes they might feel not so confident or there might be something that’s plucking the flow, so I try to help them in those problem spots.”

“MTC gives us a space to just do what we want creatively,” David said. “A lot of kids like to come in and try music we’ve never done before and they’re able to thrive in this space.”

To listen to”Late Nightz,” look to Apple Music and Spotify, where it can be streamed.