Jersey City's schools are where several of its music stories start: Kool and the Gang formed in 1964 as students at Lincoln High School; Akon went to Snyder and Dickinson; the 2006 mixtape documentary credits Ferris High School as a producer of the scene's legends; and P.S. 11 was DJ Wimpy Bee's staple room and the site of the MC battle Cool Sir Brown won. This page lists each school with every documented musician who came through it.
Mista Quietman's The 201 High School Anthem, a Jersey City rework of DJ Sliink's High School Anthem, calls out all four high schools by name, which is why the schools belong in a music archive at all. Each school has its own entry with its address, a map, and the sourced connections; the artists link back from their own pages.
A school appears here when the archive holds two or more sourced music connections to it. Other schools named in the record with a single connection (the Jersey Academy, St. Patrick's, Sacred Heart) are listed in the research notes until a second source arrives.
In the archive§
1900s (1)
1940s (1)
1960s (1)
1980s (1)
2000s (1)
Who came through each school§
Dickinson High School
- Akon Attended Dickinson High School (and Snyder) during his high school years in Jersey City.
- Mista Quietman Calls out Dickinson in The 201 High School Anthem.
Henry Snyder High School
- Akon Attended Snyder High School (and Dickinson) during his high school years in Jersey City.
- Peter Sliker Graduated from Henry Snyder High School.
- Zigimo Graduate of the Jersey City Arts Program at Henry Snyder High School.
- Mista Quietman Calls out Snyder in The 201 High School Anthem.
Lincoln High School
- Kool & the Gang Formed in 1964 by Lincoln High School students.
- Robert "Kool" Bell Co-founded Kool & the Gang with his brother Ronald Bell and five friends who all attended Lincoln.
- George Brown Founding drummer; attended Lincoln High School.
- Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas Founding saxophonist; attended Lincoln High School alongside the other founding members.
- Claydes Charles Smith Founding guitarist of the group that grew from Lincoln's scene in 1964.
- DJ Count Basil Put DJ Wimpy Bee on at a Lincoln High School party, per the Chill Town documentary.
- DJ Wimpy Bee Got an early start at a Lincoln High School party, per the Chill Town documentary.
- Mista Quietman Calls out Lincoln in The 201 High School Anthem.
P.S. 11
- DJ Wimpy Bee His staple venue, by his own account in the Chill Town documentary.
- Cool Sir Brown Won a landmark MC battle at P.S. 11, documented in the Chill Town film.
- Mary Brown Wrote and arranged the backing harmonies for her brother's P.S. 11 battle.
Ferris High School
- The Jersey City DJ Documentary Vol. 1 (2006) Names Ferris High School as a producer of scene legends.
- DJ DX Credited Ferris High School as a producer of the scene's legends in the 2006 documentary.
- Mista Quietman Calls out Ferris in The 201 High School Anthem.
Questions, answered§
Which high school did Kool and the Gang go to?
Lincoln High School in Jersey City. The group formed there in 1964 around brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell and five friends who all attended the school.
Which high school did Akon attend?
Snyder High School and Dickinson High School in Jersey City, after the rest of his family moved to Atlanta.
What is The 201 High School Anthem?
A Jersey City rework by Mista Quietman of DJ Sliink's High School Anthem, with shoutouts to Lincoln, Ferris, Dickinson and Snyder high schools.
Also in the archive§
Musicians from Jersey City: the complete archive · Jersey City DJs and the mixtape era · Jersey City music history: the timeline · Chilltown · On the Charts
Rappers from Jersey City · Famous Musicians Born in Jersey City · Famous People from Jersey City: Music and Entertainment · Jersey Club and Jersey City · Jersey City Music Venues, Record Stores and Studios · Jersey City Slang in Music: 201 and Chilltown · Jersey City Music Before 1960 · Jersey City Music in the 1960s · Jersey City Music in the 1970s · Jersey City Music in the 1980s · Jersey City Music in the 1990s · Jersey City Music in the 2000s
Sources§
Every fact above is carried by the linked entries, each with its own numbered sources.
Archive page by Robert Van Liew · Last updated 2026-10-01