Budding music mogul, 18, on his way from East P.A.

Eric Gil-Contreras was a sixth grader with a passion for rap music and a knack for networking.

Thanks in part to a program aimed at budding entrepreneurs in low-income high schools, he now heads a record label with 12 artists and is preparing to release his first album, ``G Status,'' checking next month.
The former Redwood High School student, now 18, graduated in June and is focusing on Gritty Minded Records, which he started in elementary school with a handful of friends.
In May, Gil-Contreras entered the Bay Area regional competition sponsored by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

To his surprise, he took second place at the Bay Area competition, competing against others who sold T-shirts or designed custom roll cages for cars, among other ventures.
``I was always into business since an early age,'' he said, explaining he has uncles involved in the entertainment industry. ``We always liked rap, and I played the drums so I had the beats on me, you know?

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When he entered high school, he joined an economics class that used curriculum from the New York-based entrepreneurial foundation. He learned about marketing and won his class's competition for the best business.
After taking second in the Bay Area regional, Gil-Contreras was flown to New York for the national competition Oct.

26 with students from 11 other states.
Although he didn't place in the national competition, Gil-Contreras is determined to keep the business going. He has set up a computerized home recording studio at his East Palo Alto house, and is focused on helping his artists get their music out on the street.

``It can get as big really as we want it because really, the sky's the limit,'' said Gil-Contreras' cousin Gustavo Gutierrez, 19, who both helps him run the label and records music himself. ``We just make music. That's all we do.

There's really no limit to what could happen.''
Gerald Richards, executive director of the foundation's Bay Area office, said he thinks the program is invaluable for helping teens build self-esteem.
``Students like Eric, they get to school and they're not engaged, they don't understand what they need certain pieces of their education for,'' Richards said.

In running a business, ``they get to take ownership of their future. It's something they create. When you start your own business, it's yours.

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The foundation has about 36 programs at different low-income high schools around the Bay Area, and is supported through individual and corporate donations.
For Gil-Contreras, his label lets him do what he likes on his own time with his friends.
``It's our family,'' he said.