Memphis-area native Justin Timberlake and Levi’s have teamed up to help the Stax Music Academy.

The Millington-born pop star and the San Francisco-based clothing company recently added Memphis and Stax to the roster of institutions benefiting from the Levi’s Music Project, donating a songwriting lab to the South Memphis music school.

The Levi’s Music Project is designed to give “young people access to music education programs, community resources and experiences with industry-leading musicians,” according to its mission statement. Since launching in2015, the initiative has completed 15 projects in seven countries.

Timberlake first confirmed his involvement and contribution to the Stax Music Academy during an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight on Monday, part of a story on his work producing young artists, including Lizzo. Levi's put out a formal release on Tuesday, noting the project "restored and updated the Stax facilities, bringing in new equipment and supplying stage-ready instruments."

The Song Labproject at Stax — which has been a closely guarded secret — was many months in the making. Early in 2019, Timberlake and Levi’s approached Stax officials with the idea of a philanthropic contribution to the Stax Music Academy.

"We were really excited about it and pushed and worked really hard to make it happen," said Richard Greenwald, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, which operates the Stax Museum, Stax Music Academy and Soulsville charter school.

"We felt there was a perfect alignment of purpose and agenda and meaning," added Greenwald. "We are all about preserving the legacy of Stax, educating students and inspiring the next generation of artists. We've been emphasizing not only learning about the music and legacy of Stax, but also teaching students about music theory, about how to operate in the industry, how to do recording and production, and how to write their own music."

Eventually the various parties agreed to installThe Song Lab, with Timberlake, Levi’s and other leading music companies and manufacturers (including Gibson, Guitar Center, Gibson, Native Instruments, Shure, Universal Audio, and Korg) donating state-of-the-art equipment and gear. Though a figure was not officially confirmed, the value of the lab is estimated to be in excess of $200,000.

Timberlake told Entertainment Tonight that he felt it crucial to both honor the musical legacy of Stax and Memphis but also create a new legacy. “It’s important to remember how [Stax] changed the world really,” said Timberlake. “But I also want these kids to be able to make their music as well. I want them to be able to cover Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding, but I also want them to be able to sample them and turn it into something else."

MEMPHIS MUSIC:Justin Timberlake makes unannounced Beale Street visit

REVIEW:Justin Timberlake thrills 'M-Town' with confident, charismatic performance at FedExForum

Timberlake offered an exclusive tour of the multi-faceted lab for the Entertainment Tonight cameras, noting its mix of live instruments and traditional recording setups as well as more modern production techniques.

"They get to work with things hooked up to their laptops, and they can program music as well,” noted Timberlake. “I want them to make live music and sequence music and bring it all together."

“But it’s not just a songwriting lab. There’s other parts of the Stax Music Academy facility that’s been enhanced by this Levi’s/Timberlake project,” Greenwald said. He added that the project would benefit all of Soulsville. “The Stax Music Academy will use it, the Soulsville Charter school will also use it, and we will figure out a way to give access to people in the Soulsville community who want to use it. We hope to share and expand the group of people who get to use it.”

In late August, Timberlake, along with his longtime producer Timbaland and other collaborators including Memphis guitarist Elliott Ives, came to Soulsville to work with a group of Stax students for two days in The Song Lab, helping on original music the students wrote and composed. The musical mini-camp was capped by a live concert at the Stax Museum’s studio A on Aug. 22.

The night of the concert, Timberlake also announced that he was personally donating $100,000 to the Stax Music Academy over the next four years, to help the Soulsville Foundation provide more scholarships to the academy.

"Timberlake was so enthusiastic, as was Timbaland all the other people involved, they were so enthusiastic about Memphis and the academy," said Soulsville head Greenwald. "It really is an amazing thing for us, and for Memphis."