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It's Hard out here for a Summer School Teacher

2006-07-08T21:53:00.000-04:00

So the Hip-Hop Matter's "Interpreting Hip-Hop" Summer camp is in year 2. We meet with the kids everyday (Mon-Fri) from 1-5. I'm gonna start blogging exclusively about that as we use the Journal of Hip-Hop there to help educate on Hip-Hop culture.

It's been a lotof fun so far as we have a great group. Size has fluctuated between 15 and 11 (last year we had a max of 25 and ended with about 21). We don't really tolerate too any immature behavior and have already escorted two kids out.

More soon . . .

Hip-Hop Matters . . even MTV thinks so!

2006-07-03T08:44:00.000-04:00

Jay Woodsen is good people and this article bears the name of our non-profit . . . Hip-Hop DOES matter.

http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/features/hip_hop_week/

[Intro ]

WASHINGTON - Hip hop may have been born in the mean streets of the south Bronx, but nearly three decades later you're just as likely to find it in Hanoi as Hollis. The music and culture have permeated not only the globe, but class and education barriers as well. And with hip-hop becoming a world wide phenomenon and multi-billion dollar industry, how has the game changed?

"Hip hop came from conditions of working-class black and Puerto Rican youth that were marginalized from mainstream American culture, disco clubs and decent job opportunities," said Jay Woodson, an organizer with the National Hip Hop Convention, a group which lobbies and plans political events around hip-hop interests.

Friday JoHH Update

2006-06-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

Wow. It is June 30th. The Journal of Hip-Hop is moving forward with issue 2 and 3. I'm looking to spend the weekend updating the website and getting all of the permission sheets out. At present, issue 2: Hip-Hop and Education (cover is on the right) will be out for September 1. Issue 3: Hip-Hop and Education will be later 06 or early 07 . . . we may have some good news on issue 3 as we seek larger distribution.

Personally, as Editor in Chief, this has been a real tough year as things didn't come to gether as quickly as I would have liked. I'm an ultra-optomist when it comes to ability and I've learned that while it's fine to have absolute belief in YOUR abilities, not everyone has that same faith in THEIR abilities.

It's cool though . . . everything is a growing process and as Rev Yearwood says: "We don't need revolutionaries, we need SOLUTION-aries." JoHH is just part of the solution . . . more to come soon . . . KEEP THE FAITH!

Dru

When was the first time you experienced Hip-Hop?

2006-06-29T07:53:00.000-04:00

So we started the Interpreting Hip-Hop Summer Camp yesterday and one question I like to use during introductions is to answer the question: "When did you first experience Hip-Hop?"

.. for me it was 1985/1986 in the Bronx listening to KRS-One. I don't remember where I got the tape, but that was my ish. Now the ? allows for a response like : Seeing the movie "Breakin" (which I guess I had done b4 hearing KRS, but I wasn't into getting dirty . . . I didn't really have clothes like that. But KRS . . . that was dope.

In any case, the kids in the camp are age 15-17 and only 2 of them could identify a distinct point in time where they first experienced HH.

I think this is interesting as we are well into the generation that never knew of a time BEFORE Hip-Hop. While older heads have seen how the game has changed and watched HH morph into the 2006 money-grab, most kids under 18 are totally blind to this.

I've often said one of the most damaging aspects about Hip-Hop, for the Black/Brown community is that is is the first time where child, parent, and sometime even grandparent are listening to the same thing. The traditional familial roles are lost as there is no continuum in terms of music, but a convergence.

Me, Jeff and Helena are running the camp this year. There is no greater feeling than to be in the classroom and teaching kids. It's going to be fun!

[All kids get a copy of the Journal of Hip-Hop . . . how cool is that?]

Lyrics Wednesday -- Blackalicious

2006-06-28T07:05:00.000-04:00

"Brainwashers" by Blackalicious

It's when you think how they wanna think
Speak how they wanna speak, Livin' in defeat
When you don't wanna question what they teach, as the truth
With no proof, with the fear of burnin' in eternal heat
When your programmed not to be your own man, but a sheep
Bein' heared as they word it, so you think it ain't free
When you sleep in a deep sleep standin' on your feet

I must admit, Black' really opened my eyes to West Coast lyricists. So much of the West Coast is about the sound, Black really rips it here, speaking on some issues that more people need to be passionate about.

30 years ago, Steve Biko said: "The greatest weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." When I think of Hip-Hop as a teacher, it's lyrics like this I speak of.

Just like there are some movies which educate, and others which entertain. Not all Hip-Hop is redemptive (I've used this line b4 so don't be stealing it) . . . but I thank Black' for being an exception.

I'm not a big fan of pronouns as I never know who 'they' are. This is a difficulty when using lyrics with kids as the immature should not be taught 'they' until the student fully understand 'the system'. I'm abut to get on my urban policy tip so I'll stop here.

Our Interpreting Hip-Hop Summer camp (see our scrapbook from last year) in DC starts today. Expect the next month of blogs to be dedicated to that topic. We use the Journal of Hip-Hop in the class for this . . . DOPE! Imagine learning about Hip-Hop in high school? We go til Aug 2.

Hip-Hop Art?

2006-06-27T09:27:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows graffiti (street art) is a part of Hip-Hop. What is interesting is that many early graf writers will openly tell you that what they were doing was not Hip-Hop, but art.

The notion of the four elements of Hip-Hop all emerging together in the Bronx is .. well .. not true. There was definitely a relationship there (mostly based on age and locality), but the film Wildstyle shows all of them together and that's what most people go by.

OK, so why does this matter to me? When the Journal of Hip-Hop was still a seed back in late 2003/early 2004, a former student asked if he could do some art (computer based) for the Journal. I told him to send something.

Now this is a student of the Pharell-era of Hip-Hop. Really into the music of Hip-Hop and then brings his culture to the table and creates a unique blend of Hip-Hop based on experience. I try not to critique how other people enjoy Hip-Hop . . . if you like the Game, so be it. Or is D4L makes you smile . . cool. All I ask is that you show love for Hip-Hop . . . don't abuse it.

This (right) is what he sent. The editor's at the Journal voted it down and it's been sitting on the server ever since. So I ask, is this Hip-Hop art?

The Academicization of Hip-Hop . . .

2006-06-26T05:45:00.000-04:00

I got on this rant a few weeks back when some folks on a listserv started beating up HH. I'm really scared of the academicization of Hip-Hop:

I'm convinced the word 'Hip-Hop', one day, will be in the list of most used words in the English language.. Seems like everything is Hip-Hop . . . or is caused by Hip-Hop. I can't think of an issue in the last 5 years which has not been linked to Hip-Hop. I nearly fell over when I was asked on a radio show if Hip-Hop played a role in the Duke lacrosse case.

That said, I think most would agree that there is a 'neighborhood' familiarity involved with the youth movement (of the 70s/80s and 90s) which led to the global market that corporations now capitalize on. I know there are academics who would consider themselves as practitioners of Hip-Hop . . . though we need more. BUT, I feel uneasy when academics bring their theories to the table, but only deal with Hip-Hop through Plexiglass or cathode ray tubes (i.e. removed).

At 29 and raised in the Bronx, I know I have an east coast bias, BUT I love Hip-Hop and am leery of its academicization (borrowed from bell hooks as she commented on what happened to the activist part of feminist studies once it entered the halls of academia).

The best discussions I have had on Hip-Hop are with deejays . . . folks who are around the music and more importantly the people (within HH). I'm not going to say that you need 1000 cds and have attended 10 shows a year to be knowledgeable, but I cringe when people start uplifting Hip-Hop books as ground truth.

My interest has to do with the youth culture of Hip-Hop. Ask a high school, middle, or even elementary school teacher about Hip-Hop, the youth perspective is very different from what many of these books discuss. I remember being 12 and playing Ice Cube's Death Certificate on full blast and my neighbor calling my mom saying it was devil music. At 29, I am careful not to do the same to the music the youth are listening to now.

In closing, the intended goal of this note was to bring awareness to the hackneying Hip-Hop. Specificity is important!

If it's in the New Yorker . . .

2006-06-25T07:41:00.000-04:00

I gave a guest lecture at American University on Thursday. The greatest part of teaching Hip-Hop is that it puts you in a place where most of the people you meet with are passionate about Hip-Hop and always have something new to share.

The New Yorker recently published an essay which focused on the use of Hip-Hop in middle school.
Having taught in college, high school and now middle school, I am most excited to see educators embrace the use of Hip-Hop in the classroom at ALL levels (except elementary).

However, I wonder why they are not talking about an urban area . . . I'm going to say that the folks who have access to freelance journalists who write for the New Yorker and the people using Hip-Hop in the classroom don't have many friends in common. I feel bad saying that, but it's just weird when I see Hip-Hop in the Classroom and I get the 'New Yorker' thrown back at me.

Whatever the reason, we need to write . . . we need to publish . . . I didn't mean to go back on this topic . . . I'll write about Cristal tomorrow . . . easier to digest . . . .

DJ Khaled . . . DITC Lives

2006-06-24T13:07:00.000-04:00

So I copped the new DJ Khaled album. Khaled is from Dade County Florida and is representing well with other cats who are emerging in the Hip-Hop game -- namely Rick Ross and Pitbull. It's somewhat of a changing f the guard as Uncle Luke and Trick Daddy (The Mayor) are now passing the torch to new cats to carry the area.

The interesting connection here is the Terror Squad involvement. Fat Joe (who came into rap thru DITC) is the executive producer and Terror Squad in the clique Khaled reps. What's dope to me is the fact the Diggin in the Crates still lives. What started out with Showbiz and AG, Diamond D, Big L, Lord Finesse and others in the 80s is still alive thru Fat Joe in 2006! [More info on DITC]

Growing up in t the Bronx, I remember going by Joe's stores in the 3rd Avenue area of the Bronx. Regardless of record sales, in my book Joe deserves a lot of credit for building something out of nothing and the fact that he is one of the early entrants into the Miami scene shows he is still on top of his game.

Cop that Khaled (I don't do album reviews, but if I talk about an album in a positive sense, TRUST, it's worth the money.

Image: Diamond D: Hatred, Passion, and Infedelity -- 1997

Why Hip-Hop needs to write

2006-06-23T07:42:00.000-04:00

I grew up in the Bronx, NYC. A place where newspapers and news stations have painted an ugly picture of the borough for years . . . and basically everyone took it as truth. Now, I'm not gonna tell you that the Bronx is heaven, but for cats who LIVE there, it's not the hell they describe either. Now if you're just visiting . . . well that's a different story.

I've been in DC for 7 years now and living on one side of the river, while working on the other . . . you get to see the 2 sides of DC. It is always interesting to hear folks from either side talk about the other. A lot of generalizations, "I heard", "one time I saw . . .", no real experience.

Personally, I believe this phenomenon gets taken to a whole new level when it comes to Hip-Hop. There is a growing trend for newspapers and periodicals to attract new readers by touching on 'hip' topics. Well in today's NY Daily News, Errol Louis writes about the changing demographic in Black radio where rap stations are losing listeners. Signaling, to some, the impending downfall of rap.

Now, I've written Mr Louis before as he has had some excellent articles in the past, but he's looking over the fence trying to sound like an expert. Anyone who is into Hip-Hop has had a discussion with a friend/ colleague/teacher/parent elder where you realize that the person you are talking to doesn't know a DAMN thing about Hip-Hop, yet is willing to argue with you til their last breath.

Here's what caught my eye in Mr Louis' article:

Harvey and Williams are seasoned radio personalities who bring wit, intelligence and a positive message to a mostly black audience that is hungry for quality.

You don't hear the b-word or N-word tossed around on WBLS; Harvey and Williams are too classy to insult their audience that way. And listeners have responded in droves.

According to Arbitron, WBLS had 3.1% of the city's teen and adult radio listeners last winter, but has increased its audience size over each of the last four ratings periods, building its share up to 3.9%. During the same time, Hot 97 slipped steadily from 4.5% of listeners to 3.7%.

---
Now anyone who knows the history of Steve Harvey (especially the witty and intelligent TV show which bore his name) **may** question Louis's assertion. HOWEVER, anyone who has EVER listened to Wendy Williams KNOWS homegirl keeps it real . . . going back to the 1980's on 98.7, I grew up on the Hot 8 at 8 and Wendy Williams. I've heard her BLS show and I don't know if classy is the right word . . . Wendy is Hip-Hop .... hands down. Yet Louis try to convey a message that Hip-Hop is dying . . not if Wendy has 5 hours of time!

KRS-One once said: 'Hip-Hop, as with many popular cultures, is unique in the sense that to accurately document the culture, requires its interpreters to participate in its expressions' . . . the last time I wrote Mr Louis about Hip-Hop, he never responded . . . I'm going to write him again and ask him if he participates or simply observes. We'll see . . . but while I wait for his response I'm going to write and write and write! It's the reason we started the Journal of Hip-Hop and it is our responsibility to get in the game.

Check out my friend Nick's website he write's about this topic on May 19.

Be safe ...

Hip-Hop Matters is for the kids . . .

2006-06-22T08:36:00.000-04:00

Between myself and Jeff, we've done at least 12 school visits in the last month. We've gone into high schools, middle schools, after school programs and yesterday we added to the list.

Soul of the City is a week long civic engagement program run by the Washington DC Humanities Council called Soul of the City. A group of 40 students (from across Washington DC), spend a week learning about Washington DC and try to answer the question: Who is a Washingtonian?

Wednesday, the theme was 'finding my voice.' I spent 4 hours with the kids, talking about how Hip-Hop can be used as a medium to express their thoughts and raise awareness to issues they feel passionate about.

I've been 'teaching' Hip-Hop for over 5 years now and I am always AMAZED at the reaction I receive from youth. It's a great feeling of satisfaction to know that something you created from scratch (not Hip-Hop, but the application of Hip-Hop in the classroom as *I* do it) is appreciated by others. Last year, College Bound Teen magazine listed my course at #14 in the 'coolest . . .' classes in America.

I know this is still a new concept, as a student (they were between 15 and 17) asked me: 'HOW do you teach Hip-Hop? What do you teach?' I've heard the ? before so I did have a good answer, but it reinforced the need (as I see it) for this generation to do more for youth. At 29, I can say that the Civil Rights movement and all that had 'some' impact on me as a youth. But 20-30 years removed, a teenager today needs the 70's/80s and 90s to be INTERPRETED for THEM. She (the student who asked the ?) helped me realize that a big part of my mission is just that. I really enjoyed myself y'day.

Lastly, I snapped this picture on my drive to the Atlas Theater on H Street (where the group meets). It was taken on 3rd and L St in NE (near the Greyhound Station). I think they have some ideas on 'Who is a Washingtonian' also.

It's been a long time . . .

2006-06-21T18:35:00.000-04:00

One blog a day . . . that's the goal. We're real close to unveiling the revised sites for Hip-Hop Matters and the Journal of Hip-Hop. It's crazy to think we started in 2004. Peace to everyone who believes in our mission. More soon.

Dru

Are you tired of defending Hip-Hop?

2005-10-16T03:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes our work of bringing Hip-Hop into education
is made more difficult by popular culture.

Welcome to the Journal of Hip-Hop

2005-09-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

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