home > Noise
400 Teens Attend Hip-Hop Summit
Mary Blessey
Teens had the option to attend a DJ workshop at the ACLU's Youth Hip-hop Summit this weekend.
by Mary Blessey
July 11, 2011
The halls of Jackson State University's T.B. Ellis Gymnasium filled with the chatter of high-school kids this weekend when more than 400 teens convened for the ACLU's Youth Hip-hop Summit. The annual summit combined social justice with hip-hop for a weekend that was educational, creative and fun for the students.
The summit included two types of workshops. The first focused on important social issues affecting teens. The ACLU staff and guest presenters armed them with knowledge about their legal rights and prepared them to make good decisions.
One workshop covered basic financial advice. Other topics included workplace discrimination, bullying prevention, dating violence and sex education. One group drafted a "Student Bill of Rights."
The remaining workshops were all about hip-hop, including sessions on the history of hip-hop, DJ-ing, rap and creative writing, Bboys and Bgirls, and urban art.
Garrad Lee and Jason Thompson, aka PyInfamous, taught one of the rap and creative writing classes.
"How many people in here use music to lift their spirits?" Thompson asked the group, prompting a sea of hands in the air.
Thompson passed out the lyrics to different songs representing four major regions in the United States that display their own brand of hip-hop: East Coast, West Coast, Midwest and the South.
"Each song represents a different region of the country. So, we want to compare and contrast the way these lyrics are representative of their particular region, but see what's the same about them as well," Lee told the class. This emphasis on diversity and unification was a common theme at the summit this weekend.
Students analyzed lyrics much like they would in any high-school English class, picking out metaphors and allusions in rhymes from The Fugees, Common, Goodie Mob, and 2pac. When students stumbled on unfamiliar vocabulary or cultural references, Thompson and Lee used it as a learning opportunity. The lyrics prompted the class to discuss everything from poverty to gentrification to probable cause during a police search.
Thompson and Lee encouraged students to use this approach when listening on their own.
"You can just repeat the words and never really know what they're talking about," Thompson said. "But it's important that we don't just recite it, but learn it. If you hear something you don't understand, or something that's inspiring, go and find out what they're really saying."
posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/11/11 at 11:43 AM. [printer version] Share |
COMMENTS
:: recentcomments
May 22, 2012 | 04:26 PMOne Night at Fenian's
DonnaLadd: ... because if there is anything The Clarion-Ledger can muster the resources to do, it's show up any night of the week and take drunk pictures. Meantime, they crib our sports stories. ...
May 22, 2012 | 03:53 PM
One Night at Fenian's
Rico: Next time just call Metro Mix at the C-L and have them come and take some pretty pictures for the newspaper. Hell, the got some on karaoke night Monday.
May 22, 2012 | 02:07 PM
[Editorial] To Do Its Job, Council Must Show Up
RobbieR: And Chokwe wants to run for Mayor? Hopefully the citizens of Jackson don't fall for this clown's rhetoric.
May 22, 2012 | 01:15 PM
Catholics Sue Over Birth Control Rule
Brian C Johnson: I cannot decide whether this is a vanity lawsuit, in the sense that the bishops know they stand little chance of prevailing in court. Or to put it more charitably, ...
May 22, 2012 | 01:00 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
Brian C Johnson: Darryl, I think it is simply a statement of fact that African Americans in Mississippi are less likely to have the required photo ID. If so, the new law is discriminatory in ...
May 22, 2012 | 11:25 AM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
Duan C.: I am in agreement with Golden Eagle - requiring I.D. ties a fee into voting, the only reason why its considered "discriminatory" towards black, is because it places back into an era ...
May 22, 2012 | 10:22 AM
Person of the Day: Rep. Andy Gipson
RobbieR: What? I was clearly referring to Bennie Thompson, not Rep. Gipson. Rep. Bennie Thomson represents Mississippi's 2nd Congressional district; Darryl noted that he rep'd the ...
May 22, 2012 | 09:59 AM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
justjess: Darryl, out of my "simple ignorance" I ask you this "little question:" Why are registered voters here in the State of Mississippi being asked to produce a picture ID? When the State ...
May 22, 2012 | 08:49 AM
Person of the Day: Rep. Andy Gipson
Duan C.: @ Robbie R - you lost me on that one? They have him listed in the 77th District - covering Rankin, Simpson, and Smith counties?
May 22, 2012 | 08:47 AM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
bill_jackson: I would be interested to know what percentage of the voting age population does not have identification in this day and age.
May 22, 2012 | 08:41 AM
[Editorial] To Do Its Job, Council Must Show Up
Duan C.: Hey Kaz, like you and the Mrs said a while back, start grading these jokers based on the same competencies all civil servants across the state get graded on: ...
May 22, 2012 | 05:14 AM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
Darryl: Golden, I agree with the sense that this is essentially a poll tax. But it's a poll tax that'll be paid by all of the tax-paying Mississippians, not just those registering or wishing ...
May 21, 2012 | 05:48 PM
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
golden eagle: @Darryl, since you asked...it's essentially a poll tax. If a person doesn't have an ID, then they'd have to pay money to get one. If they don't have a copy of a birth ...
May 21, 2012 | 03:50 PM
JPS Accreditation Hearing Underway
lizwaibel: JPS interim Superintendent Jayne Sargent has issued a statement via email on the commission's decision: "We are absolutely thrilled with the Commission's response to our ...
May 21, 2012 | 02:29 PM
JPS Accreditation Hearing Underway
lizwaibel: Other media are reporting that JPS will not lose its accreditation and has until November to resolve its noncompliance issues.
10e-mail newsletter
Sign up for the JFP Daily Newsletter to receive breaking news, local events, music listings and more by e-mail.
jfp featured event
Shut Up and Write! 101
Jun 02, 2012 - Sign up for the workshop series of JFP editor-in-chief Donna Ladd's popular non-fiction and creative writing classes. Sessions are from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. every other Saturday (excluding July 28) through Aug. 18. Limit of 11 students. more
|
Guests online: 160
© Jackson Free Press, Inc. - portions of code by CC with EE. User agreement and privacy statement. |
