Come Clean - Schools, Hip-hop and White Fragility

Last week at school I jumped into a conversation about music with a couple of PE teachers discussing who would put together the music playlist for our upcoming Sports Day; one of my favourite days on the school calendar. 

Memories from my own school days and those I have been involved with as a teacher over the last 15 years have carved this joy into my psyche. From the tribalism of the banner carrying and cheering for your own form; the timeless subversion of PE kit rules; the 'inclusive' celebration of obese kids anchoring the tug-o-war to the flirting, picnicking and student/teacher relay races, sports day is an organised chaos that hints at a better way to structure the educational experience. 

Music is a big part of any good Sports Day and one that is steeped in its own traditions and that carries its own canon of dead white cultural norms; as much as any subject area of the curriculum. Queen, Spandau Ballet and Survivor are the Shakespeare, Florence Nightingale and Henry VIII of the sports day playlist; songs that many of my North West London ethnic minority students only know from Sports Day and perhaps BBC Olympics coverage in 2012; music as alien to them as the dead white 'heroes' they learn to quote in GCSE essays.

Back to the conversation. I was reluctant to offer my services to compile the music for this event despite itching to do so. The reason for this was that it would not have been the first time I had taken on this task, and last time it literally ended in tears. Not my tears but those of a more senior teacher who was "too upset to talk" at the end of a beautiful day in the sun because despite my greatest efforts, the Dizzee Rascal tune I was convinced had no swear words contained a solitary F bomb that came to represent their entire experience of the day. I brushed it off despite being slightly annoyed with myself for not managing to construct a playlist that both represented the culture and times of our students that also conformed to the squeaky cleanliness that is required for such an event. 

Most of the staff and all of the students commented on how good the music had been, with a few staff merely commenting that it was possibly a bit 'edgy' or 'untraditional'. But the students loved it. I know this from the dancing, gun-finger salutes and exclamations of "SHUT UUUP" issued from their grinning faces when their/our music blasted from the sound system perched atop the school minibus parked like some west coast gangster's lowrider on the side of the school field. Needless to say, I was not asked to contribute the following year and the playlist returned to the canon amongst a selection of top 40 hits that contained an equal level of sexualised, misogynistic, patriarchal messages as anything that had been filling the students ears the previous year did, but with an absence of that solitary 'fuck' that had come to define the entire day's selection in the previous year. A couple years have passed since then and the memory of that 'upsetting' moment has receded to back of my colleagues minds. I bite the bullet and interject,

"I've got loads of music, I can do you a playlist if you like."

My offer is met with looks of relief rather than the suspicion and fear I was concerned it may elicit.

"Ah, could you? That'd be great Chris; I don't have a clue about music."

I add that,

"I'll put a few of the classics in their and a mix of new music. I've got plenty of pop music since I had kids, it'll be easy."

The job is mine.

Later that evening I sit down with iTunes and start curating. The canon installed I start on the more exciting task of selecting tunes that will be relevant, contemporary and representative as well as some that are educational, political and subversive, all the while screening each choice for the stray profanity that could 'ruin the day' for some of the more fragile staff at the school. This proves a harder task than I had hoped for. From songs that celebrate local London culture from local artists to pop bangers from Rihanna, all seem to contain these stray shots of swearing that either require their deletion from the list or several hours of editing in Pro Tools to remove B words, N words, H words, S words and other 'trigger words'. An hour or so in and having spent a few quid on iTunes to purchase 'clean versions' of a few 'must have' tracks I wonder why I am bothering. Spending 99p on Rihanna's 'Work' to remove Drake's guest rap N bomb while it still includes his assertion that he knows Rihanna needs to get "done, done, done, done, done" is frustrating to say the least. The same problem persists as I trawl through Hip-hop track after R&B track after Grime track until what I am left with is a compilation where the poignant, insightful and most importantly relevant music of the generation it will entertain has had many of the positive political and educational messages removed due to profanity. Notable exceptions that do make the list come from Shay D, Lady Leshurr, Nas, Jay-Z and JME, but not from Jamie's brother or a whole host of other big names that I want to include. As a DJ there is no way I can treat this task with any less importance than were I filling my Serato crate to open up for Wu Tang or to rock a weekend set at XOYO - every gig is the most important gig at the time you are doing it and if you can't muster that passion for your music or audience then you don't deserve the gig.

So, 5 hours later, once I've padded the set out with the safer old school Garage anthems; Dubstep remixes; Soul classics from James Brown to Charles Wright; pop anthems from MJ to Beyoncé and the few 'real bangers' that manage to avoid the perceived necessity of 'adult language' to convey universal messages, I am 99% sure I have fulfilled the brief to create a diverse and relevant compilation without inadvertently including any 'bombs' that could see all that effort thrown back in my face by a weeping colleague, and I am left to lament Hip-hop's persistent leaning towards profanity; a leaning that narrows its scope for inclusion on radio shows and in school classrooms; two places where the messages of hip-hop can reach a deservedly wide audience and contribute to the mass consciousness and discourse of our time. Most Hip-hop will not make it into these spaces and that is a shame. At its widest level this means that while Kendrick will get a radio edited version of his message onto mainstream radio, many other artists without the resources or savvy to produce radio versions of their work will continue to preach to the converted on underground shows and in underground clubs. More narrowly it means that my Sports Day playlist will contain no Skepta; no Stormzy; no Dr. Dre; no Kendrick (I'm not paying double); no J Cole; no Dizzee; no Giggs, Getts or Kano, despite them being some of mine and my students favourite MCs. 

Now, this is not some 40 year old puritanical epiphany post as I fucking love swearing and love it in my music too, but it does frustrate me that some of the important messages held within the music I love and want to share with young people (including my own daughters) will remain unshared and possibly unheard by them. If they are heard they will be heard outside of the formal education space; a space where they can be debated and built upon; critiqued and celebrated alongside their dead white counterparts. This is also not to say that this is solely the fault of the music or artists as schools have a lot to answer for in this also, as while it is acceptable in school to read Of Mice and Men and discuss the meaning of the N words it holds within its pages, it is not acceptable to hear them coming from a rappers lips over a 140bpm beat that sounds like a collage of gunshots and gravel. I understand the difference in context between debating language in and English class and blaring it out of a PA system for the entertainment of students at Sports Day and that is why I find it frustrating that some of this great music rules itself out of inclusion due to its profane vocabulary despite also containing emancipatory, socially critical, culturally relevant concepts delivered through rich, complex, dynamic phraseology - the kind of stuff that can change minds and lives, but only outside of the school space.

So, in conclusion, respect to those artists that manage to get that rawness across without the need for cussing, and props to those who don't give a fuck about having their shit played at a school Sports Day alike. As I've said already I don't have a single motherfucking problem with swear words, but perhaps, if we as artists are making music that we really want to change the world and school the youth then perhaps we need to think about occasionally holding fire on the F bombs and N bombs on certain tracks to ensure that they are not automatically disqualified from entering the school space; a space where many students struggle daily to see themselves reflected in the content of their lessons; the characters in their books; the heroes on their wall displays or the songs on their Sports Day playlist. 

So, here's hoping I have done my due diligence and don't make any fragile white teachers cry with my playlist. If I have, then at least any crying and protesting will not be able to so easily hide behind the facade of an anti-profanity stance, rather than more likely being as a result of the fragility often triggered in certain white teachers when urban contemporary blackness enters the school space unannounced and uninvited.

For my students I hope it goes some way to paying back for the weeks of hiding themselves, contorting themselves and restraining themselves into the structure and rigidity of a school system that rarely holds their cultures, arts or histories in any great esteem.

© Poetcurious 2016

HipHopEdSoc March 9th @ UCLIOE

HipHopEdSoc: One of the best yet.

The small room adjacent to the student union bar was rammed with new and old faces alike. Over the past 3 years HipHopEd UK has grown from a series of Twitter chats into an ever-expanding network of artists, educators and academics. It was a great feeling to stand in front of so many people who I have got to know well through this HipHopEd journey as well as to speak to people I had never met before or who I had met outside of HipHopEd. This was the biggest group I have seen at a HipHopEd meeting and it is a testament to the strength of the work being undertaken as well as the enthusiasm of those who get involved with this work that our numbers are growing each time we meet.

This meeting was a little like returning to the start of a loop. As we have been collaborating on this project for 3 years now, we had moved a long way from our start point of sharing good practice and discussing its form, content and purpose. However, this meeting was a chance to revisit some of the fundamental experiences and ideas that brought many of us together in the first place.

Darren’s presentation on his school-based Power To The Pupils project reminded me of our first meeting. Then, as now, I was blown away by the depth and quality of this work, combining P4C with a rap club; a space for young minds to wrangle with big ideas, through the lens of Hip-hop. And as Hip-hop is older than many of these kids parents it is great to see a new generation learning about and through this culture by participating in the production of rich cultural artefacts.

Jeffrey’s presentation on his current English practice stood as testimony to the impact that HipHopEd continues to have on his teaching. Using Hip-hop as a frame, Jeff talked through the process of taking his secondary aged, free school students through the journey of writing an academic essay; taking their writing from the page to the stage as he spoke about turning their written words into epic pieces of spoken word poetry. This journey is sure to teach his students far more than how to write a good essay, For some it will be a journey of empowerment; for some a chance to exorcise some demons and for a few it will possibly be the start of a career in writing, performing and creating. With Jeff’s integrity, skill and passion, I am sure it will be a memorable learning experience for all involved.

I spoke rapidly about a less practice-based aspect of HipHopEd and returned to some of the ideas I learnt from attending David Kirkland’s lecture at the IoE (as it was then) 3 years ago. It was at this lecture that I first met Darren and a number of other teachers who would go on to form the core of HipHopEd UK. At the lecture Kirkland rapped through a thoroughly edutaining presentation that focused on the concept of multiple Englishes. This was where I first became aware of the idea of code-switching and where I first heard an academic speak in a form of English that seemed closer to the voices I heard in Hip-hop records than it did to that of the lecturers and professors I had met during my own education. It was here that I was given a tool with which to investigate my own practice and where I first began to make sense of my seemingly schizophrenic approach to language at school. I talked about the Hip-hop club I ran (Spit Club) and my experiences of working as a Behaviour Support Manager; two roles that required very different approaches to language in order to be successful. I spoke about battling and how I drew on that particularly competitive aspect of Hip-hop when I was in the Head’s office or in pre-exclusion meetings for many of the SEN students I taught, who faced exclusion from the mainstream school I work in; students who often arrived at school from complicated and deprived families and for whom school was just another institution that they didn’t feel comfortable in and did not trust. For me, one of the greatest aspects of HipHopEd, is that it helped me become aware of, and formalise, much of the implicit HipHopEd practice I was already doing. It has helped me develop that practice; place it more clearly within a cultural, historical and socio-political context, and to build my confidence in challenging many of the hegemonic ideas and practices of mainstream education, without anybody spitting bars or cutting a beat.

We then went in to the three guest presentations from Dr Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman (#whitecurriculum campaign), Dr Illana Webster-Kogen (Global Hip-hop course at SOAS) and PhD student Bharath Ganesh (Hip-hop, Difference and education).

Dr Nathaniel’s presented his work on the Why is my curriculum white? campaign. He talked about his own experience of leaving Oxford University and realising that everything he had been taught was a lie; that the finest education this country can offer did little more than perpetuate racist myths about the civilisation, history and knowledge, under the moniker of a ‘classical’ education. Alongside Nathaniel, Kwesi Shaddai spoke earnestly about his work in supplementary schools and the space it gave to offer a broader and more nuanced education that could speak to young people under the radar of Ofsted and its governmental taskmasters.

Dr Ilana gave insight into the content and reasons behind SOAS developing its Global Hip-hop course. Again this was a story of including something that had previously been conspicuous by its absence; a decentring of western European cultural achievements as the pinnacle of civilisation.

Bharath spoke about his research and shared some insightful observation on the etiquette of the Hip-hop cypher. He spoke of the energy and mutual respect that was shared in these instances as well as the immediacy with which potentially harmful political and social views were shared and challenged. Listening to Bharath I could imagine a world where political debate could easily be conducted over a DJ Premier instrumental and where all parties voices could be heard and responded to fairly and honestly, regardless of gender, class or political affiliation; a far cry from anything you are likely to see in a televised debate during the run up to the general election.

After the presentations, we rearranged the room into a circle and began to share responses an observations with people around us. There were probably 50 people in attendance and as such, we started off sharing with the people we found ourselves sat next to. After these initial discussions we formed questions, and then we tackled a couple of them in the larger group. The debate was lively, as it always is at a HipHopEd meeting. With such a wide range of people with such differing experiences of both education and Hip-hop, there was plenty of disagreement around the role, place and purpose of Hip-hop in education. The debate, rather like Bharath’s description of the cypher, created its own boundaries. Mutual respect, turn-taking, listening and honest heart-on-sleeve sharing led to a vibrant and rich enquiry of the questions. A highlight of this was an exploration of the spectrum of implicit and explicit HipHopEd practice in regard to getting more good HipHopEd practice into schools. While some argued that HipHopEd was best placed outside of the mainstream, away from the beady eyes of the policy makers and Edu-shapers (my own term), others argued vehemently that the role of HipHopEd should be to ultimately infiltrate and change the mainstream school experience through a decentring of hegemonic British values; white/western ideologies and the development of critical thinking and creative, student-centred approaches to teaching, learning.

Attached to this debate was the question of whether or not to call HipHopEd by such a name when trying to infiltrate the mainstream. On this topic Iesha Small provided my favourite line of the night:

“Free schools sell themselves on a classical curriculum; a Hip-hop school sells itself on a critical thinking curriculum.”

As we approached the last 10 minutes, first time attendee and 3x UK Team beatbox champion The Human Radio sparked off the first official HipHopEd UK cypher. This gave ample opportunity for the MCs in the room to participate and add their voices to the evening. One after another, participants left their chairs to prowl the inner circle spitting freestyles and written bars. Reveal stepped up first and reminded us all just why he is so highly rated as an MC as well as a developing academic machine-gunning through a dense and lengthy verse. Jeffrey and Darren both added their voices to the cypher showing that there is no dividing line between teacher and artist; it is quite possible and indeed desirable to wear both those hats. Props to everyone who gave their voice to the cypher. This was a perfect end to an inspiring and energetic night that saw HipHopEd add another feather to its Kangol and a whole new set of bright, enthusiastic and important voices join the HipHopEd family!

Many thanks to all who attended! Stay tuned for details of future HipHopEd events.

Debating in a cypher at HipHopEdSoc March 2015

HipHopEdSoc Launch at the UCL IoE

Just reached home from the IoE HipHopEdSoc launch. It’s Monday, nearly midnight and although the days teaching had me nodding off into my book on the Northern line to Euston, I've returned home eyes wide and mind buzzing from an evening of conversation and presentations with some of London's finest Hip-hop educators.

Following in the same vein as the HipHopEd seminars this first monthly meeting featured UK rap legend TY. A veteran of the UK scene and still a very active live and studio artist, TY is less well known for his work in education. Speaking on the cathartic effect of providing workshops that 'use rap as an excuse for changing the world', TY spoke of focussing on understanding and developing body language, presence, articulation, movement, knowledge of self and your environment. Work that aims to extend the range of communication skills that the young participants are able to harness and utilise for their self-development and empowerment.

TY has been committed in his support of HipHopEd and shared insightful observations on his own journey with Hip-hop as he shared some of the exercises from his workshops with the help of willing volunteers from the audience. Salute.

TY's presentation followed on from an epic Q&A after rapper and workshop leader Shay D gave an impassioned presentation on her deep and diverse work running workshops in a number of challenging environments with young people between 16 & 25. Clear that she is not a 'teacher' Shay spoke of the extended relationships she manages with young people, often involving them in other projects through her activity as a rapper and promoter with The Lyrically Challenged collective.

The debate that followed focused on the distinctions between teachers and otr educators as Shay freestyled through a range of examples of the work she has done using the creative writing and expressiveness of Hip-hop to help young people talk about the complex issues they face in their lives and the responsibility that comes with facilitating that work.

There was some discussion about the authenticity of using Hip-hop that is synonymous with anti-authoritarianism within authoritarian institutions and the potential for Hip-hop to be a vehicle for self-empowerment or social change that led to a discussion about the personal and transformative effect of the work on the young people involved that relies on an instinctive approach to practice that is informed by emotional literacy more than academic theory.

Darren Chetty opened the presentations speaking about this Power To The Pupils project that initiated debate about sampling and 'crate digging' based on a lesson he had done with his students on Will I Am that traced the original sample in the Will I Am song back to a Tamil movie soundtrack that Darren shared with his pupils.

The evening was kicked off with a reading of the HipHopEd manifesto as well as a little recapping of the HipHopEd journey towards this latest manifestation at the IoE.

Ending with a presentation from rapper and special needs teacher Solo Cypher on the work of B.F. Skinner, HipHopEdSoc delivered a dope mix of conversations, presentations, dialogue and discourse, that bumped like DJ sets. Everyone's presentations and contributions to the dialogue shed more light on the diversity of practice, pedagogy and purpose that exists amongst those working with HipHopEd.

The vibes on the evening were familial, and like all good families, the hiphoped family can find difference and disagreement within each other's approaches and beliefs. It is a great testimony to the UK HipHopEd movement that it provides a space for sharing and debating these varied beliefs and practices, and at times on the night the temperature and volume of the debate was raised. Not everyone attending HipHopEdSoc possessed or desires to possess the etiquette of formal academic debate, and as such there were times of beautiful anarchy, with voices clashing, colliding and battling to be heard. But, that is what makes these hiphopEd events so refreshing and engaging because a HipHopEd event is not your average teachmeet, cpd opportunity or university society, it is a hub for a growing number of hip-hop heads, from the streets, schools, universities and all places in between, finding time to share and contribute to a widening field of practice, centred on a shared passion for both education and Hip-hop culture. Good people doing good work for good reason.

HipHopEd is the space to be.

HipHopEdSoc - OFFICIAL LAUNCH - 1.12.14

It has been a while since I posted here but this is great news and worth sharing with my Hip-hop and education heads alike.

The UK HipHopEd movement has been steadily smouldering with occasional bursts into flame over the last year or so. Since being featured on the BBC 1Xtra documentary 'When Words Collide' HipHopEd has had a full feature in the TES, a resurgence of the Twitter chats (that started it all off) and has now found a home at the prestigious Institute of Education in the form of HipHopEdSoc.

HipHopEdSoc launches next week with presentations from 2 of my favourite HipHopEd heads - Sam Berkson and Shay D - and will be graced by the presence of a true UK rap veteran - TY.

As ever the aim of HipHopEdSoc is to bring a broad spectrum of people together with an interest in Hip-hop, education, philosophy, politics, arts and academia to discuss and share their work and views on Hip-hop as a vehicle for education - Hip-hop as pedagogy.

Hopefully this introduces a new generation of younger Ed heads to the work of HipHopEd and assists in growing the family and its influence.

Meanwhile, I want to give a special shout out to the US HipHopEd fam who celebrate their 4th birthday this month. BIG UP!!

If you want to know more about the work of HipHopEd both here or in the States you can find us all on Twitter by searching #hiphoped

peaCe

UK #HipHopEdTopTen Twitter Chat

Tonight at 8pm we will be discussing the best UK Hip-hop songs to use in the classroom. These are the suggestions from HipHopEders so far...


Skitz feat. RODNEY P - Left
http://youtu.be/8O2R39GYGAs

London Posse - How's Life In London
http://youtu.be/-ahFJmFcY98

Roots Manuva - Juggle Tings Proper
http://youtu.be/dkHu_x1YkNw

Roots Manuva -Dreamy Days
http://youtu.be/bJmoxDA1cTg

Skinnyman - No Big Tings
http://youtu.be/tb01FSSZ4-4

Task Force - Butterfly Concerto
http://youtu.be/AUZlH7N-24I

Braintax - Future Years
http://youtu.be/87ADE3iVyFQ

Ms Dynamite - Put Him Out
http://youtu.be/E0YzqD9HqUA

Wretch 32 - 24 Hours
http://youtu.be/SdJ7HV8PcvA

MCs Logik - Operatin Logikally

Scorz - GB

Broken Glass - Rapology

(For post-Windrush narrative) Ruthless Rap Assassins - And it Wasn't a Dream

(For extended metaphor) Swami Baracus - The Recipe
http://t.co/cVUqKLmHhp

Akala - Fire In The Booth

Scorzayzee - Great Britain

Katch 22 - reverse world

Katch 22 - death of the flat black circle

Lowkey - Let Me Live My Life

P-Money - Slang Like this

Hijack - Daddy Rich

Krispy 3 - Destroy All The Stereotypes

Akala - Shakespeare

Black Twang - GCSE

Lethal Bizzle - POW

Lethal Bizzle - Oi

Dizzee Rascal - Sittin' Here

Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U

Kano - Ps & Qs

Rhyme Asylum - Holding On

MC Buzz B - Last Tree

UK #HipHopEd Manifesto

Over the last 2 years the UK#HipHopEd crew have been working towards a manifesto of our beliefs. On Monday 4th November we will be inviting responses to this manifesto as part of the relaunch of our UK #HipHopEd Twitter chats. These chats were the groups first official foray into HipHopEd, following on from the ground-breaking work of our US family. The chats will continue weekly throughout Novemebr before the work on our 5th UK #HipHopEd seminar in February 2014. If you are interested in matters of hiphop and education, find us on Twitter using  '#HipHopEd' and have your say on the topics raised. peaCe

UK #HipHopEd Seminar 4: Keepin it Real"? - Authenticity, Race, Gender and Hip-Hop Education in the UK.

Curious snapshots from the first 4 UK #HipHopEd Seminars.

Each Uk HipHopEd seminar has had a different energy brought to the room due to the subtly profound changes in dynamic that different people bring. Avoiding the obvious Barrington Levy puns, a hallmark of the seminars to date, is that the range and depth of the debated topics have been both broad and deep. Each day existing as an example of academic cyphering that is as authentically hiphop as it is academic. However, despite the breadth and depth, each has distinct characteristics and uniquely defining moments that leave snapshots in the mind to be recalled like cerebral backdrops to future conversations and reflections. Here are my snapshots from the first 4 #UkHipHopEd seminars...

SEMINAR ONE

The first seminars energy came mostly from the newness of it all. The journey from the Twitter timeline to the Institute of Education seminar suite was a short and fast one. The potential in the room was palpable; teachers, youth workers, poets, academics, film makers, photographers occupying every seat. @rapclassroon (Darren Chetty) continued the natural leadership that had driven the original chats and hosted a day of performance, presentation, discussion and debate with a bit of live Skype to manage also! Amongst the eruditus and empowered eloquence (*strikes B-boy pose), the snapshot moment of the day will remain (in my mind at least,) that of the newly-formed group, forged into union, huddled diminutively, waving goodbye under the widescreen-projected god-head of Prof. Chris Emdin, at the end of our Skype chat; bridging LDN and NY's physical and educational divides in a supportive and inspiring way. The connection to the 'parent' movement gave a sense of authenticity and validity to this initial meeting of artist/teacher tweeters and the mythic retelling of how the US HipHopEd movement successfully and sustainably opened 2 Hiphop schools in the motherland of rap was inspiring. The spirit of reverence was apt. Onward towards a manifesto...

Additional Reading:

http://rapclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/uk-hiphoped.html

SEMINAR TWO
Seminar 2 should have been simple. Repeat a proven formula with a few different people and new themes. Enter Shay D. Female Iranian rapper with the Lyrically Challenged hiphop collective and hiphop workshop leader. Shay D brought a passion to the proceedings. She participated confidently and challenged some of the ideas about race and representation in the room vigorously. The snapshot moment of Shay D and Chris Mentalist going toe to toe (chair to chair), battling over a disputed comment; with the rest of the room either scrambling to defuse the tension or sitting back waiting for the storm to die down will remain the defining and most hiphop moment of the day, and stand as testimony to the belief and passion that exist within the HipHopEd movement; and like true battle MCs it was all love afterwards. This is not a snapshot of the movement’s greatest success, rather one of its passion, honesty and ability to push the boundaries of both the academic discussion format, and the hiphop cypher (perhaps battle is more apt in this instance) and find resolutions that stays true to the spirit of HipHopEd. This is where ideas and beliefs are cogeneratively forged in the fires of disparate notions of discourse and decorum; but where reality and theory collide with experience and instinct. This is bumpy ground, but well worth the ride.

Additional reading:

http://rapclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/10-thoughts-after-2nd-uk-hiphoped.html

SEMINAR THREE

If Shay D brought a more contemporary hiphop voice to the room, Seminar 3 let Uk hiphop royalty in the building. TY has been delivering conscious hiphop to the UK hiphop scene since before people said 'conscious hiphop' and TY is used to working a crowd. Bridging the hiphop/ed gap was Poisonous Poet turned teacher Reveal and rapper/music teacher Awate. Further to the 'ed' side, Dr Patrick Turner from London Met led the day with a presentation that sparked the debate about racial representation and identity that dominated this seminar. Himself an ex-member of a hiphop crew, Patrick was joined by his teenage son. From my position, the young man had TY challenging and leading the discussion to one side and his father feeding the debate on the other. This image reminiscent of the angels and devils (but with a less polar opposition) of cartoon folklore brought 3 fundamental strands of the movement into one space - hiphop; the educator and the young learner. A perfect example of praxis? This was the theme of Seminar 3; that awkward and much misunderstood merging of theory and practice; education's version of circular breathing. The space where all that is said and thought is done. Where, where, will, won’t, what, why and how collide to form experiences that can be as beautifully chaotic and deceptively complex in their fluid expressions as sub-aquatic lava flows. HipHopEd is built for praxis.

Additional Reading:

http://unseenflirtspoetry.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/top-10-hiphoped-lightbulb-moments/

http://rapclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/3-criticisms-of-uk-hiphoped.html

http://artofcurious.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-hip-hop-stance.html

SEMINAR FOUR
Whether it was the choice of Gender as one of the 3 themes of Seminar 4 that encouraged or inspired  more women to attend (and maybe men to not?) is less important than the fact that there were more women at this seminar. The UkHipHopEd movement has never been exclusively male.  Kate Ryan's pivotal role in the original cohort of tweeters has provides the only ever-present female voice, but Shay D in seminar 2 and Anne from www.rapgenius.com in seminar 3 (amongst others) have ensured that there has been a strong and committed, plural female voice throughout. I don't know whether the participation of a larger number of women changed the debate or not, but it certainly felt more 'authentic' as a representation of educators (and humans) to have a larger female presence; if not yet, a more 'authentic' representation of hiphop.
Ironically, my snapshot of the day is not provided by one of the female participants, but instead it is the image of both genders watching a white neo-nazi rapper from Germany perpetuating every rap video cliché you saw perfectly parodied in The Roots, 'What They Do' video; and then debating it's authenticity as a representation of whiteness. A 25-strong debate about the rantings of a young white supremacist, living out his black rapper fantasy, isn't what I expected to be engaging with in a primary school hall on a warm and sunny Saturday, 3 days before the end of the academic year, but it is more useful than trolling comment boxes on YouTube for challenging such surreal and dangerous co-options of Hiphop culture.

Additional Reading:

http://createinnovateexplore.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/hiphoped-4-a-rewind-and-rethink/

SO WHAT CHA SAYIN?!

The UkHipHopEd movement continues to build links between the sky high (and often pie in the sky) research of Hiphop academics; Hiphop educators working in schools (colleges, youth centres, theatres etc) and our young people, growing up to a Hiphop soundtrack in an ever- shifting capitalist landscape, where reality and authenticity are hard to pin down, but where creativity and knowledge are 'hard currency' for 'growth'. You can only win the game you're playing and all games have rules. All rules can be broken. Break rules.

This movement is ready for your surprises.

Can't wait, won’t wait for Seminar 5.

peaCe

Links:

Reveal Blog

Ty Music

Shay D Music

Rapclassroom Blog

Kate Ryan's Blog

Poetcurious Blog

Uk HipHopEd on Radio 1Xtra

ME AND MY SCHOOL Project (essay)

Photo: Gavin Evans

They say all good/bad things come in threes. Here is the third of my writings on hip-hop and education. This one is less about hip-hop, although it does get a reference and much of the work I discuss in this essay informs my current practice and feeds into the HipHopEd work I am involved in. I wrote this in 2006 at the end of a year participating in the TAP Programme and it is presented here without appendices and with a few incomplete references.
TAP was a professional development programme for artists and teachers. It took participants on a highly creative and academically rigorous exploration of their own and each others practices and pedagogies. TAP focussed on multi-disciplinary approaches, creative risk-taking, relationships and collaboration. Run by L.I.F.T. and accredited by the I.O.E., TAP was an innovative and rewarding experience that hugely developed my understanding of teaching, learning and creativity.

*Obviously it lost its funding and now only exists in articles on the internet


ME AND MY SCHOOL Project By Chris Beschi (2006)

So, What's The Scenario? Hiphop for healing

The garden at St. Ethelburga, London.

Last year I was asked to perform at an inter-faith community centre in Queen's Park for an event run by the St. Ethelburga's organisation. Stories That Heal, Stories That Harm was a participatory day of talks and workshops for a range of educators, therapists, community practitioners, academics and others working with personal and community narratives. The aim was to explore different approaches and share experiences of working closely with people's personal stories and community narratives in various educational and therapeutic settings, in order to stimulate better practice and generate a greater understanding of the work being done in that field. I was asked to talk about the work I do with hiphop and education and how that contributes to this area of practice. I shared some examples from my practice of how hiphop culture has provided a starting point for developmental work with students in schools as well as my opinions about the culture's validity as a platform for engaging young people in story-telling that can contribute to their self-development. The day went well and there were some interesting talks and presentations. After the event I wrote some notes on my iPhone trying to sum up what I had said about my own work, as well as what I had learnt from the day. I later formatted these notes into a document that I share below. This was one of the first times I had spoken about my use of hiphop culture and music in my work to an audience, The response was very positive and it gave me more confidence to explore hiphop culture and it's contribution to my practice. This continues through the work I do with UkHipHopEd and within my role as a special needs teacher in a mainstream secondary school in North West London, where I use hiphop's content and principles to engage young people with behaviour and communication difficulties.

View and download So, What's The Scenario? By Chris Beschi

When Words Collide - BBC Radio 1Xtra - 27/1/13. 9pm

Nick Taylor's documentary exploring the relationship between hiphop and spoken word poetry airs this Sunday on BBC Radio 1Xtra at 9pm. The documentary centres around a night organised by poet Angry Sam that took place at East London's, Bedroom Bar last August. A synopsis of the night is included below; it was a great night  and you can find out who won if you listen to the show on Sunday!

Via 1xtra website...

When Words Collide

"Are hip-hop and poetry worlds apart? Or are the lines between these two celebrated art forms starting to blur? Nihal investigates the relationship between hip-hop and poetry, hearing from some of the finest rappers and spoken word artists around - including Chuck D, KRS-One and Scroobius Pip.

Along the way, we head to a bar in East London where five rappers and five poets are battling it out across three rounds to decide which form of expression is the best. The results may surprise you...

In Round 1 of Poets vs Rappers, the two teams do what they do best. We find out the shared history of the two art forms, and learn that the connection between hip-hop and poetry might go further back than we think - from the vibrant rap and poetry nights in New York in the 90s, to the legendary 'godfathers of hip-hop' such as Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets, to American recordings of the 1920s. Could the romantic poets and Shakespeare even be connected? Spoken word artist Kate Tempest and hip-hop artist Akala tell us how.

Round 2 sees our competing poets and rappers taken out of their comfort zones, where poets have to do their thing to music, and rappers have to do their thing without a beat. Nihal speaks to some of today's finest spoken word artists who started off as rappers, including Kate Tempest, Polar Bear, The Ruby Kid and Scroobius Pip. We also hear from established rappers who have taken themselves out of their comfort zones and strutted their stuff at spoken word nights. UK rappers TY and Mystro tell us why so many rappers are crossing over in to spoken word today. Finally before we find out how our own rappers and poets got on, we meet poet Mark Grist and MC Mixy, otherwise known as The Dead Poets, who tell us about their unique theatre show about learning each other's art forms.

Then, in our final round of Poets vs Rappers, it's an out and out battle of words as our rappers and poets clash - but this isn't the first time a rapper and a poet have gone head to head. At the beginning of 2012, teacher-turned-poet Mark Grist battled MC Blizzard as part of Don't Flop, the UK's largest rap battle league. We find out how this battle became an online sensation, and hear from other spoken word artists who have tried their hands at battle rap.

In hip-hop, a rap battle is one of the best places to show off your lyrical skill. We head to Shake The Dust, the UK's biggest ever youth, poetry slam, where a new generation of lyricists are embracing poetry. We hear from those competing about their love of words and how they draw influence from both poetry and hip-hop.

But where are these new poets and rappers coming from? Nihal finds out how both poetry and hip-hop are being used in education, from the many brilliant poetry and rap workshops, to the growing 'HipHopEd' movement, which aims to bring hip-hop culture in to the classroom and prove that it can sit comfortably next to classical poetry.

Finally we return to Poets vs Rappers, to hear what happened when our competitors clashed and find out the winner."

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curious & Angry Sam in today's Guardian...

It is only a couple of weeks since myself and Angry Sam hosted The Guardian for a school poetry slam. Following slam conventions, the poets performed poems from the Year 9 anthology for the judgement of an audience of 300 teenagers. Blake and Wordsworth battled it out with Kate Tempest and Linton Kwesi Johnson; with Kwesi taking top honours!! There was also a performance from a year 9 student who won the school's London Poetry competition with a poignant and image-laden piece of highly-crafted writing. One for the future, surely!

--> Big thanks to Judy and Richard from The Guradian for supporting this event and producing this article.

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