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)

The Hip Hop Stance

#HipHopEd

The 3rd UKHipHopEd Seminar went off on March 9th at Gayhurst Primary School in London Fields, Hackney. Although this monolithic Victorian primary school lacked some of the kudos of the previous 2 seminar's I.O.E. residencies, it brought the movement back to the streets that raised it. This fortuitous relocation literally took UKHipHopEd back to the old school. The choice of location was no accident however, as it is the school where long-time UKHipHopEd practitioner, Darren Chetty (@rapclassroom) delivers hip-hop education to the local youts on a daily basis. It is where he organises and leads 'Power To The Pupils'; a highly successful hip-hop orientated project working with students creatively, to explore issues of identity, personal responsibility; social justice and chicken and chips! Darren is the driving force behind the UkHipHopEd movement and his passion and commitment are evident in the work he does at Gayhurst.

Being back in a primary school, led me to think back on my own time as a primary teacher, working in a special needs school in north west London. It was during this time, having completed my teacher training, that I first started to think about hip hop in an educational context. In 2006 I was encouraged to participate in  a teacher/artist professional development and action research project run by L.I.F.T. and called TAPP. In this highly academic environment I was able to explore my identity and beliefs as a practitioner, as well as learning much about pedagogical approaches and theories that bolstered my belief in the validity of hiphop as not only an educational tool, but as a transferable framework for shaping and informing an entire approach to teaching and learning. The Hip Hop Stance is an essay I wrote while facilitating on TAPP in the following year. It explores my personal history with hip-hop and education and begins to define some of the key aspects of my practice at that time; much of which still informs my current practice. 

Inspired by a culture I had stumbled across as a kid in Wembley, I unknowingly started along a journey of self-managed continuous professional development (cpd) that would eventually lead (after 7 years) to a parquet-floored hall (on a Saturday morning) in East London, to discuss the finer points of hip-hop pedagogy with leading hip-hop academic, Dr. Patrick Turner; legendary British rappers TY and Reveal and an assembled crew of teachers, workshop leaders, music producers, DJs, MCs, educators, environmentalists and the very nice lady from rapgenius.com. 

When KRSONE said that, rap is something you do; hip-hop is something you live, even he couldn't have imagined that 20 years later, events like this one would be further pushing the boundaries of hip-hop  and exploring the culture's potential for enriching the lives of a whole new school of hip-hop kids.

The Hip Hop Stance by Chris Beschi (2007)

(Link now works!!)

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."

peaCe

WORDAMOUTH IS BACK!!

More details soon, but after a long summer break WORDAMOUTH is back at a new venue in Old Street, bringing midweek party poetry vibes to all comers. Come and join us at the newly refurbished Bedroom Bar (63 Rivington Street) for the best in spoken word, storytelling, MCing, beatboxing, freestyling...you name it, we've got it! All backed by sick DJs spinning hiphop and eclectic breaks from beyond the crate. Simply put: WORDAMOUTH IS BACK!!*

*Start talking!!

Wordamouth - Old to the New

BIG LOVE to everyone who came down to Wordamouth on 22nd November. The jam might not have been packed but the mic was busy all night. The enigmatic straight talk of Tim Wells was counter-pointed nicely by Charlie Dupre's rhythmic onslaughts and Swing-hop spitting. The open mic was live as usual. Stand-out for me was Nathan Guessask's tale of incarceration, but a shout goes out to Richard Marsh; Chip Grimm; Hayley Stevens and Catherine for representing lovely.

Here's the pics:

curious

Charlie Dupre

Tim Wells

Hayley Stevens

Richard Marsh

Chip Grimm

Catherine

Nathan Guessask

Still to come in 2010 is the Wordamouth New Years Hold Up at The Live Room on 29th December. Great line up for this one with, hip-hop spokenword supremo HKB Finn bringing his own brand of vibes; Paul Case aka Captain of the Rant will be spitting his use fire of satire and Prisoner turned poet, Chris Syrus brings his own guitarist to the party to get the party started with some positive movements. The mic will be open as ever, with the added bonus of a dj on stage for the MCs who want to drop on a beat or for those that just want to get their jam on...

2011 - Look out for more spoken word from Wordamouth as we plan a move out of North London towards a more central location as well as getting down with plans to set a sister night up in Birmingham, courtesy of Wordamout family member, Hayley Stevens. Nothing is finalised yet, but there's big ting a gwan for Wordamouth in the New Year, stay aware. peaCe