Blog #1 – Scott Lab

I have had the great privilege to work with some amazing youth these past few weeks. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning from about 9:00-11:00am anywhere between 7-12 youth from Regina's high school Scott Collegiate nonchalantly stroll into class. The class focuses on providing these youth with an education on hip-hop culture through various demonstrations, workshops and guests speakers. Inadvertently it is also a way to encourage them to attend school. For some of these youth, this is the only class they attend during the week, thus it is very important to ensure they have a positive experience.

 

So far I have seen them work with DJ Quartz on how to DJ, DJ Murky Waters on how to use MPC's (beat-making machines), Emcee's Info Red and Def 3 on how to write a rhyme and Ryan Stinson on how to use Reason (music production software). The exposure to Regina and surrounding artists provides them with the confidence that yes, hip-hop is a live and viable genre that has more to do with then money, drugs and hoes. It can be used as a social tool to voice the opinion of the underdog, the message of the oppressed, the feelings of the stressed. When Danny aka Def 3 spoke on how swearing is considered to be tasteless, the response in the kids was evoking. For some it will be a challenge to write rhymes without swears. To be able to write a rhyme that conveys the same message without swears is actually the more righteous and applauded conduct. As stated by Danny, in some freestyle competitions, if the rapper swears he is automatically disqualified.

 

It is important to note that the majority of the students in the class and at the high school are of Indigenous or minority background. Their social circumstance, family life and personality attribute to their willingness to learn and grow. Coming from Regina's North Central is not the easiest life. Poverty, crime and overall uneasiness make it hard for a youth to focus on school when they have not had anything to eat for breakfast or when the pressure of drugs and alcohol are tempting them. Each of them come with their own stories to share whether they verbally say it or evoke it through their gestures and mannerisms. Over three weeks, I have been able to see some of these characters grow in a sense of opening up and trying new things. For example, Raven, one of the girls in the class has taken an interest to playing with the MPC and creating a beat. However, when other schoolgirls are present, her eagerness to create something becomes overshadowed by social responsibilities. On her own, she shows creativity and confidence in asking questions on how to work with the machine. With the right support and direction, I think she can have fun and learn while creating a beat. Brandon, for example, is very talented at writing rhymes. He seems more comfortable with a pen in hand rather than at the MPC or turn-tables. His character is very serene and calm yet when he gets up to rap, he suggests a subdued sense of anger in his rhymes drawing back on his own experiences in life. By encouraging the students to write about their experiences, thoughts and fears they are opening up and learning how to better confront situations and problems they may deal with on a daily basis. Allowing them to voice themselves publicly in a peaceful manner creates a sense of community within the class that they can transfer over into their social community.

I am excited to see what avenue and aspect of hip-hop each student pursues for the final presentation. They all have the ability to be creative, but with a little push in the right direction I think they can take what they are learning here one step further, both socially and educationally, and apply it to their other subjects in school and their relations and interactions within society.