“Taylor Made Freestyle” “First Person Shooter” – Drake featuring J Cole – 10/24/23“Like That” – Metro Boomin featuring Future and Kendrick Lamar – 3/26/24“7 Minute Drill” – J Cole – 4/5/24“Push Ups” – Drake – 4/19/24“Taylor Made Freestyle” – Drake featuring AI Tupac/AI Snoop Dogg – 4/19/24 ← WE’RE HERE“Euphoria” – Kendrick Lamar – 4/30/24“6:16 … Continue reading Teaching the Beef – “Taylor Made Freestyle”
Tag: hip-hop
Teaching the Beef – 7 Minute Drill – From J Cole’s Might Delete Later (he sort of did)
[This post is part 7 of a series on teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – click here for part 6 –“Like That - The Beef Starts in Earnest"”] “First Person Shooter” – Drake featuring J Cole – 10/24/23“Like That” – Metro Boomin featuring Future and Kendrick Lamar – 3/26/24“7 Minute Drill” – J Cole – 4/5/24 ← WE’RE HERE“Push … Continue reading Teaching the Beef – 7 Minute Drill – From J Cole’s Might Delete Later (he sort of did)
Why Elon Musk Is Wrong about The Odyssey and Why That Matters
O muse, sing through me the ways of Musk’s failures, and the confusions upon which they rely… Let me start by saying something I think some of Musk’s critics are wrong about. A predictable kind of social media smugness often emerges in these situations and reads something like “imagine caring about whether a fictional character’s … Continue reading Why Elon Musk Is Wrong about The Odyssey and Why That Matters
“Like That” – The Beef Starts in Earnest
[This post is part 6 of a series on teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – click here for part 5 –“First Person Shooter – Rap Beef as Socratic Dialogue”] Introduction This post is really, really long. I hope you’ll go on the journey with me. This is one of those rabbit holes that got deeper and … Continue reading “Like That” – The Beef Starts in Earnest
Teaching the Drake/Kendrick Beef – First Person Shooter – Rap Beef as Socratic Dialogue
[This post is part 5 of a series on teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – click here for part 4 –“Poetic Justice” – Even When They Were Friends There Were Issues]] For about the first two weeks of the unit, the class had now listened to and analyzed several songs - “Ab-Soul’s Outro” (Ab-Soul featuring Kendrick … Continue reading Teaching the Drake/Kendrick Beef – First Person Shooter – Rap Beef as Socratic Dialogue
Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel #1 – “Ab Soul’s Outro” – Purpose in a Larger Context
[This post is part 2 of a series - click here for part 1 - Why the Kendrick/Drake Beef is Great for AP Lang – One Line as Proof of Concept] I don’t know if Drake intended to set off the firestorm that eventually happened when he called himself the GOAT on “First Person Shooter” … Continue reading Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel #1 – “Ab Soul’s Outro” – Purpose in a Larger Context
Part 2 – If We Shouldn’t Teach Students to “Read Literature Like a Professor,” Then Where Should We Start?
“You come from a long line of great poets, some of the greatest poets since Homer.” -James Baldwin, “A Letter to My Nephew” “Literacy is a process of moments. It isn't a set of skills to be acquired or un-acquired. When students sit down to read or write a text, they are involved in a … Continue reading Part 2 – If We Shouldn’t Teach Students to “Read Literature Like a Professor,” Then Where Should We Start?
Why the Kendrick/Drake Beef is Great for AP Lang – One Line as Proof of Concept
[This post is part 1 of a series - click here for part 2 – Teaching the Kendrick/Drake Beef – Prequel #1 – “Ab Soul’s Outro” – Purpose in a Larger Context] This last year I developed a unit that presented students with one of the most genuinely difficult challenges I’ve ever presented in 17 years of … Continue reading Why the Kendrick/Drake Beef is Great for AP Lang – One Line as Proof of Concept
Yo Yeah (track 10)
[This is part 10 of a longer series – previous track - "Player Haters" - next track - "Respiration"] https://www.youtube.com/embed/DMwjOePe8eE This is a mysteriously beautiful interlude - a look into that “synaptic space” from last time - that in some way is the hinge that holds the album together through an ambient night-time streetscape. As the last … Continue reading Yo Yeah (track 10)
“Brown-Skinned Lady” (Track 6)
[This is part 6 of a longer series – previous track - "Children's Story" - next track - "B Boys will Be Boys"] https://www.youtube.com/embed/XPcdO9CFhWI "Brown-Skinned Lady" is both an ordinary love song and also a deeply intellectual engagement with intersectional feminism. And just like with "Re:Definition," I'm approaching these contexts with humility, as they get to some of … Continue reading “Brown-Skinned Lady” (Track 6)
Original Positions 