[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
Tag: music
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)
K.O.S. (Determination) (track 8)
[This is part 8 of a longer series – previous track - "B Boys Will Be Boys" - next track - "Hater Players"] https://www.youtube.com/embed/kETkgRNSVzk One of the great programmatic statements of the album begins this track, after a side conversation - So many MC’s focus in on Black people exterminationwe keep it balanced with that knowledge of … Continue reading K.O.S. (Determination) (track 8)
“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)
“Children’s Story” (Track 5)
[This is part 5 of a longer series – previous track - "Re:Definition" - next track - "Brown-Skinned Lady"] https://www.youtube.com/embed/2CagQFPm3JY The opening four tracks of Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star feel like they form a kind of opening act. The fifth song on the album, "Children's Story," a cover (sort of) of Slick Rick's song … Continue reading “Children’s Story” (Track 5)
Re:Definition (Track 4)
[This is part 4 of a longer series – previous track - "Definition" - next track - "Children's Story"] https://www.youtube.com/embed/fr6SrRQnZv4 "Definition" (youtube/spotify) and "Re:Definition" (youtube/spotify) roll together like one continuous track, but also like 2 mirror images: "Definition" is joyful and celebratory; "Re:Definition" is "turnin' your play into a tragedy." The key change (and subtle downshift in rhythm) … Continue reading Re:Definition (Track 4)
Astronomy (8th Light) (track 2)
[This is part 2 of a longer series – previous post “Interlude” - previous track - "Introduction" - next track - "Definition"] That's what hip-hop is: It's sociology and English put to a beat, you know. Talib Kweli Now fast forward to post-post-pandemic 2023, and Malachi, a student (all the names are changed) exasperated, looks at me after … Continue reading Astronomy (8th Light) (track 2)
Original Positions 