[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)
Tag: pop-culture-pedagogy
Posts about different ways I’ve brought pop culture into my high school English classroom
Definition (Track 3)
[This is part 3 of a longer series – previous track - "Astronomy (8th Light)" - next track - "Re:Definition"] I think this is the album's the catchiest track. The lyricism here is joyfully overwhelming- I’ll try my best to exemplify what it feels like to listen to it. It has a ridiculously infectious beat and the … Continue reading Definition (Track 3)
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)
Interlude – Some Light in the Darkness – Student Adventures in Pandemic Podcasting
[This is part of a longer series – previous track “Intro” – next track – “Astronomy (8th Light)”] I’ve asked students to analyze Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star for the last three years - the first time came that winter was just a couple months after that first listening (right after the 1/6 insurrection, as a … Continue reading Interlude – Some Light in the Darkness – Student Adventures in Pandemic Podcasting
Track 1 of Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star – “Intro”
[This is part 1 of a longer series – next post “Interlude” - next track - "Astronomy (8th Light)"] “We know that we know how to make some music and that music ain't supposed to stand still…” Mos Def and Talib Kweli, “Intro” “I found my only chance for life was in flight.” Narrative of the Life of … Continue reading Track 1 of Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star – “Intro”
To Pimp a Butterfly #5: These Walls
[This is part 5 of a longer series - previous track "Institutionalized"- next track "u" coming soon] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drV0QatqbRU I remember you was conflicted, misusing your influenceSometimes, I did the same As Kendrick Lamar adds lines to his poem through the course of To Pimp a Butterfly, he explores different aspects of his journey away from … Continue reading To Pimp a Butterfly #5: These Walls
To Pimp a Butterfly #4: Institutionalized
[This is part 4 of a longer series - previous track "King Kunta"- next track "These Walls"] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqzWyq_aBfc I remember you was conflicted, misusing your influence A technical term to describe what happens over tracks 4-10 is a "cumulative tale," like the nursery rhymes "this is the house that Jack built" or "I know an … Continue reading To Pimp a Butterfly #4: Institutionalized
To Pimp a Butterfly #3: King Kunta
[This is part 3 of a longer series - previous track "For Free?"- next track "Institutionalized"] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8 If To Pimp a Butterfly were a movie, "King Kunta" would be the close of Act I. Sound-wise, the first three songs share a common up-beat energy: they're all relatively rhythmic, brash in terms of their use of … Continue reading To Pimp a Butterfly #3: King Kunta
To Pimp A Butterfly #2: “For Free? Interlude”
[This is part 2 of a longer series - previous track "Wesley's Theory" - next track "King Kunta"] "For Free?" is labelled as an "interlude," and though it does have the feel of skit that goes between two more properly formed songs, what happens on this track is much more than a transition. Under cover … Continue reading To Pimp A Butterfly #2: “For Free? Interlude”
To Pimp a Butterfly – #1: Wesley’s Theory
[This is part 1 of a longer series - next track "For Free?"] For a few years now I've listened to To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar's 2015 masterpiece, with my junior English classes. I have learned a lot about music, about the experiences of both Kendrick and of my students, as well as a … Continue reading To Pimp a Butterfly – #1: Wesley’s Theory
