The Final Show!

The final shows have come and gone with great success. Check out what a local blogger had to say about the show, and project-based learning:

"There was a high school that was working on project-based learning. Based on the high number of low socio-economic, absentee students who have to deal with what most of the high school kids in this city can't even dream of, the teachers integrated learning with the making and appreciation of hip-hop. I think this is possibly one of the coolest things to happen in this province's education history and project-based learning should be expanded to every school (of course, there would be a lot of uproar from uptight, primarily well-off parents who would decry the loss of their kids' high-pressure tests and essays, but that's another story altogether).

I've been teaching at one school for some time now. It's been kind of on-and-off, but more on than off recently. The grade 9 art class that I've been teaching went to go see the final performance by the hip-hop crew. Now, I went to see the performance the night before, and I thought it was pretty amazing. People have no idea how difficult DJing is. These kids had made some seriously awesome beats and, with few exceptions, some really catchy old-school hip-hop songs."

Thanks to A Sub Captain on the Good Ship High School for the shout out!

HHP in the Leader Post

Check out the story in today's paper!

Fara Palmer & 7th Generation

On Thursday and Friday, students from the HHP worked with First Nations recording artists Fara Palmer and 7th Generation. They workshopped on Thursday, recording a song, and performed the song for a Scott Collegiate audience. The concert will air nationally on CBC Radio in the spring. Here is a link to the song on youtube - check it out!


Kasp working with students on their lyrics


Johnny BKoy on the mic


Kasp from 7th Generation

the poster

Hard at work in the IMP Labs

In the IMP Labs DJ Pod

Graffiti Workshop with IMP Labs and Def3

Facebook Page for April 2nd Performance

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=61492281119

Dance with U of R students

Today we went and did a dance workshop with education dance students from the University of Regina. Though not 100% Hip Hop the students enjoyed the workshop -- see the pics to prove it!

New Logo

Check out the Hip Hop 4 Youth logo above that the students collaborated to design -- this will be printed on t-shirts, and be given away when the class does workshops with Elementary Schools on positive ways to stay healthy relating to Hip Hop. The workshops will include breakdancing as well as writing positive rap lyrics.

Graffiti

One more piece of graffiti:

Today

I thought you all rocked today! All of you showed great courage by getting up and sharing your rhymes and your beats. I'm beginning to see the concert take shape.

See you next week!
Charity

Graffiti Comp

I think we can put up some serious competition ...

http://www.sk.johnhoward.ca/

What do you think?

Graffiti

This week students worked with Def3 on graffiti. Below is some of the work they completed:

Rhyme Schemes

On Wednesday, Mr. Riley, an intern from the university, taught the class about different rhyme schemes employed in Hip Hop music. He outlined five types of rhyme:

End Rhyme - when the last words in lines rhyme
Ex) "I sit on my bed and weep
While I still have eyes to see
When thing is true, you I will never keep
A heart to weep for thee"

Assonance - repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyme
Ex) "Dead in the middle of little Italy, little did we know that we riddled two middle men who didn't do diddly" - Big Pun

Half Rhyme - rhymes that aren't perfect - sometimes called crap rhyme, near rhyme, off rhyme, or imperfect rhyme.
Ex) Ill/shell or dropped/wept

Internal Rhyme - rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse - sometimes called middle rhyme.
Ex) While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping.

Multisyallabic Rhyme - rhyme with two or more syllables
Ex) "Praying for sleep, dreaming with a watering mouth, wishing for a better life for my daughter and spouse, in this slaughtering house, caught up in bouts with the root of all evil. I've seen beautiful people cruel and deceitful." - Eminem

How do we talk about music?

The first week of the Hip Hop Project, students learned terms we use when talking about music. They will continue to use these terms throughout the whole project, as we learn to describe what we hear and create. Below are their initial attempts at using some of the specialized vocabulary to describe a song they like.

First Week Reflection

We are one week into the HHPv2, and the first week was a busy one! See the student comment section for a sense of how our students feel about the HHP so far...

1. What was your favourite part of week 1? Why?
2. What were you excited to learn? Why?
3. How does project-based learning compare to what you normally do in school? Which do you like better? Why?

Here is Farley talking with us about the business side of music, and how we might be able to use our skills and talents to give back to the elementary schools in our neighbourhood.



Here we are at the University of Regina, working with Dr. Charity Marsh in the IMP Labs.

HHP v2.0

We're about to embark on the Scott Collegiate Hip Hop Project v2.0 - bigger and better than ever! The project will be offered mornings from January 27, 2009, to April 8, 2009, culminating in three different shows in March and April. Stay tuned for more information!