The last official HNDP event of 2014, we're off to visit MacArthur Parks Camino Nuevo charter school for a classroom session with 7th and 8th graders. It's lightly drizzling but the cold (cold for us west coast folks) hasn't hit yet, its still a nice 65 in the rain. William and I get the gear in and out the car in a slight rush, but the city needs the rain and it feels great outside.
About 2 month's prior we were contacted by Chauna from FHI360. She's calling on behalf of the US State Department sponsored IVLP - the International Visitors Leadership Program. The program's goal is to inspire dialogue and to give international guests a sense of how hip hop music is being used as a tool of social change in the United States.
It's the only rain LA's had all year and we meet with our guests Saif and Karim from Tunisia along with their translator Ghada. Our mixer, mic and speaker in tow we head upstairs to the 7th grade classroom.
Karim Kouki:
Saifallah Ben Abid:
Our introduction to the class was Karim jumping in rapping in his native tongue for the kids. No matter the language the 32 bars hit home, somehow still generating laughs on punchlines and getting hands in the air. Every kid in class picks an MC name, we had MC Chilena-10, MC Devastating Dude and MC Dusty Knuckles. Class starts by picking their artist identity for the day.
The goal with our one hour sessions is to show what you can get done with what you have available. Volunteers in class assemble the mixer, mic and speaker learning what each does along the way. We record using an iPad and use the students as instruments recording the class out loud saying "BOOM" and "CLAP". Using those sounds to make a beat in real time, we start the writing process.
A common theme between Karim's experience in Tunisia and ours with HNDP in LA - is that in order to survive as organizations, we've tapped into culture based on self taught musicianship and working with what was available. We hope that short writing exercises and showing how quickly you can assemble a beat on an iPad inspire students to take these practices with them and grow them as tools. In Tunisia and Los Angeles young people are going through challenging times and art can be a transformational resource.
Starting off 2015 we're back in El Sereno with our open mic series at Holy Grounds Coffee. Join HNDP's Christian Lomeli for the first session and come out with your freestyles and songs ready:
-Aaron (HNDP BLOG TEAM)