#HipHopEd Chat is a weekly cyber cypher (chat) where stakeholders within Hip-Hop and Education come together to discuss issues that impact the youth and adults within our local, national and global communities. #HipHopEd Chat is a virtual form of professional development for Educators, workshop for Parents and other Adults and a brainstorming session of Hip-Hop practitioners. Our #HipHopEd chats are every Tuesday from 9-10 EST. on Twitter.
Tomorrow my class and I are already starting our dissection of both Meek's album as well as everything else he is doing for criminal justice! Very excited to dive in and excited to learn extra stuff from y'all tonight! #HipHopEd
Yo! @chrisemdin thrilled to announce that Hip-Hop Studies will be offered @stcloudstate as an HONORS course next year.
Will be adding this album to the syllabus/playlist for analysis. Stay Tuned #HipHopEd
@tdj6899 you right on this one... "All the young'uns in my hood popping percs now Gettin' high to get by, it's gettin' worse now You gotta tell 'em put them guns and the percs down Them new jails got ten yards in 'em and that's your first down, uh #hiphoped
There is a different dynamic that is available to be studied when you witness life happen to an artist and it influences their music #MeekMill#HipHopEd#Championships
Meek leveled up with this album. We are watching him self-actualize. This album depicts his healing process, where there is not only processing of difficult thought, feelings, and experiences, but an effort to then overcome them through advocacy #HipHopEd#HipHopEdTherapy
This album is so dope! So many lessons and real talk. When he said he has a friend who has nothin to offer him but friendship. Challenges the notion of money and luxe in Hip Hop as values but tethers it with his financial climb. #hiphoped
Meek on “what’s free” flipping “what’s beef” reminiscent of the first time I heard him on “Tupac’s back” shows his journey as an artist and a man #HipHopEd
For sure in the rotation tomorrow. Coincidence that this album dropped in time for our unit on #HipHopEd --- the homies @tdj6899 and @mathsmarti coming through!
@tdj6899 you right on this one... "All the young'uns in my hood popping percs now Gettin' high to get by, it's gettin' worse now You gotta tell 'em put them guns and the percs down Them new jails got ten yards in 'em and that's your first down, uh #hiphoped
Yup. And im thinking of a writing mini-unit to accompany. Can you imagine the stories they’d tell! @TaylorNyree@arthurtonia calling in some back up 💪🏾😎 #HipHopEd
In reply to
@1200llc, @CochranElem, @JCPSKY, @KyCtrArts, @TaylorNyree, @arthurtonia
Meek leveled up with this album. We are watching him self-actualize. This album depicts his healing process, where there is not only processing of difficult thought, feelings, and experiences, but an effort to then overcome them through advocacy #HipHopEd#HipHopEdTherapy
Disagree— we are lucky that he’s willing to share his redemption- but this warrants a discussion with Ss- can young men learn these lessons without serving time? How and where? #HipHopEd
Meek on “what’s free” flipping “what’s beef” reminiscent of the first time I heard him on “Tupac’s back” shows his journey as an artist and a man #HipHopEd
@MeekMill platform and experience is invaluable. Ss can study his journey, current status and growth & intersection with the crim justice system. MMill as a case study to explore larger systemic issues and the intersection of hiphop culture and prison industrial complex #HipHopEd
Meek and Drake on a track models for youth the power of the battle. How we can challenge each other to grow, even if it's difficult, knowing it will ultimately end with a dap or a co-sign. #HipHopEd
On "Cold Hearted II" Meek shares how his closest friends were not by his side when he was imprisoned. Reminds us to focus on our personal goals and not focus on pleasing the people around us #HipHopEd#DoGoodWork
I love how this motif is weaved in and out throughout the tracks. It seems like he is still wrestling with some trappings* of his past life but overall looking back from a new perspective. #HipHopEd
The criminal justice system is so flawed still systematically oppresses people of color. Meek Mill is giving a voice to the people who truly need it. #HipHopEd#HipHopEdSHU
Meek Mill has a special importance for me having lived in PA for a min...He has stayed rooted and grown...had wins and losses...stayed true/evolved himself & his values..Meek & Philly deserve #Championships#HipHopEd
Songs like "Trauma" showcase the brilliance that hip-hop requires. His couple bars about the 13th Amendment take some real knowledge of American history to understand. A wide open door for educators to bridge education and hip-hop! #HipHopEd
"See my brother blood on the pavement
How you wake up in the mornin' feelin' evil?
Uhh, trauma When them drugs got a hold of your mama
And the judge got a hold on your father
Go to school, bullet holes in the locker" #hiphoped#trauma
If #Championships can begin a trend of truth telling about Prison to deter young people from minimizing going in that would be great #HipHopEd#MeekMill
Meek has been fighting this fight for quite some time and all I can say is that, he is courageous and is setting a great example to the youth and people of color through his new album. #HipHopEd#HipHopEdSHU
Another prime moment to teach our students that it is possible to listen to and enjoy the music while appreciating the art without romanticizing or engaging in the at times harmful language. #HipHopEd
Also the community rooting for him in the way of clearing samples for the album. To me it shows how much the Hip Hop community stands behind Meek. #hiphoped the business of hip hop also rears it’s ugly head when samples won’t clear.
"See my brother blood on the pavement
How you wake up in the mornin' feelin' evil?
Uhh, trauma When them drugs got a hold of your mama
And the judge got a hold on your father
Go to school, bullet holes in the locker" #hiphoped#trauma
“What’s free” is perhaps the primary pedagogic question.
What is free?
What is free(dom)
How does one achieve or realize this?
How are systems designed to afford/restrict.
It’s a whole course. #HipHopEd
Before I can even dig into some of the rich content and convo stems- it’s worth saying that Meeks masterful use of the flip on a few tracks might be a metaphor for his evolution in perspective— like the listener hearing tracks in a different way on #Championships#HipHopEd
Meek has been a voice for the trauma/struggles so many urban youth have experienced...and a motivator for the triumphs we seek...its why this happened #HipHopEdhttps://t.co/hZA7j0oBZe
I ain't have nobody to give me no hope
I hope my momma ain't doin' no coke
I used to wish that my daddy was livin'
I had a dream that I seen him as ghost
I used to act up when I went to school
Thought it was cool, but I really was hurt
#OodlesofNoodlesBabies#hiphoped
I'd say it even extends past pedagogy. I feel like what's free is a question this whole country could ask at any moment, especially those in marginalized groups. #HipHopEd
As someone who grew up so close to Philly, the Meek Mill pride is insane. I know for a fact kids (especially kids from Philly) would love using his music as a tool to teach social justice and other themes. #HipHopEd#HipHopEdSHU
The way #MeekMill started #Championships with the scenario of being down 3-1 represents the same statistical chance that many Ss in our communities have to succeed #HipHopEd#StayWoke
We've seen rappers go to jail before, and upon release get roped into deal/labels that use their incarceration as a marketing tool to further problematize hip hop culture. Meek coming out with an self-reflective and advocacy focused album is revolutionary. #HipHopEd
If you haven't seen Meek's CNN interview, please do yourself a favor and watch it. His activism is so far beyond his music. Awesome to see an artist use his pain and his platform to make a change. #HipHopEd
@MeekMill's Respect the Game made me want to listen to Jay-Z's Dead Presidents. Both reflective tracks that use the same sample. A comparison in a class would be dope #HipHopEd
I teach Self Contained Special Education...So many students come to me because of “behaviors” these kids are so smart they act up because of their trauma...#HipHopEd
I feel like its two albums in one though... as most are -- the growth side (with personal transformation, and attention to community and change) and the status quo side (well you know...). We gotta keep it real on all aspects. #HipHopEd
Meek leveled up with this album. We are watching him self-actualize. This album depicts his healing process, where there is not only processing of difficult thought, feelings, and experiences, but an effort to then overcome them through advocacy #HipHopEd#HipHopEdTherapy
Start with playing the track and let the youth just enjoy that..... then pull out a lyric from the song for analysis. Then bring in the interviews #ItsAProcess#HipHopEd
I saw an interview of Meek talking about his album and he explicitily stayed that he doesn’t want to be identified as an activist. What does that mean? Can he draw a line? How does that make you activist scholars feel? #hiphoped
Agreed, and it's cool because Meek connected a TON of this album with the lived experiences of so many people which makes it an amazing pedagogical tool. #HipHopEd
This is a point too many ppl overlook...they throw the baby out with the bathwater...so they miss leveraging #MeekMill for our youth...study our culture like you wish your kids did for your tests #HipHopEd
Another prime moment to teach our students that it is possible to listen to and enjoy the music while appreciating the art without romanticizing or engaging in the at times harmful language. #HipHopEd
Meek can also be an example of how to stop the cycle of violence. The way he and drizzy squashed beef to come back with that "going bad" joint is dope. They could've kept going at each others neck #hiphoped
#MeekMill is drawing attention to the thousands of people in prison who never held a chopper, who won’t have any billionaires coming with a chopper to take them home #HipHopEd
This reminds me of trainings in classroom management where they would say teachers should have 3 positive interactions with students for every 1 negative. The alignment of the 3 to 1 ratio is interesting #HipHopEd
The way #MeekMill started #Championships with the scenario of being down 3-1 represents the same statistical chance that many Ss in our communities have to succeed #HipHopEd#StayWoke
Oh wow. I didn't see that. So interesting how quick folks are to label him as such though. Reminds me of our convo re: whether HH started as advocacy, or is just framed as such. #HipHopEd
I think if he really wants to keep working towards a change he's going to have that identity whether he wants to or not, but I also think he's coming from a "don't talk about change just do it" kind of viewpoint. Which is understandable if you're as frustrated as he is. #HipHopEd
On "What's Free" Meek surfaces the importance of being able to lean on those who you consider members of your community. He also touches on elements of modernity, identity development, and masculinity. #HipHopEd
And the fact that it represents the Cleveland Cavaliers beating the Golden State Warriors after they had won the most games in regular season history #HipHopEd
Na I think he doesn’t want to held to the standard of an activist who has to critical and self reflective. But he wants to push the prison reform agenda because its personal to him. Don’t think you can have it both ways. #hiphoped
"I used to act up when I went to school
Thought it was cool, but I really was hurt
Wanted my family to come to my games
My mama couldn't make it 'cause she was at work"
Teachers can use this album to teach but also to get a perspective on what some students experience #HipHopEd
I really agree with Meek's perspective on jail being like modern day slavery. Just recently inmates were paid $1 to work at the California forest fires. Is this really justifiable? I don't think so. #HipHopEd#HipHopEdSHU
I’m glad someone mentioned that! We as T’s can disrupt or try to intervene so classroom Meek can hopefully reach self realization more restoratively #HipHopEd
We started without food in our mouth
They gave us pork and pig intestines
Shit you discarded that we ingested, we made the project a wave
You came back, reinvested and gentrified it
Took niggas' sense of pride, now how that's free? #HipHopEd#WhatsFree
Before I can even dig into some of the rich content and convo stems- it’s worth saying that Meeks masterful use of the flip on a few tracks might be a metaphor for his evolution in perspective— like the listener hearing tracks in a different way on #Championships#HipHopEd
There are plenty of service learning and Civic engagement connections to be made in #Champions. Continuously Meek brings forward the importance of staying connected to and strengthening Philly, its children, and the conceptualization of justice. #HipHopEd. #TheWorkBeginsAtHome
@MeekMill interview with @funkflex recently was good and the change is already taking place because he got flex to want to communicate with @Drake again. Being on a platform like that and making that step is major. #HipHopEd#Champipnships#AskMeek🏆
In reply to
@chriscspeaks, @MeekMill, @funkflex, @Drake
Not only should it be considered cruel and unusual punishment, but it also perpetuates the cycle of institutionalization in prisons. #HipHopEd#HipHopEdSHU
This nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th
And in the 13th amendment, it don’t say that we Kings
They say we legally slaves if we go to the bing #MeekMill#Trauma#HipHopEd
I think the reluctancy stems from the parameters that are implied with such a label. He still wants autonomy to be authentic independent of his advocacy work .... ironically Meek's authenticity is what is connecting #HipHopEd
I think there's all sorts of stereotypes and stigmas associated with different roles if you're not brought up in it. As an artist and someone trying to be authentic and real, I imagine he probably doesn't want to get lumped in this other "category." #HipHopEd
Oh wow. I didn't see that. So interesting how quick folks are to label him as such though. Reminds me of our convo re: whether HH started as advocacy, or is just framed as such. #HipHopEd
Many of my students have experienced the scenario where family cannot attend their games. Teachers sometimes don't realize how much it can mean to a student just to show up & show that support they need #HipHopEd
Very good point and that’s very evident with Trauma which is a flip from Getaway by Mobb Deep and What’s free with a flip of what’s beef. I think changing a talk from “beef” to a talk about “free” is major especially since he squashed his beef with Drake. #HipHopEd
Certain tracks on @MeekMill's album serve as a perfect set of lessons to the Tekashi 69's of the rap industry. The rise and fall. The set-up's the warning tales #HipHopEd
Or perhaps because he believes that being an activist requires that he relinquish authenticity? Who knows. A powerful statement to make regardless, super layered. #HipHopEd
Prison should be a way to re-socialize people to make sure they can function properly and safely in society, not a way to oppress and continue the cycle of institutionalization. We complain about crime and then don't give people resources to change. #HipHopEd#HipHopEdSHU
Absolutely! I used to do karate as a kid and my parents were never able to make it to my tournaments because of work. I had a teacher who almost always made it, though, and that made all the difference for me. Students want to know there's someone there for them #HipHopEd
I love the attention that #MeekMill pays to the intros of his albums. They make you want to listen. This can be replicated with lessons in the classroom #HipHopEd
Absolutely! We analyzed Meek’s @nytopinion op-ed last week, using it as a #mentortext for our own problem-solution pieces. Happy to share resources! #HipHopEd
So.. any parallels between this and #sotv2 from @blackthought specifically the track fentanyl and Meeks address of the state of the streets once he got out?? #HipHopEd
Absolutely! We analyzed Meek’s @nytopinion op-ed last week, using it as a #mentortext for our own problem-solution pieces. Happy to share resources! #HipHopEd
I love this idea. So many young people hop on the bandwagon of disrespecting women and displaying prejudice because it's "cool". This would be such a good way to teach why this is wrong. #HipHopEd#HipHopEdSHU
Maybe I’m overly optimistic but I hope ‘school’ or ‘community’ or any number of things could replace ‘prison’ in your statement. But I agree with the sentiment #HipHopEd
I think he wants to make a change coming from his personal experience. With that being said, he can draw a line. It's sort of like "seeing it to believe it". He wants to be a part of this social reformation, but he doesn't want to draw himself to the common strict activism.
Yes a mistake at 15 can effect you 9 yrs later, aka you can get violated for popping a wheelie. Better to keep them folks out your life and life off them papers #HipHopEd
If you already got those issues, don't tlet it decrease your self worth! Your worth is not determined by your record but by your actions #leadershipisaverb#hiphoped
@chrisemdin There's definitely a math lesson here!
"Three-fifth's of a man I believe's the phrase/I'm 50% of D'usse and it's debt free/100% of Ace of Spades, worth half a B/Roc Nation, half of that, that's my piece/Hunnid percent of Tidal to bust it up with my G's" #HipHopEd
Has anyone pointed out the dichotomy between #Meek and his “realness” in discussion of the direct effects of the criminal justice system and being co-signed and making music with former corrections officer Rick Ross? #hiphoped@tdj6899@chrisemdin
#HipHopEd9ucators) place Gil Scott-Heron in convo with #MeekMill. Place "The revolution will not be televised" in convo with "Free is when TV ain't controlling what we see" #HipHopEd
Has anyone pointed out the dichotomy between #Meek and his “realness” in discussion of the direct effects of the criminal justice system and being co-signed and making music with former corrections officer Rick Ross? #hiphoped@tdj6899@chrisemdin
The interesting and dare I say beautiful thing about Meek's advocacy is he's approaching this off experience and first hand account..NOT pseudo scholarship..Meek Mill is engaging these talking heads with a Ph D in the streets #HipHopEd
Mr. Philadelphia Meek Mill documentary is a great intro to Meek's backstory in Philly & his deep connection to the city https://t.co/IPN5V3lX9G#HipHopEd
Tryna impress them people in power when power abusin' us
For 44 dollars a hour, you coward they using ya
Is it self-hate that made you send me upstate? #
Sounds like #Freire to me.
#HipHopEd
Look at my hair free, carefree, n^**#s ain’t near free - Jay Z
Care Free and Nair are hair products! As @Young_Guru said you can figure the rest out yourselves #HipHopEd
#HipHopEd is absolutely on fire tonight. I came into this cypher having a few days, maybe a week of plans with Meek in class. Now I feel like I have enough stuff to do for a couple months!
Not sure what you mean. I suppose "school" or "community" could replace "prison" in what you are referring to, but I was referring to the cycle of institutionalization in prison and how no one is giving them the resources change. #HipHopEd
I think this meek album is also a good way to examine how activism has become a consumer weapon and marketing tool by asking what impact the album had vs the impact of his less publicized work #hiphoped
Urging all #HipHopEd(ucators), social emotional support staff, case managers, social workers & therapists to use #MeekMill#Trauma as an entry point for young people process their daily traumas to use as strengths.
There is no way that we can cover everything in an hour or even on this platform. Let’s connect and share what we actually build from this work. #HipHopEd#MeekMill#championships
