Day One - Hip Hop Technology Course

We had an auspicious start to the "Hip-Hop: Art, Science and Business" course at YFCR (Youth Family Community Renewal). Facilitator Thomas Daniel and myself introduced the course with lectures on Hip Hop history, African-American history and music technology.

The kids were surprisingly attentive and their grasp of the information was phenomenal. It made us realize that they are the "digital native" generation that we hear so much about. It became apparent that we as instructors will have to make a special effort to think and act at video game speed. This is actually a plus because our studio will be laptop based. Kids know computers, so our job will be made easier by using this familiar medium to introduce unfamiliar (and often complex) concepts and principles. Sound engineering, sound wave mapping, audio signal flow and many other recording studio fundamentals will be made exponentially easier to teach because of the children's inherent facility with the personal computer.

Again, day one looked very promising. We had 16 youngsters attend the lecture, and we anticipate perhaps a dozen more enrolling within the next 2 weeks.

I have an idea where I'd like to go with this course, but the real excitement awaits in the realm of unintended (hopefully positive) consequences. Lives may be changed in ways we cannot now imagine. I noticed this today in our first lecture. The future looks bright and unlimited.

We will raise the additional funds to make the course flourish at the level of its potential. We will inspire donors to support our lofty cause.