Special Thanks

I'd like to offer my heartfelt thanks to The Legacy Foundation of Northwest Indiana for being the first grantsmaking entity to believe in our program at YFCR, The Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business course.

Stay in Tune,

TTT

You Could Hear a Pin Drop

The latest class on Wednesday July 30 was a breakthrough session. 10 students showed up and it was the most quiet and effective session we have ever had. The children came into the class and immediately set themselves up at the available workstations and began to work on beats and compositions. Very few words were spoken. The class was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All that was audible was the faint, tinny traces of music that emanated from the kids blaring headphones.

Faces were fixed and focused. Meaningful activity and accomplishment permeated the room. It was a sight to behold; a true breakthrough for our class. No horseplay, no mindless chatter, no hormone-driven flirtation, just focused, concentrated digital music production.

From that I realized that we are making a difference. We are making true progress. I was proud beyond measure. And despite our meager resources and our dwindling grant opportunities I knew that we were succeeding in what we set out to do. To make music producers out of "ordinary" kids.

The Need for Philanthropy: Learning to Fish

Our program doesn't seek charity, it seeks investment in individuals. We seek investment on the front end of lives, rather than the back end. We seek to create and build meaningful lives before the otherwise inevitable pitfalls of ghetto experience derail the progress of our youthful charges. There is far too little of this type of intervention going on today. We need philanthropy to work harder at teaching people to fish rather than to simply give fish. And, yes, this takes money just like conventional charity, but the money works considerably harder because it spurs regeneration and future, sustainable progress.

So far we've only scratched the surface of what is possible with our Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business course. We've done almost immediately what we set out to do, and that is to teach children to create studio quality musical passages using only laptop and desktop computers. In the process we have brought about greater computer literacy among the students. We've increased vocabulary and moreover we've bolstered self-esteem.

But still we need more, so we can do more. We need more space, more equipment, respectable salaries for our highly skilled producer/instructors, and more publicity. I make no apology for that. We need more resources because we fight the battle on the the absolute frontier; the human mind and spirit. That's where we wage a valiant battle against crime, illiteracy, apathy, violence, ignorance and generational poverty.

Ours is the fight for human progress and self-actualization.

Turntable Technique

Fund Raising Mode (continued)

Turntable Technique on Technics Turntables

Laptopia

Fund Raising Mode

I'm in serious fund raising mode right now. The program slows down a bit while we regenerate funds. When you do good work it demands to be sustained. Sustenance comes from the altruistic giving of philanthropists and the conscientious solicitations of nonprofit development personnel. Well, besides helping to conduct our Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business course, my other very vital responsibility is to raise funds. I do so proudly and unflinchingly. Because I know that we are fulfilling a worthwhile purpose; we are introducing children to their true selves. We are mining the vast creativity of the mind of the child. This is the important work that is to be done in all communities where children are at risk. Education is key, but knowledge of self is what allows that key to unlock the treasures of life.

And that is what I explain to prospective donors. We are teaching children to have pride in accomplishment. They create finished works of music. Tangible accomplishment.

Beyond Music - Into Self-Esteem

I want to make it clear that this course is not just about music. It's not just about hip hop culture or music production technology. If it were, then you would see a more conventional approach. You'd see conventional instruments and practices; conventional music principles and parlance. Moreover if this were a conventional course it would give more credence to convention.

The convention of which I speak is not just the types of conventions inherent in conventional band and choral instruction, but also I speak of the conventions of hip hop, rap and r&b music production. Our course, "Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business" does not subscribe to any one theory of modern or ancient music production. Rather, we are a hybrid of them all. I'd like to say that we have refined the process to embrace the overarching principles of human music perception and creation.

This refinement gives our participants the freedom to rise above the constrictions of the musical status quo. Not just the status quo of band instruction, orchestral instruction, or choral instruction in a conventional music school based curriculum, but also the status quo of street-based instruction (i.e. turntablism, sampling and synthesizer workstation music creation). To be sure, we seek to teach beyond the conservatory and the street corner alike.

Musical Mind

Turntable Instruments

Super Duper Music Looper

Super Duper Music Looper by Sony allows children and adults to create original musical compositions using sound loops (rhythmic sound samples) in unique ways to express their "inner musician". Despite often using the same core ingredients no two kids come up the the exact same composition since they are compelled by the software to make crucial composer/producer decisions which are solely of their own choosing and volition. It is truly an uncanny process and we are excited about the possibilities.

Brought To You By

I'd like to offer my heartfelt thanks to The Legacy Foundation of Northwest Indiana for being the first grantsmaking entity to believe in our program at YFCR, The Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business course.

Stay in Tune,

TTT

Teaching and Learning

iBand

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To Teach is to Learn and to Learn is to Teach. Instructor Tommy Daniel (Mr. D) demonstrates the finer points of "turntablism". Program Coordinator Theodore McClendon beams with pride as the students delve into the science of scratchin'.

The Music That Inspired Hip-Hop (Take Notes Class)

Music Timeline: 1925 - 1978
The Early History of the inspiration for Hip-Hop Music


1925: Earl Tucker (aka Snake Hips), a performer at the Cotton Club invents a dance style similar to today’s hip-hop moves. He incorporates floats and slides into his dance style. Similar moves would later inspire an element of hip-hop culture known as breakdancing.

1940: Tom the Great (a.k.a. Thomas Wong) uses a booming sound system to please his audience. Wong also utilizes hip American records to steal music-lovers from local bands.

1950: The Soundclash contest between Coxsone Dodd’s “Downbeat” and Duke Reid’s “Trojan” gives birth to DJ Battling.

1956: Clive Campbell is born in Kingston, Jamaica. Campbell would later become the father of hip-hop.

1959: Parks Commissioner Robert Moses starts building an expressway in the Bronx. Consequently, middle class Germans, Irish, Italians, and Jewish, neighborhoods disappear in no time. Businesses relocate away from the borough only to be replaced by impoverished black and Hispanic families. Along with these poor people came addiction, crime, and unemployment.

1962:James Brown records Live At The Apollo. Brown’s drummer Clayton Fillyau influences a sound that is now known as the break beat. The break beat would later inspire the b-boy movement, as breakers danced to these beats at block parties.

1965: In a historic boxing bout, Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) defeats Sonny Liston in the 6th round. Before the bout, however, Ali recited one of the earliest known rhymes:

Clay comes out to meet Liston
And Liston starts to retreat
If Liston goes back any further
He'll end up in a ringside seat.
Clay swings with a left,
Clay swings with a right,
Look at young Cassius
Carry the fight.
Liston keeps backing
But there's not enough room
It's a matter of time...

1967: Clive Campbell migrates to the United States at the age of 11. Because of his size, kids at Alfred E. Smith High School nickname him Hercules. He would later become a writer and change his name to Kool Herc.

1968: A gang named Savage Seven would hit the streets of the East Bronx. Savage Seven later transforms into Black Spades, before eventually becoming an organization known as Zulu Nation.

1969: James Brown records two songs that would further influence the drum programming in today’s rap – “Sex Machines” with John Starks playing the drums and “Funky Drummer” with Clyde Stubblefield on the drums.

1970: DJ U-Roy invades Jamaican pop charts with three top ten songs using a style known as toasting. The Last Poets release their self-titled debut album on Douglas Records combining jazz instrumentations with heartfelt spoken word. (The Last Poets would later appear on Common’s 2005 rap anthem, “The Corner.")

1971: Aretha Franklin records a well-known b-boy song “Rock Steady." The Rock Steady crew would go on to rule in the world of break-dancing, with members all across the globe.

1972: The Black Messengers (a group that staged performances for The Black Panthers and rallies relating to black power movement) feature on The Gong Show.
However, they are only allowed to perform under the alias "Mechanical Devices," because of their controversial name.

1973: DJ Kool Herc deejays his first block party (his sister's birthday) at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, NY. Herc would often buy two copies of a record and stretch the break parts by using two turntables and mixing in both records before the break ends. The Zulu Nation is officially formed by a student of Stevenson High school named Kevin Donovan. Donovan later changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim in honor of an ancient Zulu chief.

1974: After seeing DJ Kool Herc perform at block parties, Grandmaster Caz, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa start playing at parties all over the Bronx neighborhoods. Around this time, DJ/MC/Crowd Pleaser Lovebug Starski starts referring to this culture as "hip-hop."

1975:

* Herc is hired as a DJ at the Hevalo Club.
* He later gets Coke La Rock to utter crowd-pleasing rhymes at parties (e.g."DJ Riz is in the house and he'll turn it out without a doubt"). Coke La Rock and Clark Kent form the first emcee team known as Kool Herc & The Herculoids.
* DJ Grand Wizard Theodore accidentally invents 'the scratch.' While trying to hold a spinning record in place in order to listen to his mom, who was yelling at him, Grand Wizard accidentally caused the record to produce the “shigi-shigi” sound that is now known as the scratch. Scratch is the crux of modern deejaying.

1976: DJ Afrika Bambaataa performs at the Bronx River Center. Bambaataa’s first battle against Disco King Mario sparks off the DJ battling that is now embedded in the culture.

1977:

* The Rock Steady Crew (the most respected b-boy crew in history) is formed by the original four members: JoJo, Jimmy Dee, Easy Mike, and P-Body.
* DJ Kool Herc is nearly stabbed to death at one of his parties. Although the assault placed a permanent dent on Herc's career, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Disco Wiz (the first Latino DJ), and Disco King Mario kept performing around town.

1978:

* Kurtis Blow, who was being managed by Russell Simmons, decides to hire Simmons’ brother, Run, as his DJ.
* Run was so-called because he could cut so fast between two turntables.
* Kurtis would later become the first rapper to be signed to a major record deal.
* Music industry coins the term "rap music," and shifts its focus toward emcees.
* Grandmaster Caz (aka Cassanova Fly) and Bambaataa engage in a battle at the Police Athletic League.

Producers of the Future

With the right technology and a thorough understanding of musical sound many who might have thought being a producer was out of reach could one day be the shapers of music in the future. Our course seeks to ground youngsters in the principals of musical production theory and PC literacy.

Sony Acid Music Software

Our Headquarters is on Jackson Street

The Gary, Indiana Headquarters of YFCR and the Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business Program is located just 4 blocks south of the birth home of the Jackson 5. Our temporary location at 21st and Jackson Streets is just a block and a half north of the Jackson 5 homestead.

This is the epicenter of the new evolution of music. There is something in the air.

Stay Tuned and Stay in Tune,

TTT

Girls Scouts or Music Production Class?

This venture that we're on with the Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business course never ceases to amaze me. New and wonderful things unfold on an almost daily basis. Most recently, we have come up against a little bit of friendly competition with the Girl Scouts. A local Girl Scout Troop that meets at the same time as - and in the same building with - our music production class has complained to YFCR (our parent nonprofit organization) about the popularity of our course over and above that of the Girl Scouts.

You see, on several occasions when the Girl Scout leaders would come and retrieve some of their girls from our class the girls would reluctantly get up and go to the Girl Scouts meeting. One day when the scout leaders came in to round up the girls from our class, Tommy Daniel (our Hip Hop expert instructor) said to the girls, "okay, you can go to Girl Scouts now". Two of the older girls said, "can?". Tommy repeated, "you can go to Girls Scouts now". "CAN go to Girl Scouts?" the girls retorted. Perplexed, Tommy said, "yes, you may go to Girl Scouts now?" "We MAY go?", the girls asked while giggling. I then interjected, "Mr. D (Tommy) I think the girls might want to stay in our class right now."

To make a long story short, the Girl Scout leaders requested that we change our meeting dates. We now meet on Wednesdays and Fridays (instead of Tuesdays and Thursdays).

I am humbled by all of this, in a profound way.

Stay in Tune,

TTT

Day 4 - Knowledge Transfer

And, yes, there were still more lectures about the history of Hip Hop and the history of rhythmic music. In addition we talked a bit about connectors and signal flow; inputs, outputs, thru-puts, crossfades, etc. The kids have been great. They've been real troopers, but I know they're more than ready to get into the hands on phase. And I can't say that I blame them. Well kids, if you're reading this blog you'll be glad to know that in the next session I will begin the demonstrations of the Sony Acid software. It is the software that will awaken the inner musician of you all.

But we're not done with classroom instruction yet. You've got lot of terms and keystrokes to learn.

I'm excited about this course. It is a labor of love and an honor to be a part of the Hip Hop: Art, Science and Business class. We are about to set the music education world on its ear.

Through much struggle, introspection and trial and error I have found that software (like Sony Acid) has refined the process. Virtuosity is at hand. Wherever there's a PC, there's an orchestra.

Stay in Tune.

TTT