(energetic upbeat music)
-: Hi,
my name is Olisa Enrico,
but some people know me as another name.
It's my pseudo name,
it's my superhero name,
it's my rap name Spyc-E.
Now,
rap is a part of hip hop
and hip hop is the ultimate form of expression.
So rap is the ultimate form of expression in word,
whether it's written word or spoken word,
and that's what I think.
Now you might already have a way of writing,
lots of ways to get in
or you may never have tried writing a rap.
I'm going to show you one way you can try
whether it's your first time
or your thousandth time writing a rap.
You're going to need a few things.
You're going to need a pen and paper
or if you prefer, you can use a device.
I'm not really a device person when I come to writing
but whatever works for you, works perfectly.
Let's get into it.
Do you know what a bar is?
People say this all the time, they'll be like,
oh he got bars
but they don't know what that means.
They think it's a clever line
but really, it's a measure of time.
A bar is a piece of music, usually it's one line.
Let's use something you might know,
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.
So he says, "I do not like them Sam I am
I do not like green eggs and ham
I will not eat them in a house
I will not eat them with a mouse."
I know the whole thing by heart
but anyway,
did you notice every line rhyme.
Each line would be a bar, watch me count it.
I do not want them Sam I am
I do not want Green Eggs and Ham
I will not eat them here or there
I will not eat them anywhere.
Each one counted four beats.
Each one is a bar.
Each line is a bar.
So, now that You know what that is,
we're going to write some bars.
In Green eggs and Ham,
the bars rhyme at the end.
We're also going to try to rhyme at the end of the line.
But if we rhyme in between, that's fine.
And what's really cool about hip hop about rap
is we don't have to be perfect.
Our rhymes don't have to be perfect,
our raps don't have to be perfect,
just like in life,
you don't have to be perfect.
We're just going to do our best
and that's all that really matters.
So don't get in your own way.
Don't think too hard.
Just try some stuff out,
make lots of mistakes,
that's the best way.
The strategy we're going to use today
is called the Word Bank.
I'm going to write my words on the board.
We just need the rhyming word to start with.
Now word bank could be anything.
Maybe I write all words that are about space
and they don't rhyme at all.
They're just all words about space.
And then I build a rap about space.
It would be super cool, I've done it before.
Loved that!
But today all our words are gonna rhyme
Let's see.
What words should we do?
How about time?
I like Time.
Time.
And we're just going to brainstorm
a bunch of words that rhyme.
So I'll use the alphabet.
I don't know one for A,
B, blime.
Sublime.
C, crime.
Dime.
Enlighten.
I told you it doesn't have to really rhyme
they just kind of rhyme
or use assonance if you want a fancy word.
Enlighten.
Which reminds me of frighten.
Grime
A b c d e f g h,
Hi.
Sure, why not?
Hi.
H I
I'm.
J...
I don't know one for J, maybe later.
K, kind.
Line.
Lime.
L, M, I gotta say my alphabet
you guys help me out.
L, M, mime.
Mine.
N, nine.
O,
do you know one for O,
I don't know for O, maybe later.
Pine
Pime, I don't know.
P, Q,
R.
Rhine.
I think that's a word, I think it's a word.
It's a word like a like a peel
Or rine or rhino, maybe I don't know.
Rhine, Q, R, S.
We already did sublime.
Sine, like in math
or sign, like here's your sign.
Ah sign, T, we get time.
Tine.
Vine.
Wine or whine, like that.
W, X, Y, Z
Oh, made me think of wind.
And...
Maybe some more will come up.
But we just do this and do this
and do this until we can't think of any more,
we could probably go on for a long time.
But let's try to build some rhymes now.
Now don't think too hard.
This is the part where you start going,
does that make sense?
Is that cool?
Am I cool?
None of that matters.
We're just trying out a new technique
or one you've used before having some fun.
The more you do it,
the better you get at it,
like anything else in life.
Anything else in life,
it get better with practice.
Okay?
So,
first I'm going to look at the words
hmmm, and see what I see.
What does it make me think of?
Maybe something silly, I don't know.
I like to mime, build a box.
Once upon a time is the first thing I think of.
Once upon a time
I couldn't think of a rhyme
that's a hip hop crime.
And
I was lost in my mind.
Doesn't make any sense, but that's okay.
I could change it later, that's the great part.
I was lost in my mind.
But now, I'm feeling fine.
Sublime
this kind
Oh, I thought of another word.
Sunshine.
I don't know what it sounds like
I should probably try it.
Before I move on let's try it.
Once upon a time
I couldn't think of a rhyme
that's a hip hop crime
and I was lost in my mind.
I don't need that word, let's cross it out.
But now I'm feeling fine
sublime this kind
sunshine.
Sunshine in my face
It changes my rhyme.
Remember Green eggs and Ham?
It was rhyming at the end,
I just changed my rhyming word.
Let's go with it.
Sunshine in my face.
Life in this place.
A taste,
I like that.
A taste
no waste.
Doesn't make sense to me now but let me try it.
Maybe it'll make sense to me.
Once upon a time
I couldn't think of a rhyme
that's a hip hop crime.
I was lost in my mind
But now I'm feeling fine
sublime this kind.
Sunshine in my face
life in this place
a Taste no waste, feels weird
but we'll come back to that.
No waste.
Feels, let's just go with that.
Because that's how I feel.
Feels weird, tell the truth.
Feels weird.
Life in this place.
I'm going to cut this out.
I don't like it.
It's cool.
Once upon a time
I couldn't think of a rhyme
that's a hip hop crime.
I was lost in my mind
but now I'm feeling fine
sublime this kind.
Sunshine in my face
Life in this place feels weird.
Okay, I could go on.
And, you know it helps if I have a focus
like that's if there's something I want to talk about.
But you can just play with it,
play with the technique.
I'll tell you a story.
I'm part of this program.
I teach at a program called The Residency
shout out to The Residency.
It's like a hip hop intensive camp.
All these young people come together and they work so hard.
And I got the opportunity
to build a rap with one of the teachers there.
And I wanted to do one that was using this technique.
So I wrote, four pages of rhyming words,
look at all these rhyming words
and this took me like a week.
I didn't do this all in one day.
I did this over a long time
and anywhere I was going,
I kept my little notebook with me.
And a word would pop up
or somebody would say something
and I would just write it down like,
aah, that rhymes too, aah.
And then I went through,
using this technique,
built my rhyme and I didn't like a lot of it.
So I changed it,
over and over and over again,
because I don't expect to be perfect,
I've never been perfect
and I'll never be perfect.
But I'd like to share that rap with you that I built.
I learned it and I performed it
and it goes like this.
Ignite your imagination
on a search for inspiration
Take an inhalation
and peep the situation.
A generation facing culture
rules and annihilation by assimilation
asphyxiation by incarceration.
This stabilization by gentrification
extermination by sterilization
without authorization
may be just intoxication.
It's a covert operation
of misinformation
dehumanization,
spiritual contamination.
But this is an affirmation
that hip hop is creation.
So, you try.
Right, to put down some words that rhyme,
build some lines,
change it,
rearrange it,
reframe it
give it some focus,
make mistakes, lots of them
make lots and lots of mistakes
because you get better every time.
All right,
don't forget to rap,
R A P, Rhythm And Poetry
and that's a wrap.
(energetic upbeat music)