Preston’s writing explores Nasir Jones’ album Illmatic in depth. He examines the written and oral aspects of certain songs, unpacking lyrics and how the rap artist’s complex intricate rhymes, symbols and patterns tell his stories. The video of the song Chris Columbus is the often untold perspective of slavery in colonial expansion of the Americas, the resulting carnage and hypocrisy of its religious justification. It also expresses how the power of Imperialism exists today. The Protest Song of the Day article is about the Chris Columbus song and how it represents the oppressed point of view. It provides a brief background of the song. The song was included as part of a protest music project. The organization publishes a song every week in support of protesting systemic social issues. The First Nation music video is an educational video about the history of the Indigenous population in America, who they were, how they arrived and how they existed prior to colonialism but were treated as non-existent when European explorers arrived. The video shows the known tribes and where they were located. It depicts each of their cultures. Last Emperor’s Secret Wars is a rap song that blends rappers and comic book characters. It’s different than the usual stories and topics addressed in rap music. The song has comic heroes go up against rappers. It illustrates an interesting parallel of the two genres.
I liked the First Nation music video in terms of educational media. In my last post I was trying to think of ways to incorporate music into academics and this is the type of media I would like to incorporate when I start teaching, along with other forms of media. It seems like it would fit a wide range of ages and could be used in certain elementary classes. I think having a wide range of media and teaching methods for each subject can help connect with students’ varied learning styles. It also breaks up the monotony of traditional industrial assembly line teaching. Music and music videos can serve many purposes – they can be a buffer for sensitive topics, they can tell a story, they can educate or they can be a mnemonic device, among many others.
Have you ever written a song or poem? What was the process like for you – for example, did it take a long time? did you draw from a personal experience? did you enjoy it?
Sylvia's blog 
Hi Sylvia,
To answer your question, I have written a number of poems. For me, the process is long and I do draw in my personal experiences into the poems. The majority of the poetry I write about reflects real-life experiences that I went through or situations that I can relate to. I find that it is easier to write about what I know and feel rather than trying to guess what it is about or how the experience feels. I do enjoy writing poetry, but I haven’t written a poem in many years because of the time it takes to complete one. I have over fifty half-written poems that just sit in a binder waiting for me to have the time to finish them.
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