Up Close with Hip-Hop Author Sam Seidel
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
No one who knows anything about American life could ignore the enormous power of hip-hop music and culture. And Rhode Islander Sam Seidel knows better than most.
A graduate of Brown who taught at the RI Training School, directed youth programs at AS220, and had a hip-hop radio show while in college, Seidel has seen the scene from many angles. His new book, Hip Hop Genius, Remixing High School Education, looks at the story of the country's first hip-hop high school and the aspiring artists who've enrolled there. Within the engaging narrative, Seidel lays out a vision for how hip-hop's blend of swagger and creativity might be the force to save American education.
"Don't wait for Superman," blurbs William Upski Wimsatt, author of Bomb the Suburbs and Please Don't Bomb the Suburbs, "Hip Hop Genius is here!"
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGoLocalProv caught up with Seidel to talk about his new book, how a kid from Cambridge falls in love with hip-hop, and where Providence's best beats can be located.
Tell me how you first came to love hip-hop music (and culture by extension).
I fell in love with hip-hop when I was about five years old. Coming up in an urban environment in the 1980s and 90s,
By age six I had recorded my first attempt at a rap song. In high school I learned to freestyle and started Djing. I moved to New York City in 1997 which was an incredible time for underground hip-hop. After that I came to Providence to attend Brown, where I co-hosted a hip-hop radio show and co-ran the hip-hop department at Brown Student Radio. I started making music with friends I met around Providence and continued recording stuff with old friends from Boston. I still record from time to time and keep up with as much new stuff that's coming out as I can.
What's new about your book, amid what can feel like a lot of media and discussion of hip-hop and its place in American life?
Hip Hop Genius is the first book to really look at hip-hop's potential to change the entire field of education in this country. There have been some books about how to "use" hip-hop in individual classrooms or youth programs, but Hip Hop Genius tells the story of an entire school, the High School for Recording Arts, that is based around hip-hop culture.
The school was founded by a rapper and is built around recording studios, but beyond that it is run with hip-hop sensibilities and a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship--two core values of hip-hop culture. Most other texts about hip-hop and education really focus on studying rap songs or videos in English and social studies classes. Hip Hop Genius goes way beyond that. I don't spend much time trying to validate the idea that hip-hop has a place in education--I think we should be past that debate. We have rappers running schools, graffiti artists running major fashion companies and youth programs... a president with hip-hop music on his ipod, who invites rappers to the White House! I decided to write a book that begins beyond the argument that hip-hop should be allowed in classrooms and instead looks more broadly at the massive challenges in our education system and what lessons we, as educators and people who care about young people, can learn from hip-hop.
In Providence, where are the centers of hip-hop culture/performance?
Providence has a strong hip-hop community--and we have for a long time. When I was a teenager I used to come down to Providence from Cambridge, where I grew up, to attend shows. I saw some great shows back then at Lupo's, the Met, and the Strand--Redman, the Roots and the Pharcyde, KRS-One... I remember I was down here one time, I think it was when I was in City Year, and I picked up a bootleg copy of Wu-Tang Clan's second album from a guy selling cassette tapes on Westminster Street. I was the man when I got back to Boston with that double cassette! Obviously that was all a long time ago. I've gotta give props to our local venues though, they continue to bring some good national acts to town. In the last few years I've seen Wu-Tang, Rakim, the Flobots, Joe Budden, and Joell Ortiz.
Hip-hop culture can be found in every neighborhood of the city. I definitely don't claim to be an expert on local hip-hop these days. I'm on the road a lot and when I'm back in Providence I like to lay pretty low. These days I'm most interested in the music and art that young people are making. I used to direct AS220's youth program and love catching the shows they put on at AS220 and other venues. A former mentee of mine has been organizing rap battles where local emcees face off against each other lyrically to earn the respect of the crowd. They've hosted it in basements, in barbershops, under bridges... There's no cost of admission and no prize money, it's all for the love. I like that. It's called Ocean State Battle League. Check them out online.
I've also got to mention the young people at the Rhode Island Training School. Some of the best emcees I've ever heard in my life are young people I met in our state's juvenile prison. I dedicated my book to two of them, Matthew Omisore and Jacob Delgado, both of whom died far too young. They were such talented artists and had such potential as leaders. The tragedy of their deaths--and the larger tragedy of our society's inability to recognize, celebrate, support, and benefit from their gifts--is what inspired me to write a book about remixing our education system.
Check out a trailer for Hip Hop Genius, here.
Hip Hop Genius: Remixing High School Education from sam seidel on Vimeo.
Related Articles
- Artist Spotlight on South Providence Rapper
- Choreographer Sokeo Ros’s “Daydream in the Ghetto” at Carriage House
