The Greatest Rapper Ever: What Teachers can learn from Tariq Trotter’s 10 minute Freestyle
This week, one Tariq Trotter, who is known by his nom de plume “Black Thought,” dropped one of the most impressive freestyles in the history of hip hop. His blistering 10 minute monologue (NSFW) is equal parts lyricism, knowledge, and braggadocio, but all RAW. As I listened, I could hear him talking to my inner teacher and this is what he said.
School=Punishment?
Early in the video (:30), Trotter refers to being punished for talking in class. We brings back visions of classrooms that were intractably, silent cathedrals in which students were subjugated to the whims of an nearly omnipotent teacher. There was little creativity. There was little freedom. There was only obedience. No student should have to “learn” in a place like that.
GO HARD
As aforementioned, the freestyle is RAW like Daddy Kane. Near the end, Trotter has to wipe his face as he is concentrating that hard on what words he’ll be using. Putting one’s all into one’s craft allows you to pull off feats that others might not be capable of. YOU CAN’T GO HARD IF YOU DON’T WORK HARD.
Read (Widely)
Thought drops all kinds of knowledge. He talks about the Bible, Greek philosophy, Shakespeare, Einstein, Dostoyevsky and Tesla. He refers to archeology, pop culture, and color theory. He name drops Deepak Chopra, Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, and Henrietta Lacks. He mentions a chronograph and Sharia law. He knows stuff and he knows stuff because he reads. Whether it’s on a device or the old fashion way, there’s no replacing the value of being literate. It allows you find parallels between seemingly disparate subjects, express oneself respectable in conversation, as well as crafting knowledge laden 10 minute long rap songs.
Educators should have classrooms that encourage the exploration necessary to open students to a myriad of styles of writing and culture.
Irrational Confidence
You know how confident you need to be to freestyle for 10 min? Very. To even attempt something like this you have to be comfortable in your own abilities as well as being at peace with any criticism that could possible result from your actions. If you declare yourself a King, you better have the goods to back it up.
You can’t be afraid to put yourself in a position to take a risk.
The Status Quo Sucks
“I am a walking affirmation that imagination and focus and patience gets you closer to your aspirations.”
That one line is tattooed in my psyche as the singularly most powerful part of this song. Being in a box sucks. Many students despise school because of its emphasis on procedure and rote learning. Imagination, focus, and patience tend to be things that are left on the cutting room floor of many classrooms. Yet, without these things, a 10 minute free style completed in one take isn’t possible. He needed the imagination to explore his vocabulary and memories. He need the focus to craft the verses. He needed the patience to memorize rhyme scheme and cadence. Leave any of these out and you get a idea that is underwhelming.
