In Jay-Z's book Decoded, he says, "not only can rap be emotionally expressive, it can even express those feelings that you can't really name-which was important for me, and a lot of kids like me, who couldn't always find the language to make sense of our feelings.
" At that point, something about rapping clicked for me.
Kids need to express, manage, work through and work out their feelings.
My husband who is a counselor often says this.
He has helped kids write books about it.
Unlike Jay-Z, there are lots of kids who did not hustle to make their way.
They get the grades, play sports and their parents help them stay on track.
So I thought, "where is their voice?" True, Jay-Z represents a lot of kids' lives.
I am glad he wrote Decoded because it certainly opened my eyes.
In tribute to his book that explains rap to the community, I have written the following piece to represent another type of kid's journey.
SMART KID'S STURGGLE A kid who's doing well, well what are we supposed to think when the rappers, singers and ballplayers come straight from the streets.
There has to be a voice for the kids who are legal, who aspire to be great and soar like eagles.
Its hard being smart with so much ignorance around I try to keep focused, they keep actin' like clowns People say "be more social" and you'll have more friends But will I be happy with my outcome and my academic end Ain't nobody thinkin about the future like me They fightin' over gossip, gangs and non-necessities 4.
0, that's it, no questions asked Parentals settle for no less and they be givin up the cash I got advanced math and it ain't no joke Mr S breaks it down, and he doesn't blow smoke Sometimes I say to myself what am I gonna do I'm gonna keep doin' me instead of actin' like a fool My goal is to grow up and be in radiology Gone be stackin' up my paper for my family can't you see I like to have fun, get crunk and do the dougee I like to chill with friends and act sick and silly I like to shoot the hoops, run track, and cross-country To be physically fit I know, I gotta start early I asked my friends, hey, what kind of math you takin' They said not the hard classes, too much homework they be rakin' I said how you gone learn if you never get a challenge You know, be the real thing, show off your God-given talent She said I can't work too hard in school, it will cramp my social life My friends and I just want to party and make sure we stay hype Its hard being smart with so much ignorance around I try to keep focused, they keep actin' like clowns Reading this piece makes me laugh.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am neither a rapper, nor a poet.
Yet I was inspired by Jay-Z's book Decoded.
Rap is a language that people speak.
Most kids and people are listening to it.
I figure its best to become part of the conversation rather than allowing the conversations to go on, allowing kid's decision-making to be affected with no other guidance available.