HIP HOP TECHA S.T.E.A.M. Workshop/Residency by Jeffery Boston Weatherford

For Camps, Schools, Libraries, Youth Programs & Professional Development

Art by Jeffery Weatherford

Hip hop and technology collide in an interactive writing and performance workshop. Poet and award-winning illustrator Jeffery Weatherford leads participants on an exploration of the history of hip hop, the process of creating rhymes and the technology behind the hits.

Budding emcees and deejays apply writing and technology skills to compose lyrics, download beats, record lyrics and mix audio. Participants are introduced to such hardware and software as a mixer, midi keyboard, VersePerfect, Audacity, cloud storage and online music libraries. Designed for camps, schools, libraries, youth programs and professional development, the program can be adapted for low-tech and high-tech settings and can be delivered in single-day, multiple-day or weeklong formats. For ages 10-up.

Module 1: Introduction to hip hop, poetry and oral traditions. The music-math connection.

Module 2: Introduction to VersePerfect software. Writing and revising lyrics.

Module 3: Beat selection. Introduction to sound engineering software.

Module 4: Studio recording session with mobile studio, mixing and editing.

Module 5: Finish up recordings and mixing and editing. Create CD covers. Perform original rap lyrics.

Participants learn to:

1. Connect rap to literary, musical and oral traditions that influenced it.2. Identify various pillars of hip hop.3. Apply poetic/literary elements to the writing of original rap lyrics.4. Use digital technology to download beats, mix audio and augment the writing process.5. Create visual art inspired by the hip hop cultural movement.6. Apply public speaking/performance skills to record and present original raps.

PAST VENUES

Children’s Defense Fund National Freedom Schools Training (TN)Dakar International Community School (Senegal, West Africa)Petersburg Public Library (VA)Richmond Public Library (VA)Harvey B. Gantt Center (NC)Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (NC)Fayetteville State University (NC)Atlanta Children’s School (GA)

THE FACILITATORJeffery is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and performance poet. His debut book, You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen, got starred reviews, made the American Library Association’s ALSC Notables list and was selected among the year’s best books by Kirkus Review, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council for the Social Studies and the New York Public Library. He contributed art to the award-winning anthology We Rise We Resist We Raise Our Voices. A designer and publisher, he has released four books: Africa; Dear Mr. Rosenwald: The School that Hope Built; Princeville: The 500-Year Flood; and A Bat Cave: An Abecedarian Bedtime Chronicle. He has lectured, performed and led art and writing workshops in the U.S. and West Africa. His art has exhibited in North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Jeffery holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Howard University where he was a Romare Bearden Scholar, and a Bachelor’s degree from Winston-Salem State University where he majored in art with concentration in graphics/animation. He lives in North Carolina and has residences in Maryland.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: cbwpoet@gmail.com or jefferytheartist@gmail.com