I’m taking a class on education law and issues of abuse. One of our assignments was to choose a book or a movie that was school appropriate and that could be used as a way in to talking about issues of abuse in class, and letting your students know that you were someone they could talk to about it if need be. Naturally, I asked if I could choose some songs (I don’t much care for books or movies… ). I found a few rap songs that I though might work, even if they’re not completely school appropriate* It was also a bit challenging to find songs that dealt explicitly with child abuse and not, say, domestic abuse—If you have recommendations of songs that might fit the bill, please send them my way! (And yes, I’m aware that domestic abuse, child abuse, neglect, etc. intersect and overlap. Really trying to find things from a kid’s perspective for this.)
I also developed a few questions to ask the class afterward as a way to unpack the ideas in the songs.
Here are the songs:
“He say, she say,” Lupe Fiasco (lyrics)
“3 wishes,” J. Cole (lyrics)
“Runaway Love,” Ludacris feat. Mary J. Blige (lyrics)
“Bottle dreams,” Eyedea (lyrics) —this song was new to me and it hits hard
“Millie pulled a pistol on Santa,” De La Soul (lyrics)
Questions to ask after listening:
What do you think is this song about?
When I hear this song I feel ___.
Who are the characters in the song? Can you describe their relationships?
What are some challenges the characters are facing?
Do you relate to any of the characters in the song? If so, who, and why?
If you were in [character’s] situation, what would you do?
I’d really welcome feedback on this assignment: it’s my first venture into this kind of territory, but I think it could be a productive way to engage with students on this subject matter.
*One of my long-term goals is to create a hip hop-based juvenile diversion program, and while the songs may not be “school appropriate,” I can imagine them being very useful in this context.