Social:
Author: Michelle Jackson
School/Organization:
Andrew Hamilton School
Year: 2023
Seminar: Music and Healing in Philadelphia
Grade Level: 6-8
Keywords: brain, Emotional Being, local artists, local history, Music, Music History, Philadelphia, public schools
School Subject(s): Arts, ELA, Science, Social Studies
Narrative: Personal Connection
I was born and raised in West Philadelphia. Music has always been something that is centrally important to me. Music has always been a part of my life. I cannot remember a time when music wasn’t a vital part of my life. When I’m sad I listen to music that lifts my spirit. When I’m happy I listen to music that expresses my joy. Most of my family are singers. My parents both sang. My father even played guitar and the piano. My paternal grandfather and grandmother were both singers. My maternal grandmother sang also. I also have a slew of cousins who were singers and musicians. When I think about it, there are so many people in my family that sing that I probably have a choir of people who sing and are musicians in my family.
Church is the first place I heard my family singing, but that’s not the only place they sang and played instruments. During family reunions, we held family gatherings in Fairmount Park where family members sang. Both my grandmothers sang to me. Some of my grandmothers’ favorite singers were Billie Holiday and Ethel Waters. My grandmothers sang as they cleaned the house on Saturday mornings. However, on Sundays’ gospel music blared as we prepared to go to church. I listened to a lot of Jazz and blues at my grandmas’ house.
At home with my parents, music was just as influential. My mother woke up to an alarm clock that turned on the WDAS radio music station and she played music until she turned it off to go to school and work. Mom does not believe in waking up to hearing bad news that plants negative seeds in your spirit. Music was used to set the tone of the day with positive uplifting vibes. My father really loved music. He always had the most current albums. My parents’ favorites to listen to were Patti Labelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Hall and Oates, and the Stylist. My parents loved R & B Music. Music was so influential to my father even though he never learned how to read music. My father learned how to play both the guitar and the piano by ear. I can remember times when he listened to songs over and over to hear the notes and learn the lyrics. He often discussed the lyrics. He said that the lyrics of the songs were the most important part of a song: the lyrics make it a great song. My father used every free moment to learn and play music.
When times were hard for my family, my father played the guitar and sang in the concourse of the Market Frankford Septa Suburban Station and collected tips for his talents to raise money to pay the bills. My parents also held rent parties to raise bill money too. My family’s love for music influenced the love that I now possess. I also like R & B music, but I grew up loving Hip hop and Rap music. My favorite artists from Philly are Music Soul Child, Boys to Men, Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith, Eve, Jill Scott, the Roots, Meek Mills and Jasmine Sullivan. I have always listened to some classic artists who have been influential on my mindset and temperament.
The Type of musicians my biological children choose to listen to is somewhat different. Even though my children listen to some of the same musicians that I play, they often choose musicians who often use explicit topics and language. They choose to listen to Drill Music.
As I think about my curriculum unit, I think about music as a whole in Philadelphia and how it has affected other people who listen to the music from Philadelphia. I also think about violence in the communities in the inner city of Philadelphia. What I notice is that as the lyrics of music have become more aggressive, sexual and explicit so has the numbers of gun violence increased. The overarching theme for this unit is to discuss the Social and Emotional Health of children and how music affects children’s social and emotional health drawing on my own experience growing up with Philadelphia’s vibrant black music shaping my own knowledge and understanding.
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This unit is designed for students in Middle School Life skills classrooms in a diverse Philadelphia public school. This is for learners that have no prior experience in music studies as well as trauma and stress relief education. The unit 7 lessons that may take 45 to 90 minutes in length for each lesson. The unit will be conducted in a Project Based Learning style. Each lesson has several sections. First, I will discuss the history of music from Philadelphian artists and the changing ways in which it addresses violence in the Philadelphia communities. We will be reviewing artists such as Billie Holiday, Patty LaBelle, Teddy Pendergrass, Bahamadia, Will Smith, Eve, Meek Mill, Music Soul Child, Freeway, Jill Scott, Kindred Family Soul, Jasmine Sullivan, D4M Sloan, 2Rare, Lay Banks and Bril. Students and all will reflect and think about the level of crime and violence and how these have changed over the last 50 years. I will also be discussing slang and how it is used in music in the community. Second, the unit will be discussing the brain and how music affects the brain. By using artists that are mainstream and comparing crime patterns, this unit serves as a starting place for students to learn about how important it is for children to consider what they are listening to. Students will be exposed to a variety of new words throughout this curriculum unit. Some of the words that will be reviewed but cannot be limited to include general musical vocabulary like rhythm, elements of music, lyrics, tempo, harmony, but also vocabulary associated with social and emotional learning, stress, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder. Other words may need to be reviewed as the need is made necessary. As I look at the music produced in Philadelphia in the past 50 years, it is clear that music has changed. When one thinks about musical lyrics and regulation with music played on the radio, I cannot help but notice that as law and regulation have loosened, the rates of violent crime have increased. My question is, do negative musical lyrics and beats affect children’s brains? If they do, how does music affect the brain? What practices can be done to reverse the negative effects of unintentionally learned thinking and behaviors? Can music be used in a manner where children learn vital skills just as students learn negative words and behaviors from the music they listen to? Whether you like it or not, music is a big part of every community in Philadelphia. R&B and Hip Hop artists have long been influencers of the inner-city communities of Philadelphia. Musicians have influenced the language children use, the way dressing is accepted, the format of how we talk and treat each other. Music affects the way we live. Focus Questions: What have we learned about how music has inspired justice? How does today’s music influence crime and violence? How can music inspire civil peace? What do we know about violence in Philadelphia and how it has changed? What do we know about music lyrics and beats throughout history and how has it changed? The focus of this unit will also be to examine the ways in which music has informed and reflected on Philadelphian history and culture.Vocabulary
Problem Statement
Rationale
Philadelphia’s music history can be one of the most difficult subjects to teach: not because it is complicated to teach, but because there is so much music that has been produced by black Philadelphians since the first freed slaves arrived in the city. And there is no one book that tells the full story of Philadelphia’s black music history, though there is a recently published book written by a British fan of 1970s Soul Music, which is focused on Soul but tells the story of Philadelphia’s music making from early gospel onwards. (See https://soundsoftheuniverse.com/sjr/product/philadelphia-soul-music-and-its-rb-roots-from-gospel-bandstand-to-tsop or https://www.premiumpublishing.com/en/art/the-philly-sound.php for more specific information) There are two parts to my overall teaching plan: first, I begin with local history and local artists. All of the artists were born and their music produced here in Philadelphia. I will review Philadelphia musicians’ lives and how their lives positively and negatively affected the consciousness of inter-city youth over the last fifty years. Second, I have students examine their own traditions and history with music in their families. I will have the students share family musical listening habits, how music has been used in the students’ homes, and how musical listening preferences have changed from the parent to the students’ preferences. I will encourage students to participate in and investigate each of their musical customs in their family. Helping students learn about their own individual family’s musical history, will help students connect with the larger theme of “history” (social or community history in this case) and understand the importance of studying the past to reflect on the present. It will also help them teach them about the impact of words and music as defined by what we listen to. The teaching strategies that will be used throughout this curriculum are videos, music videos, TED talk videos, recorded videos, graphic organizers such as story maps so students display the information they learn. The students will learn in small instructional groups (SGI), so students are receiving and expressing understanding in a manner that they understand. In SGI students will work together to build knowledge and help each other learn. This teaching strategy will also provide opportunities for students to share ideas and articulate their thoughts on a variety of musical topics. Students will have the opportunity to write reflections about what they are learning. I will utilize the turn and talk method that will allow for teachers and students to learn from one another and to build a community and culture in the classroom. This curriculum unit will be student centered. Students will be presented with opportunities through the use of various learning modalities i.e., visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Andrew Hamilton School In West Philadelphia at 5640 Spruce Avenue is Andrew Hamilton Elementary School. We are a K-8 school named after the former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Andrew lived 1676 – August 4, 1741. We are a restructured school, meaning that the school has a new principal, mission and newly constructed building. Our mission is that all teaching and learning must be maintained at the highest level. Every child will learn if taught properly and efficiently. Hamilton believes that all children are to be respected, nurtured, and taught at advanced levels. We will work until the children achieve their highest, optimal level. We are relentless in this effort. Hamilton’s priority is to prepare our children to be able to attend, achieve, and succeed at any high school/university of their choice. At Andrew Hamilton Elementary School, we strive to motivate, inspire, and educate all students in a safe, nurturing, and caring learning environment. We are a data driven school whereby we collect, analyze, and use data to guide rigorous instruction, provide intervention, and enrichment opportunities for all students while empowering students to become productive and responsible citizens. Encouraging students to be independent thinkers as well as shifting and changing their mindsets to be of a growth mindset to lead them to a successful adult life. I have taught at this school since 2014. It is home for me. The neighborhood has changed over the years. This year 6 children have been killed in violence within a block around the school. This is a title one school meaning 95% of the school population lives in poverty and qualifies for subsidized lunches and housing. Grade Level: This curriculum unit has been written for middle school Life Skills Students (LSS). Differentiation: All students learn best when they learn in a manner that nurtures their preferred learning style. For the purpose of this unit, students will be instructed using multimodal instructional practices such as visual, listening, seeing and hearing. Students will be watching music videos and films about musicians from Philadelphia, listening to music from Philadelphia, and writing about the things they observed. The students will also be able to discuss what they observe. Classes should meet three times a week with a forty-five-minute allotment of time for each class. Teachers may need to adjust and pace this curriculum to the specific needs of their students. Educators should take into account the needs of LSS and Special Education services. Materials Needed: This curriculum unit will require that each student has access to a Chromebook. Students will also require copies of the various documents that will be used throughout the unit. In addition, students will have a journal and pencils to write with. The student journal will be used so students can write daily reflection journal entries. Students also need headphones that will be used to listen to the various Philadelphia artists and their music. Students will listen to this music during the significant number of class-listening activities in this unit. This list is not a complete list of materials needed. Additional materials will be mentioned as needed throughout the curriculum to be included according to how the teacher adjusts the unit to classroom needs.
The History of Music in Philadelphia: R&B and Hip Hop during the 1940’s and 1950’s and violence Time Frame: 1-2, 45 minutes lesson blocks Objectives At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Standards Social Studies ELA Essential Questions: Enduring Understandings: Instructions for Using Lesson Plan 1: Lesson Pretest Lesson Backdrop The city of Philadelphia is home to a vibrant and well-documented musical history. Music in Philadelphia has been documented back to colonial Philadelphia. Philadelphia music includes classical music, opera, B-Bop, R&B, jazz, and rock and roll that has made the music of Philadelphia internationally recognized. Philadelphia has also had musical venues that have national acclaim and has marked itself as an innovator of musical styles. Philadelphia is well known for its impact and early development of B-Bop or hip hop from 1950 – 2000. Music in Philadelphia has always been inventive throughout the history of music in Philadelphia. Philadelphia has a reputation for its diverse styles ranging from dancehall music to drill. Music in Philadelphia has the city as an innovator of music style. The city has played a prominent role in developing popular music. During 1940 through 1950, rock and roll and b-bop music began in South Philadelphia. Popular artists include Chubby Checker, Frankie Avalon, and Bobby Rydell. In West Philadelphia, American Bandstand was a musical dance program that was known worldwide. Filming took place at 46th and Market Streets. This was a daily show that aired teenagers who danced the latest dances to the most popular songs of that time. American Bandstand had a national audience. Chubby Checker was a musician from Philadelphia. He also became world known by creating a song and dance called, “The Twist”. Checker and his dance created joy and inspiration for many teenage children during this time. American Bandstand also put its original host, Dick Clark on the map. American Bandstand put B-Bop music and dance on the map. B-Bop style of dances started in the 1950’s and continue to be popular today. People have been dancing B-Bop style dances for over 70 years. As Philadelphia grew into a big city, life changed in Philadelphia. Just as any big city, crime is linked to Philadelphia’s as it grew economically. Philadelphia grew as a city because of the ports and point of entry for goods, immigrants, and migrants. However as economic activity changed crime changed dramatically in Philadelphia. And, crime changed so has the style of accepted music and dance changed. As crime has gotten more violent so has the acceptance of provocative music and dance in Philadelphia. Prior to 1950, dance and music in Philadelphia was a dance as a parallel style, with little or no partner contact. During the 1950’s B-Bop partner style dances became the way to dance. American Bandstand 1950 In 1950 the Mafia and organized crime emerged in the city. The first Mafia don in Philadelphia was known as Bruno. According to the Philadelphia Encyclopedia, (put in reference) Bruno became the head of the Philadelphia-South Jersey mob in 1959 and managed the ascent of Italian-dominated organized crime. While Bruno was leader, there was loan sharking and illegal gambling that became their main moneymaking focus. Under Bruno, loan-sharking and gambling remained central money-making enterprises, and the opening of casino gambling in Atlantic City in the late 1970s offered additional revenue through mob control of key construction and hotel services unions. Bruno led the Philadelphia mob for 21 years. During his time as don he was known as the gentle don because of his lack of desire to implement violence on others and because of his ability to negotiate peacefully and rationally. African Americans, for all intents and purposes, lived in a different city. According to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, the homicide rate for African Americans in the early 1950s was 22.5 per 100,000 people. African Americans from the South flooded into a city that was more segregated than at any point in the past, and migrants brought with them a well-founded mistrust of police and the criminal justice system. People had to become creative with work in a time when jobs were moving out of the city. did many things to make up for inadequate incomes and high city prices, and these activities, without the police protection provided to white organized crime, exposed African American illegal entrepreneurs to the predation of stick-up men-EXPLAIN stick up men. As in the nineteenth century, African Americans venturing into public spaces carried weapons for self-protection, and murders among acquaintances were the most common form of homicide. Philadelphia was well known as a leader for popular music. According to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, the city had long been one of the nation’s most important musical centers, with strong traditions in both European-derived and African American music dating back to the eighteenth century. In the early twentieth century Philadelphia saw a dramatic increase in its Black population as a result of the Great Migration. By the 1940s, Philadelphia’s large and diverse Black population had created thriving scenes in jazz and gospel music. From these traditions a new kind of music emerged in the 1940s, in Philadelphia and across the nation. Usually played in small combos called “jump” bands, the music featured rollicking dance rhythms coupled with fairly simple blues-based harmonies and melodies. The adaptation of this style, known as “rhythm and blues” or “R&B,” by white musicians essentially created rock and roll. In Philadelphia in the late 1940s and early 1950s, jump bands played dance halls, nightclubs, and corner bars in Black neighborhoods throughout the city. The better groups also toured and got record deals. In 1949 both the Preston and Powell groups recorded a song called “Rock the Joint,” a spirited tune that rock historians consider a seminal recording in the emergence of rock and roll. Like most R&B music of the time, the records were targeted to a primarily African American audience. It was not until a white Philadelphia-area country-and-western group adapted “Rock the Joint,” along with other R&B numbers, that Americans at large took notice. As the style and acceptance changed in Philadelphia, the scope of illegal enterprise changed with the managerial tasks of making, importing, and distributing illegal liquor. In Philadelphia and South Jersey, Jews (with Italians as secondary partners) dominated the bootlegging trade and vertically integrated their industry from supply to retail while forging alliances with other gangsters both nationally and internationally. Mobsters were also the prime resource for financing musicians’ music projects in Philadelphia. The partnership between the production of music and drug distribution also flourished. Philadelphia became an international trade route and association for the eventual importation and distribution of heroin. What have we learned about music in the 1950’s? How do you think music influences crime and violence? How can music inspire civil peace? What do we know about violence in the 1950’s in Philadelphia and how it has changed? How has music informed and reflected upon Philadelphia’s history and culture? Materials The History of Philadelphia R&B and Hip Hop in 1960’s through the 1970’s and violence during this decade Time Frame: 1-3, 45 minutes lesson blocks Objectives At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Standards Social Studies ELA Essential Questions: Enduring Understandings: Songs can provide entertainment but can also help to bring people’s attention to world problems and to inspire people to find solutions to those problems. Songwriters in the 1960’s often used the lyrics of songs to educate, inspire, influence and change society, and provide social commentary. Instructions for Using Lesson Plan 2: Music Preference Survey Before the lesson, ask students to bring to class the lyrics to a song that inspires them. Ahead of time, review the songs to ensure that the lyrics are school-appropriate. “Share with your classmates about the song lyrics you brought to class and share why the song inspires you. What conclusions might you draw about the types of songs that inspire you and others your age?” To discuss in small groups and answer the following questions. “If you wanted something to change (at your school, in your community or in society), how might you go about changing it? “What songs do you think convey a particular message, lesson or point of view? What metaphors do the songs contain?” Lesson Pretest Lesson Backdrop Although Philadelphia was a national trendsetter in rock and roll in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it lost its preeminence in the mid-1960s as tastes changed and the music moved in new directions. According to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, while a new home-grown style of African American soul music emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s that once again put Philadelphia at the forefront of popular music, the city’s rock-and-roll scene took on a different identity. The earlier, simpler rock-and-roll style that brought Philadelphia prominence in the late 1950s evolved a decade later into a hard-driving, experimental type of music. In Philadelphia and other cities, rock and roll morphed into “rock”, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, hard rock—and a new underground culture developed around it. The new music took shape in clubs and coffeehouses, including the Trauma on Arch Street, the 2nd Fret on Sansom Street near Rittenhouse Square, and the Kaleidoscope in Manayunk, but the focal point of the emerging culture was the Electric Factory, a rock club that opened in February 1968 at Twenty-Second and Arch Streets. Owned by local club proprietors the Spivak brothers—Herb and Jerry, and Allen, and their partner for a brief time, Shelley Kaplan —and managed by young promoter Larry Maggid, in the late 1960s the Electric Factory featured groups such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and Pink Floyd. In addition to headlining national and international rock artists, the club usually had a local act on each bill. Groups from Philadelphia’s underground rock scene appeared frequently, including the American Dream, Mandrake Memorial, Elizabeth, Edison Electric, Woody’s Truck Stop, Sweet Stavin Chain, and Naz. The leader of Naz, Upper Darby native Todd Rundgren, later achieved fame as a solo artist. In the late 1960s, rock festivals also came into vogue. Electric Factory Concerts sponsored several Quaker City Rock Festivals at the Spectrum and in the summers presented “Be-Ins” at Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park. These free outdoor events offered music, food, and vendors. In early August 1969 Electric Factory Concerts produced the Atlantic City Pop Festival, a major three-day rock festival at the Atlantic City Race Course that featured dozens of artists and drew over one hundred thousand people. The Atlantic City Pop Festival preceded the more famous Woodstock festival in upstate New York by two weeks and featured many of the same performers. There was no characteristic “Philadelphia sound” of rock music in this period, as there was with the city’s soul music or as there had been a decade earlier when Philadelphia was a national trendsetter in rock and roll. Rock music had diversified into a wide range of styles: progressive and “art” rock, heavy metal, glam, dance and pop rock, funk rock, folk rock, country rock and rockabilly, blues-based rock and roll, punk and new wave, reggae and ska rock. All of these styles became part of the Philadelphia rock scene to some degree. Some groups specialized in a particular style while others incorporated elements of several. Unlike other cities—San Francisco and the psychedelic sound, Los Angeles and folk and country rock, Seattle and grunge rock—Philadelphia after the mid-1960s did not produce a high-profile group of artists identified with a particular rock style. The dances produced in the 1960’s included the Watusi. The Watusi had many variations, the dog and the swim were two variations of the Watusi. The Pony, the Skate, the funky Chicken, the Boogaloo, and the Jerk were also popular dances of the 60’s. There were actually a myriad of dances that came out in the 1960’s. In fact, dances that came out in the 1960’s were among a group called the Dance Craze Era. Many artists rose to fame during this time. According to YouTube, on August 12, 1968, Quaker City Music rose to fame at 212 North 12th Street. Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff created three songs that are now known as the Philadelphia Sound. They used artists such as Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls and Billy Paul. The music Quaker city produced included many string instruments that elevated the sound of music. The string instruments used in the Philadelphia Sound eventually became the background for Disco Music in the 1970’s. Kenny Gamble and Huff, wrote music for Billy Paul and created a song called “Me and Mrs. Jones” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 charts for three weeks. It was Billy Paul’s first #1 hit song, “Me and Mrs. Jones” is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert, and originally recorded by Billy Paul. It describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. In the song, the two meet in secret “every day at the same cafe”, at 6:30, where they hold hands and talk. It’s a topic in music that showed the sway in the ability to discuss topics that once were thought to be taboo. Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes had songs written by Gamble and Huff. “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” is a song that Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote and recorded by the Philadelphia soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. It became their first hit after being released as a single in September 1972, topping the US R&B chart and peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Lou Rawls had many songs written from the Philadelphia Sound. Disco After Dark at the Scene Nightclub In the 1970s, The Black Mafia rose. The Black Mafia, was organized by former members of the Twentieth and Carpenter Street Gang. They began by extorting criminals in the South Philadelphia neighborhood. By the early 1970s, the group had expanded into heroin dealing throughout the city, with connections to New York importer Frank “Black Caesar” Matthews, and eventually became the extortion wing of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque 12. Younger gangsters formed the Junior Black Mafia, and gangs with roots in Jamaica opened new drug-importing routes, while Asian and Russian groups followed the time-honored tradition of extorting and robbing their fellow immigrants. The Black Mafia – Philadelphia 1970 Philadelphia’s homicide rate increased by 300 percent between 1965 and 1974, the same decade the city lost about 40 percent of its industrial jobs. Racial tension, job loss, and increased gun ownership resulted in frayed personal relations and a spiraling homicide rate. As in previous decades, these tensions were internalized: Black people murdered Black people and whites murdered whites with most victims the closest at hand—friends and family. According to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, these trends were not limited to Philadelphia. In nearby Camden, New York Shipbuilding, Campbell Soup, and RCA all closed or decamped for locales with cheaper, nonunionized labor, and the city lost about half of its industrial base between 1960 and 1970. Corporate board decisions to gut Camden’s economy trapped African Americans in place, while those whites who were able moved to burgeoning suburban Camden County. The change in the homicide rate was startling; a modest 3.4 homicides per 100,000 in 1960 became 26.3 in 1970 and 31.9 in 1980 as the underground economy replaced the world of legitimate work. This is the first decade in Philadelphia that shows reports of an unsolved murder of a police officer. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Xvf667I9s) Philadelphia was well known as a leader for popular music. The city had long been one of the nation’s most important musical centers, with strong traditions in both European-derived and African American music dating back to the eighteenth century. Several personality traits are associated with criminality: impulsivity, psychoticism, sensation-seeking, low self-control, childhood aggression, low empathy and low altruism. Music has a long history of confronting the state and social inequality in terms of protest songs, of raising awareness of violence against women, acceptance of inappropriate norms, and of bringing attention to the plight of marginalized groups. Music is used in prisons as therapy and rehabilitation, and even plays a role in post release programs. According to the Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law, At the Lee Correctional Institute, which is known to be one of South Carolina’s most dangerous prisons, the inmates have been learning to play instruments through a partnership program with Carnegie Hall. The point of the music program is to help the inmates become productive members of society. Going back in history, forms of music and performance have been banned by the churches, censored by the state, and subject to police violence and brutality. Yet, for all these links between crime and music, criminology has a tendency towards the quantitative, and presenting itself as a more traditional social science. As such it has lacked the analytical tools for analyzing these crime and music links. Research songs that were written during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Then create a timeline of influential songs. Conduct a debate about whether it is the responsibility of songwriters to write lyrics that are appropriate for all listeners. Reflect and write in your journal about what we learned about music in the 1960’s – 1970’s? How do you think music influenced crime and violence? What do we learn about violence in the 1960’s – 1970’s in Philadelphia and how it has changed? How has music informed and reflected upon Philadelphia’s history and culture? Materials Lyrics for Music in the 1960s – 1970s: Vocabulary The History of Philadelphia R&B and Hip Hop in 1980’s and 1990’s and violence Time Frame: 1-4, 45 minutes lesson blocks Objectives At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Standards Social Studies ELA Lesson Pretest Essential Questions: Enduring Understandings: Songs can provide entertainment but can also help to bring people’s attention to world problems and to inspire people to find solutions to those problems. Songwriters in the 1960’s often used the lyrics of songs to educate, inspire, influence and change society, and provide social commentary. Instructions for Using Lesson Plan 3: Lesson Backdrop Music from Philadelphia in the 90’s produced some of the greatest artists. According to the History of Philadelphia Hip Hop, the first major pop hip hop artists from Philadelphia were Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff; the city also produced a number of other noted performers, like Tuff Crew, Lisa Lopes of TLC, and Boyz II Men. However, According to Lady B 101, In 1984, Lady B moved to Philadelphia’s Power 99 FM and started a program called, “The Street Beat”, which gave the radio station high ratings. Lady B ran this program until 1989. She later broadcasted via satellite for Sirius Satellite Radio in New York City. She also worked for WRNB 100.3 in Philadelphia until she was dismissed in December 2017. Lady B started her music career at the age of 18 years old spinning records on WHAT in Philly when she dropped her first record called “To the Beat Y’all” in 1979. Lady B felt that hip hop was exclusive to a specific type of people she stated, “Hip-Hop was a transition out of disco, and some would say — and I might tend to agree — that certain folks weren’t welcome in discos. So Hip-Hop created its own thing in the streets and in the courtyards of the projects. However, Philly had to do things its own way.” Lady B’s single was the first shot that would open up the door for a wave of Philly acts to emerge in the 1980s. Her 1979 single, “To the Beat Y’all,” made her one of the first female MCs to release a vinyl single. Lady B opened the door to a slew of hip hop artists in Philadelphia. Also, according to Lady B 101, in 1985 Schoolly D produced his hit called, “P.S.K,What Does that mean?”. Schoolly D was the first hip hop artist to receive national recognition. He is now also the first to be considered as a gangster rapper. Schoolly D receives that title because of his rap songs about the Parkside Killers. Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His lyrics reflected urban realism, violence, and sexual bravado. Schoolly D contributed songs and music to many Abel Ferrara films, including “P.S.K.” and “Saturday Night” (from Saturday Night! – The Album) as well as “King of New York” to Ferrara’s film of the same name and the title track from Am I Black Enough For You? Much of Schoolly D’s notoriety comes from his contemporary artist MC Breeze. Mc breeze was one of the first rap artists to release music on his first label. In 1986 Mc breeze produced his first song called, “DiscombobulatorBubalator”. Much of the song uses profanity to tell a story about his dysfunctional life. By the late 1980’s a group named Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Princess hit the hip hop scene for Philadelphian artists. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were hip hop artists from West Philadelphia. The artists became just the third rap group in recorded history to receive platinum certified, after Run DMC and the Beastie Boys. In May of 1991 the group received acclaim from one of their first recognizable songs, “Summertime”. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince received their first Grammy in 1989 for their song, “Parents Just Don’t Understand”. Their most successful single was “Summertime” in 1991. which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Will Smith and Jeff Townes have remained close friends and claim that they never split up, having made songs together under Smith’s solo performer credit. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince have sold over 5.5 million albums in the US. They also performed together as recently as September 2019. In 1994 with the single “Total Wreck”, Bahamadia quickly became an underground sensation and one of the more respected members of the Philadelphia Hip Hop community in the mid 1990’s. This culminated with the 1996 release of her solo debut, “Kollage”. The album included an all-star production line-up, with 7 of the album’s 15 tracks produced by members of Gang Starr – 5 by DJ Premier, 2 by Guru – and four beats done by Da Beatminerz. Eve and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes are the most popular and perhaps most celebrated female MC from Philadelphia, but Bahamadia is perhaps the most talented of them all. Her uniquely laid-back tone and rapid-fire flow give her a specific sound that sets her apart from any rapper, male or female. Hear Bahamadia at her best on “Kollage” tracks such as “Uknowhowwedu” and “3 the Hard Way”. The 1980s were some of the darkest periods in Philadelphia history. This era is marked with a list of unsolved cases that centers on a presumed serial killer dubbed “The Frankford Slasher” by the media. From 1985 to 1990, the killer is suspected of brutally cutting down as many as nine women who frequented bars along Frankford Avenue. In each case, authorities found a woman who had died from numerous stab and slash wounds, along with evidence of sexual assault. In 1996, prosecutors convicted Leonard Christopher, an African American male for the 1990 murder of 46-year-old Carol Dowd, whose body was reportedly found in the alley behind the now-shuttered Newman’s Seafood on Frankford Avenue. However, witnesses and investigation originally suspected a Caucasian male. It’s been nearly 30 years since the “Frankford Slasher” terrorized Philadelphia, killing at least eight women whose murders still remain a mystery. It has now been determined that Leonard Christopher was not actually the perpetrator. Still today, police are re-examining existing DNA evidence that could, finally, lead to solving the case. The Frankford killing spree dominated headlines from 1985 to 1990. During the 1980s and 1990s, The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported that cocaine was the primary drug of abuse in Pennsylvania. NHSDA data for 1989 indicated that, in Pennsylvania, 9.8% of individuals aged 12 or older reported lifetime use of cocaine, and 2% reported lifetime use of crack. Crack cocaine reached epidemic proportions in Philadelphia between 1989 and 1991. During this period, there were more than 500 dealers indicted by federal, state, and local authorities for the distribution of cocaine. In one notorious example, the organization headed by Antonia Rivera, a North Philadelphia drug kingpin, grossed $3.5 million (netting a $1 million profit) within a twelve-month period, employing youths aged fifteen to seventeen to sell $5 vials of crack. Police Commissioner Willie L. Williams said that “dozens and dozens’ ‘ of drug blocks existed throughout the city. In March 1992, Williams presided over the demolition of a block of abandoned row houses in North Philadelphia’s “Badlands” that were havens for heroin junkies and crack pipers. A neighborhood in decline, Mantua was a microcosm of the national crack epidemic. As crack filtered through the American cityscape, news media went into overdrive to portray the drug’s addictiveness and its harmful collateral effects of violence and family breakdown—and, more generally, its tearing of the social fabric of the urban poor. Media stories abounded about “crack babies” (babies with low birth weight born to crack-addicted mothers and abandoned soon after birth), young men driven by crack to kill each other in the streets, and young women turning to sex work to pay for their addiction. Though these reports were for the most part factually accurate in areas where crack was prevalent, they had a harmful racial effect of reinforcing negative stereotypes of poor African American males as inherently dangerous and crack addicts as beyond redemption. Over time, as crack took hold in Mantua, yet another blow to the fictive kinship networks of old heads took place: the distancing of older African Americans from younger generations in the neighborhood. The informal mentorship network was downgraded because the older folks, the “upright role models”, were now fearful of youth, and they withdrew from the public spaces where interpersonal relationship-building had formerly occurred. There is no other genre of music where a substance has had a larger impact on it than crack-cocaine for hip-hop. Regardless of how you feel about drugs, they’re synonymous with music. I think that the difference between the relationship with crack and hip-hop and older genres is that in hip-hop, the drug is spoken about from multiple perspectives. This includes the dealer, user, and how the drug affects the community. In Naz’ “New York State of Mind” from his debut album “Illmatic”, Naz makes references of the drug from the perspective of the user and drug dealer within the same line “I know this crackhead who said she likes to smoke nice rock/ And if it’s good she’ll bring you customer’s and measuring pots.” Throughout Illmatic, Naz speaks about the effect of crack on his Queensbridge Houses community in New York’s borough of Queens during the 80s and 90s. If drugs were mentioned in music prior to the 90s, specifically prior to hip-hop existing on a commercial level, they were celebrated and spoken about from this experimental, almost out-of-body experience perspective. To understand the impact of a crack in hip-hop would be to understand the socio-economic circumstances that helped create hip-hop as well as the prominence of the drug. The drug hierarchy in North Philadelphia resembled the structure of narcotics trafficking in Mantua and other West Philadelphia neighborhoods during the 80s and 90s. During this time, a middleman in the Badlands would control a corner in West Kensington where his juvenile street dealers would return $8 to him for every $10 bag of cocaine they sold. “During this time young males grew up in this type of drug scene. It was all they knew. There was not any push for decent schooling there and young males had no jobs to go to. Dealing was the only thing they had to get them what they needed, the necessities. The Inquirer newspaper reported in 1985 that from the Badlands, “Many corners are divided into four distinct retail outlets: crack cocaine at $5 a vial; heroin in $10 and $20 bags; power cocaine in ‘dime’ ($10) and ’25-cent’ ($25) bags; and cocaine ‘in weight’ or wholesale amounts of a half-ounce or more.” This was a thriving “service industry” that profited from the human misery which ignited the crisis: operators of shooting galleries and crack houses, suppliers of hypodermic syringes and homemade crack pipes. Perhaps the most lucrative enterprise in this service industry was the crack-vial business. Taiwan was the major international supplier of vials, with a retail price on U.S. streets “as high as 10 cents a vial, or $10 per 100 vials.” Vials were first reported on the streets in North and West Philadelphia in 1986 and 1987, respectively. While this epidemic loomed in the 1980s and 1990s rap artists like Schoolly D, Mc Breeze and Lady B spit rhymes about the atrocities of living in such a harsh environment, and gangster rap’s appeal grew through the connection to the audience and the messages in the songs. Research songs that were written during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Then create a timeline of influential songs. Conduct a debate about whether it is the responsibility of songwriters to write lyrics that are appropriate for all listeners. Reflect and write in your journal about what we learned about music in the 1980’s – 1990’s? How do you think music influenced crime and violence? What do we learn about violence in the 1980’s – 1990’s in Philadelphia and how it has changed? How has music informed and reflected upon Philadelphia’s history and culture? Materials The History of Philadelphia R&B and Hip Hop in 2000 and 2010 and violence Time Frame: 1-4, 45 minutes lesson blocks Objectives At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Standards Social Studies ELA Essential Questions: Enduring Understandings: Songs can provide entertainment but can also help to bring people’s attention to world problems and to inspire people to find solutions to those problems. Songwriters in the 1960’s often used the lyrics of songs to educate, inspire, influence and change society, and provide social commentary. Instructions for Using Lesson Plan 4: Lesson Pretest Lesson Backdrop According to an Interview with Beanie Sigel in 2019, Beanie Sigel gained appeal for his music in Philadelphia. Beanie Sigel, is a rapper who first became known for his association with Jay Z and Roc-A-Fella Records. His debut album was called, “The Truth”. Sigel’s second studio album, “the Reason”, saw similar commercial success, but received mixed reviews from critics. His third album, “The B. Coming”, was critically acclaimed and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 100. After a short break from music, Sigel returned to Roc-A-Fella in 2007 and released his fourth studio album “the Solution” in 2007 to positive reviews. Sigel is also known for his numerous legal issues, including a trial for attempted murder that took place between 2004 and 2005, and eventually lead to Sigel’s acquittal. According to an interview with Freeway on Vlad TV, Freeway became one of the members of Roc-A-Fella’s State Property collective, headed by Beanie Sigel. Freeway appeared on Jay-Z’s 2000 release Roc La Familia, but really made a name for himself in late 2001 with State Property, appearing most notably on “Roc the Mic”, which was included on State Property’s self-titled debut in early 2002. His success on early State Property albums led him to release his debut solo album in 2003, Philadelphia Freeway, which would go on to sell over 500,000 copies. His best-known song, “What We Do”, which featured Jay-Z and fellow Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel, was in heavy rotation in 2002 and 2003, especially on Philadelphia radio. While Freeway made his most dominant mainstream efforts on Philadelphia Freeway and 2007’s Free at Last, he would go on to have a consistent career after his mainstream exposure. In 2010, he released The Stimulus Package with Seattle-based producer Jake One, which became an underground sensation, and was one of the more celebrated albums of 2010. Freeway has put out two solo albums since, including one with underground Bay Area legend The Jacka, titled Highway Robbery, in 2014 According to the University of Pennsylvania, since 2010, opioid related deaths in the city have increased each year. In 2017, Philadelphia reported 1,217 overdose deaths from all types of drugs. 1,074 (or 88%) involved opioids. Philadelphia had 1,116 opioid-related deaths in 2018, and estimates for 2019 are close to the same amount. The number of overdoses in the city is higher than the number of deaths from homicides. Since 2010, Philadelphia has the highest overdose rate of any of the 10 most populous counties in America. The Philadelphia neighborhood of Kensington is considered the epicenter of the opioid crisis in the city. This neighborhood has one of the highest rates of heroin overdoses in the nation and is the largest affected open-air narcotics market for heroin in the East Coast. In an Inquirer article published on June 27, 2019, Kensington was declared a disaster declaration for the issue of opioid abuse and open-air market. For centuries, musicians have used opioid drugs to enhance creativity and listeners have used drugs to heighten the pleasure created by music. And the two riff off each other, endlessly. The relationship between drugs and music is also reflected in lyrics and in the way these lyrics were composed by musicians, some of whom were undoubtedly influenced by the copious amounts of heroin, cocaine and “reefer” they consumed, as their songs sometimes reveal. Beanie Sigel went to jail for selling drugs and homicide. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5JC2SGzx94) In a March 6, 2023 interview Beanie Sigel discusses his life growing up in South Philadelphia, selling drugs, robbing drug people and dealers. Beanie discusses growing up with a single mother, witnessing violence, being violent without remorse and living without regret. Research songs that were written during 2000 – 2010. Then create a timeline of influential songs. Conduct a debate about whether it is the responsibility of songwriters to write lyrics that are appropriate for all listeners. Reflect and write in your journal about what we learned about music in the 1980’s – 1990’s? How do you think music influenced crime and violence? What do we learn about violence for 2000 – 2010 in Philadelphia and how it has changed? How has music informed and reflected upon Philadelphia’s history and culture? Materials The History of Philadelphia R&B and Hip Hop today and violence Time Frame: 1-4, 45 minutes lesson blocks Objectives At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Standards Social Studies ELA Essential Questions: Enduring Understandings: Songs can provide entertainment but can also help to bring people’s attention to world problems and to inspire people to find solutions to those problems. Songwriters in the 1960’s often used the lyrics of songs to educate, inspire, influence and change society, and provide social commentary. Instructions for Using Lesson Plan 5: Lesson Backdrop According to a Meek Mills’ interview with Haigwood Studios on “Youtube”, in 2012 Meek Mills changed hip hop when he announced the launch of his own label imprint, Dream Chasers Records, named after his mixtape series. Meek Mill rose to fame after featured on MMG’s self-made Complication, with his debut singles “Tupac Back” and “Ima Boss” (featuring Rick Ross), being included on volume one (2011). Meek Mills’ release of “Dreams and Nightmares” has become an anthem for Philadelphia youth. Meek Mills released his second album, “Dreams Worth More than Money”, in 2015 and his third album, “Wins & Loses” in 2016. In a documentary entitled “Free Meek”, it is noted that in November 2017, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating parole, before being released while his trial continues after serving five months. In August 2019, the documentary series about his battle with the criminal justice system was released on Amazon Prime Video. Meek Mill served as executive producer on the series alongside fellow rapper Jay-Z. The two also became the co-founders of nonprofit organization Reform Alliance, which focuses on national prison reform through lobbying. Today Meek Mills continues to fight for police reform. In his documentary, “Free Meek”, He also talks about his life living in poverty and freeing himself through rap. Meek talks about his drive to come out of poverty and gain fame. Meek also talks about the inconsistency with the legal system when it comes to minorities. Meek Mills was put on probation for 11 years after a crime he did when he was 13. In 2018, Meek Mills went to New York with friends. While there he drives an offroad vehicle on the city streets and pops a wheelie and therefore was charged with 2-4 years of prison due to a violation to his probation. Thereafter, Meek has had a continued fight for prison reform. Meek’s musical message has always been about his struggles of living in poverty, his fight to help his family, and his struggle for racial equality. According to Drill – The Story of Rap Music’s Most Dangerous Genre, Drill is changing the style of hip hop people listen too. Today the youth who listen to hip hop, listen to a style called Drill. Drill is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Chicago in the early 2010s. It is similar to the trap music subgenre and lyrically similar to Gangsta Rap subgenre. Artists within drill music have been noted for their explicit style of lyricism and association with crime in Chicago. The genre progressed into the American mainstream in 2012 following the success of rappers like Lil Oozy, Lil Durk, Fredo Santana, G Herbo, Lil Bibby and King Louie who had many local fans and a significant internet presence. After the initial momentum of the subgenre subsided, Chicago drill saw a resurgence in the late 2010s and early 2020s with artists such as King Von, Polo G and a renewed Lil Durk. In Philadelphia Drill is well received with the youth. Much of the drill artists from Philadelphia are stars in the underground world of rap. With the growth of social media, Drill musicians grow with little or no knowledge from mainstream society. However, it is just as accepted as hip hop, rap and trap music if not more. SimXSantana is an upcoming Drill artist from Philadelphia who is receiving more and more appeal. SimX drills about his struggles of living in poverty and his willingness to get a better life. He also discusses explicit sexual topics and his province as a male in the city. Much of the message expressed in drill is explicit and sexual in nature. Another artist from Philadelphia that produces Drill is D4M $loan. D4M is very popular among the youth, but in my opinion, he is vulgar. His messages disrespects women and is downright disrespectful. However, Drill music is very popular among today’s teens. According to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, as of March of 2023, the city of Philadelphia has surpassed the 100-homicide mark. District Attorney Larry Krasner marked the milestone by urging parents to keep guns out of the home. The homicide rate in Philadelphia stands at 134 as of Monday, down 14% compared to last year. WHYY declares that only 44% of Philadelphians feel safe in their neighborhoods at night. In West Philadelphia, people are shooting each other on a regular basis. Children are being struck by bullets while playing outside or walking down their streets. Mothers are losing their teenagers. This is not normal, and no one should be OK with it. The crisis is disproportionately taking Philadelphia’s Black men who make up about three-quarters of shooting victims and fatalities since 2021. On the City of Philadelphia Government website, it states that the overdose crisis in Philadelphia is a public health emergency. In 2022, Philadelphia lost 2,276 people to unintentional fatal overdose, a 5% increase from the previous year. Philly’s street drug supply has become more potent and unpredictable, increasing the risk for overdose. Fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid, has replaced heroin as the most common drug involved in fatal overdoses and is often mixed with xylazine (“tranq”), an animal tranquilizer not meant for human use. People who use tranq may develop severe wounds that take a long time to heal, making it difficult to access behavioral health treatment and housing. Tranq also suppresses breathing and can complicate overdose reversal. The overdose crisis is not limited to opioids. More than half of fatal overdoses involved the combination of opioids and stimulants. Overdoses involving opioids and stimulants are likely from fentanyl being pressed into counterfeit pills, as well as intentional polysubstance use. Overdoses are increasing in communities of color. In 2021, Black Philadelphians aged 35-44 died from unintentional overdose more than any other racial/ethnic group. Encouraging culturally affirming conversations around available options in treatment and harm reduction is crucial to help individuals access care and combat stigma. Images of the Opioid Crisis in Philadelphia With more and more youth listening to music that demoralizes women and totes on the experiences of being high, there is no surprise to see that there is an uptake in more violence and crime and drug abuse. The music youth listen to makes it seem like it’s the thing to be doing. Research songs that were written during 2010 to the present. Then create a timeline of influential songs. Conduct a debate about whether it is the responsibility of songwriters to write lyrics that are appropriate for all listeners. Reflect and write in your journal about what we learned about music for 2010 to the present? How do you think music influenced crime and violence? What do we learn about violence for 2010 to the present in Philadelphia and how it has changed? How has music informed and reflected upon Philadelphia’s history and culture? Materials The Psychology of Music on the Brain Time Frame: 1-2, 45 minutes lesson blocks Objectives At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: Standards Social Studies ELA Science Vocabulary Essential Questions: Enduring Understandings: Songs can provide entertainment but can also help to bring people’s attention to world problems and to inspire people to find solutions to those problems. Why do we like the music that we listen to? How does the acceptance and preference of music preference occur? Instructions for Using Lesson Plan 6: Lesson Backdrop How the brain processes music is an exciting area of this research. Charles Limb discusses how music affects the brain (See “Youtube” videos). Researchers have discovered that the brain does not have one special place to analyze music. Instead, different parts of the brain handle different aspects of a song, like rhythm (the beat) and tone (pitch and loudness). And one of the most mind-blowing discoveries is that the parts of the brain that deal with emotions also fire up in response to music. In other words, music is wired directly into our feelings. Music and feelings have always gone together. Modern scientific research is helping us understand why. Music is an extraordinary way to evoke memory and feeling. How does your favorite song get from your ears to your brain? Here are the basics: Listening to music increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions. The limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory, “lights” up when our ears perceive music. Active music-making positively affects neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, that influence mood. Dopamine influences focus, concentration, memory, sleep, mood and motivation. Likewise, serotonin impacts mood, sleep patterns, anxiety and pain. Research shows that when a child has exposure to violence, it can harm the child’s emotional, psychological and even physical development. Children exposed to violence are more likely to have difficulty in school, abuse drugs or alcohol, act aggressively, suffer from depression or other mental health problems and engage in criminal behavior as adults. Children who constantly listen to violent music and have violent experiences are more likely to have dysfunctional adult lives Research also shows when a child who has been exposed to a series of violence has a positive change in their lives, they are more likely disrupting violence is associated with positive outcomes for children and that interventions to improve parent-child relationships can decrease harmful effects and improve a child’s development. Research songs that were written during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Then create a timeline of influential songs. Conduct a debate about whether it is the responsibility of songwriters to write lyrics that are appropriate for all listeners. Reflect and write in your journal about what we learned about music in the 1980’s – 1990’s? How do you think music influenced crime and violence? What do we learn about violence in the 1980’s – 1990’s in Philadelphia and how it has changed? How has music informed and reflected upon Philadelphia’s history and culture? Materials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfyXksw8YW4 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CykfMAuPCL0 file:///Users/michellejackson/Downloads/FREEPartsoftheBrainFeelingsPosterandColoringSheet-1.pdf Reflective Unit Closure Time Frame: 1, 45 minutes lesson blocks Objectives At the end of the lesson, students review what they learned by: Standards Social Studies ELA Lesson Backdrop: This lesson serves to discuss what has been discussed through the unit, what the students learned, and what other information and questions needs to be addressed. Review various videos and materials that showed key information and allow students to show information they found informative. Exit Essential Questions:Lesson 1
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