Looking for Mr. Prog-Hop

It's not easy for someone like me, 52, white, and baptized in the waters of 70s rock, to come to terms with hip-hop. I tried, at least I always say I tried, to pick up on what people were calling the great masters of the genre.

Sorry Tupac, you're just another Jim Morrison to me: charismatic wild-child buried early but lyrically unimpressive and musically uninspiring.

What I need is some Prog-Hop. Something technically demanding, multi-layered, and with lyrics that lean into literature. My students have tried to to help. "Lupe Fiasco," they say, "Here, Mr. Rice," they proffer, "you must try Immortal Technique." Not even close.

Now, I pick up this week's issue of Seven, and am teased by a piece on Ekoh by Camille Cannon. She teases me with lines like, "This year, Ekoh’s poetic flow is rippling deeper than ever." Even more  tempting is the title of his latest release, Zzyzx Road, which strikes a Joshua Tree chord in my latter-20th century bosom.  

I haven't spun the digital turntable on Ekoh yet, but I'll let you know the outcome once I have the courage to get disappointed again.

This year, Ekoh’s poetic flow is rippling deeper than ever. - See more at: http://vegasseven.com/2013/09/25/ekoh-resonance-man/#sthash.fnYLttDC.dpuf

This year, Ekoh’s poetic flow is rippling deeper than ever. - See more at: http://vegasseven.com/2013/09/25/ekoh-resonance-man/#sthash.fnYLttDC.dpuf

This year, Ekoh’s poetic flow is rippling deeper than ever. - See more at: http://vegasseven.com/2013/09/25/ekoh-resonance-man/#sthash.fnYLttDC.dpuf

This year, Ekoh’s poetic flow is rippling deeper than ever. - See more at: http://vegasseven.com/2013/09/25/ekoh-resonance-man/#sthash.fnYLttDC.dpuf

This year, Ekoh’s poetic flow is rippling deeper than ever. - See more at: http://vegasseven.com/2013/09/25/ekoh-resonance-man/#sthash.fnYLttDC.dpuf

Yo Peeps! Mr. Rizzle Be da Teacher a da Month!

I was surprised last week by a phone call from our local pop hip-pop station. I was wary when the guy on the other end of the line identified himself as being from 98.5 KLUC; had my closet love of all things gangsta been somehow leaked to press?

Fortunately not. Instead, he was calling to inform me that one of my students had entered me in the station's "Teacher of the Month" contest and he needed to know when it was convenient for him to come down to the school and pass me a plaque and say a few words. We decided on last Tuesday morning, when the student who wrote the winning essay would also be in my class.

I got my plaque and the student and I got a coupon for a free sandwich at a chain sub store. Furthermore, I am automatically entered the Teacher of the Year competition sponsored by Southwest Airlines, Nevada Power, and Nevada State Bank, and Findlay Toyota. Airline tickets are definitely on the table, although I'd just as soon have a break from my summer electric bill.

Nice, right? It gets way better. These guys handed me a golden teaching opportunity on a chrome-plated spinner, yo. All the kids know the station and half of them worship it. And here I was, with the class's full attention after a member of their crowd had just achieved his first encounter with literary notoriety. So I took my Slim Shady chance and danced my words out:

"Brandon did this, not me. Brandon wrote 100 words and Brandon's words made something happen in the physical world. His words had the power to get me this award. So many times I have tried to explain why it is important to become skilled communicators and now, now you can see words in action!"

It was exhilarating, wonderful, f-ing amazing to watch all those minds behind all those faces get it. At that moment, the light of wonder and intellect fired around the room. It was a totally bitchin' experience.

To see the young writer's name next to mine, go to http://www.kluc.com/pages/1635063.php