hip hop – Mitch's Muse

Teaching with hip-hop isn’t a new idea, but it has never been done as cool as Beans-N-Frank. They are the cartoon kids who rap lessons over hard-hitting hip-hop beats. The lyrics are as catchy and memorable as Sesame Street songs, but the music sounds like tracks from your favorite radio jam. We make music that the entire family can enjoy.

Our creators, Mark Davis and David Washington are veteran teachers with over 22 years of classroom experience between them, and even more experience as hip-hop artists. Davis and Washington are the hosts who join the mascot characters on stage for live performances that involve a lot of rapping, dancing, fact reviews, and “edutainment” at its finest. The combination makes for products and performances that are much more relevant and exciting than what can usually be found amongst children’s entertainers, yet the content reinforces skills that are critical for academic enrichment.

We offer the following services:
– Live Performances
– Curriculum Supplements
– Remediation (for Groups of All Sizes)
– Song Personalization
– Gang/Bully Prevention Training
– Birthday Parties/Special Events
– Fundraisers

Our recorded music and live presentations reinforce the skills that align with the following Common Core State Standards recognized and adopted by most educational systems in the U.S.:

(Elementary Grades)
•Print concepts
•Phonological awareness
•Know number names and the count sequence
•Count to tell number of objects
•Compare numbers
•Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.
•Identify and describe shapes
•Phonics and word recognition
•Add and subtract within 20
•Tell and write time
•Work with time and money
•Comprehension and collaboration

For more information on Beans-n-Frank, go to http://www.reverbnation.com/beansnfrank.

Common

In a recent news release, organizers of the Detroit Jazz Festival are pleased to announce an exciting addition to the festival lineup-a special collaboration with Detroit native drummer Karriem Riggins and hip hop artist Common on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

“This extraordinary presentation of jazz and hip hop gives the festival an opportunity to step out of the box and attract a new audience while maintaining the connection to the festival’s artistic core – jazz,” said Terri Pontremoli, festival artistic director. “The connections and gaps between the two genres will be celebrated on Labor Day on the JPMorgan Chase Stage.”
This kind of project is not unusual for Riggins, who has spent the better part of his career successfully straddling the two worlds of jazz and hip-hop. The Detroit native established his jazz chops under the tutelage of Betty Carter, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Burrell. In addition to being a mainstay in Diana Krall’s quartet, he has made a name for himself in hip hop circles as a producer and collaborator with the likes of Common, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Slum Village and Kanye West.
Common rose to prominence as one of hip hop’s most poetic and respected lyricists, having recorded over eight albums and garnering multiple Grammy Awards. The album Be with Kanye West garnered four Grammy nominations, and the Grammy award-winning Finding Forever debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. His ninth album, The Believer, The Dreamer, will be released in November 2011.
Other special guests joining Common and Riggins will be announced at a later date. For more information on Karriem Riggins, go to www.karriemriggins.com.
For the full 2011 Detroit Jazz Festival artist roster, visit detroitjazzfest.com.