IFWT_Kendrick_Lamar_High_Tech_High_School

A day after being one of Summer Jam’s top acts, Kendrick Lamar visits a New Jersey high school. Brian Mooney and his world literature freshman class got a dose of greatness when the “King Kunta” rapper stopped in Bergen county for a lesson in understanding his lyrics.


JaaiR (JR)
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With the hopes that his students learn Toni Morisson’s The Bluest Eye, and black culture in America — the celebration of itself and its struggle with historic oppression, according to Rolling Stone. Seeing that the children were struggling, Mooney used Kendrick’s latest album release of, To Pimp A Butterfly as well as a literary lens called “hip-hop ed” to help the students’ learning skills.

Mr. Mooney, 29, blogged about his curriculum and shared his students’ work online. The blog racked up over 10,000 Facebook shares, and hardly a month passed before Mr. Lamar discovered it.

Kendrick’s manager reached out to Mooney about attending the school for a glimpse into the action taken place. “I was feeling incredibly grateful and humbled that my work received that much exposure and reached that wide of an audience that Kendrick himself read it,” Mr. Mooney said.

Selected students performed spoken word sessions and raps for Mr. Lamar. “You’ve chose the wrong butterfly to pimp,” spat Hamza Qureshi, an 18-year-old senior, paying homage to Mr. Lamar’s album. Mr. Lamar praised Mr. Qureshi’s poem with finger snaps and complimented his punch lines. Even Mr. Mooney showed off his rapping skills, and Mr. Lamar’s head bobbed to the beat.

Just one more reason he is one of the greatest artists out.

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