Rapping Perspectives

Rap is currently very popular, but do you know any teen rappers?

Juan Sosa and Abel Arroyo are two seventh grade rappers at Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School.

“I like to rap because it’s fun and it helps me express how I feel. It also calms me down when I’m mad.” said Juan. Juan has recently recorded a rap/song named “Manu Fracture” in his garage with his older brother. Juan felt relived that he recorded because he had wanted to record for a long time and he finally did it. Juan said he would record again because it was a great experience. Some of Juan’s inspirations to rap are Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, Biggie Smalls, and Eminem.

“I see rap as a journal with music.” said Abel. Abel also said that he would like to record and make his own studio to sign other rappers and try to inspire them. Abel’s inspiration to rap was that later in life he wants to give back to were he is from (South Central, Los Angeles) especially because there is a lot of poverty and violence. Abel also said that he writes raps everyday.

Ramses Fuentes is an eighth grader at Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School and rapped, but eventually stopped. He said, “I started to rap because I had a lot of thoughts in my head and I needed to express myself.” Ramses stopped rapping because he ran out of things to write about. Even though he Ramses stopped rapping he still has a couple of phrases about life, but according to him, it is nothing important.

Eighth grader at AJCMS, Eduardo Mendoza, said, “I feel like rapping takes the anger out of someone.” He said that the language in rapping is inappropriate, but once in a while it is appropriate.

English teacher at Animo Jefferson Cahrter Middle School, Teresa Vorgias said that she thinks that rapping is a way people for people to express themselves. Although Vorgias likes the the genre, rap that is derogatory towards women is not rap in her eyes. Two of Vorgias’ favorite rappers are Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. She likes them because their songs do not focus on bad language, but on spreading a message. Vorgias let one of her former eighth grade student share his lyrics in class as long as the language was appropriate and was related to the topic of the day.

Some of this students’ raps were about moving on to high school, his friends, and even of rites of passage.

Seventh grade student at Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy, Cynthia Ugarte said, “I don’t like rapping because I don’t understand anything.”

Rapping can be viewed in different ways, it also matters at the way you think about it, and your own taste in music.