Why Rappers Should Write Books… For Kids

Welcome to another edition of Light Fridays

With today’s youth sPelln eVERything liK DiSs, I am afraid of where our future is headed.  Once upon a time, it was embarrassing to not be able to properly spell words.  It was out this embarrassment, the need for spell check and autocorrect applications were developed to serve as a mechanism to avoid such shame.  But now, both youth and adults alike think this improper spelling and formatting are acceptable and preferred forms of communication.  I am afraid the Standard English language will be lost.

On top of that, we live in a digital society.  I’m not sure if my grandchildren will even have a physical library in 30 years because everything is in electronic form.  However, there is no substitute, not even the Kindle that gives the gratification of holding a book, turning its pages, even smelling the book, and then getting to the last page and completing the book.

All of this in mind, I thought it would be genius if rappers did in fact write books for children, our children.  But it would have to be some of the most influential artists of our time that could reach the younger generation.  There are several reasons rappers are the perfect candidates to getting black youth to read books:

Everybody Wants to Be a Rapper: I mean even Oprah wanted to learn how to rap. Rapping has been adopted as a universal form of expression regardless of age, background, education, or status for the span of four generations. It seems everybody, regardless of level of talent, wants to be a rapper which why it was genius that Def Jam released the interactive video game RapStar.  Now lets work on some interactive books for Leap Frog.

Metaphorically Speaking: What separates real emcees from gimmicks are their grasp of the English language.  Every thing from an extensive vocabulary, vivid imagery, transitions, and elaborate metaphors are prominent pieces of what make artists great.  A master and manipulator of language can show young people how important it is to be an avid reader and to how to use language to constructively express themselves.  Maybe then kids can use their words instead of violence as an outlet of their frustration with the social climate.

The ultimate goal is to get our youth excited about reading and writing well. Rappers can use their influence to generate positive results in both written and oral expression from our youth.  So I definitely tip my hat to Jay-Z with the release of Decoded early this week.  The book is selling out in some parts of the country, so hopefully a young black male that has never read for leisure is reading his first of many books.