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<\/a>A couple weeks ago my assignment was a rap challenge. To be honest, that was terrifying. I don\u2019t know the first thing about rap. It\u2019s not music that I have been exposed to a lot during my life. I mostly listen to \u2018pop girlies\u2019, indie, and musicals.<\/p>\n
My assignment was to \u201ccreate 3 rap based interventions to be used with clients across a variety of settings\u201d and to \u201cidentify 5-10 appropriate rap songs that can be used with teens in the clinical setting.<\/em>\u201d Today, I\u2019m writing about the interventions I came up with.<\/p>\n The first thing I did was go to my supervisors and get clarification. They weren\u2019t expecting me to rap, right? The music I have been exposed to has used words I cannot, should not, and will not use. The idea of me trying to rap is one that would easily keep me up at night. Luckily for everyone in the world, they told me they use recorded music in sessions. <\/p>\n The second thing I did was get music recommendations from probably every person and source I could find and then sat down and really listened. I read through the lyrics of so many songs and while looking for music, had to face biases I didn\u2019t realize I even had. Why don\u2019t I listen to rap? Why do I feel the need to try and search for songs with deeper meaning? Do I do this with other genres of music when it comes to looking for music for session planning? What do I actually know about rap and it\u2019s significance to culture? How do I deal with censorship? How much do I censor? Those are just some of those deep questions I had to ask myself.<\/p>\n For my first intervention, I picked \u201cJust Wanna Rock\u201d by Lil Uzi Vert. I really liked the beat and quickly got an idea from a session I was planning for one of my contracts at that time. What if I used this song for a body percussion intervention? When looking on YouTube to see if there were any play along body percussion videos for any rap songs, I found none. So let\u2019s make one. <\/p>\n Instead of a play along video, I got the idea to print out little cards with the body percussion action on it. It would be like the play along video but tangible. I could mix and match them to create different patterns in real time. We do something similar with one of the classes we see at Hope, but instead of body percussion, the cards have different rhythms. The students then use the cards to create their own rhythm. What if I did the same thing but with body percussion. Students would work on sustained attention, following directions, respecting the choices of other\u2019s, turn taking, and self expression. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t currently have clients I would use this with, but it is something I would like to do in the future.<\/p>\n The second intervention I created was movement to \u201cShake It To The Max\u201d by Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng, and Shenseea. For this movement intervention, I would have the clients create a dance together but having each client choose or create a dance move. I have done something similar at Sparc, but have never done it with a rap\/hip hop song. <\/p>\n To do this, I would create a dance move pick list, a visual with different choices of dance moves. I would encourage group members to come up with their own moves or pick from the visual and then demonstrate\/teach it to their peers. We would then chain these movement together with the music. Participants would work on gross motor, self expression, making choices, following directions, sequencing, social interaction, and respecting the choices of other\u2019s. To further adapt, you could record it and make your own music video, if participants are willing.<\/p>\n For the third intervention, I decided I wanted to do a song discussion. When looking through music, I came across \u201cWishing Well\u201d by Juice WRLD and chose it. I have done song discussions while in school at WIU, including during one of my practicums, but never with rap music or younger clients. In listening to different songs, I saw that rap doesn\u2019t shy away from topics we don\u2019t like to talk about such as depression and drug use, this song included. I think sometimes we want to pretend that youth don\u2019t deal with these issues. We all know that isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n In using this for a song discussion, I think it could be a bridge to talk about hard topics like depression, self worth, drug use, and the feeling of helplessness. On the flip side this song talks about a wishing well, opening dialogue for wishes we have had that haven\u2019t come true and wishes we have for the future. Facilitating this, I would have clients circle\/highlight words and phrases that stood out to them, ask about their thoughts overall on the song, and work through questions, letting them expand and direct the conversation, within reason. I would end the discussion by focusing on the symbolism of the wishing well in the song and ask about their wishes past, present, or future. Of course, this would go differently depending of the setting and the participation from clients. <\/p>\n I have not done a song discussion yet in my internship. I feel like when I do, I will realize that there\u2019s a lot I need to learn and that it is different from my planning on an assignment. <\/p>\n I haven\u2019t had the chance to use any of these interventions with my clients. That is not to say that I won\u2019t in some compacity. It might be with a different song or used for another intervention. I could see myself using rap with one of the schools I see in Taylorville. I\u2019m excited to keep learning and branching out into other genres of music I don\u2019t have experience in.<\/p>\n GraceAnne<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nIntervention One<\/h2>\n
Body Percussion- \u201cJust Wanna Rock\u201d- Lil Uzi Vert<\/h4>\n
Intervention Two<\/h2>\n
Movement- \u201cShake It To The Max\u201d- Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng, Shenseea<\/h4>\n
Intervention Three<\/h2>\n
Song Discussion- \u201cWishing Well\u201d- Juice WRLD<\/h4>\n
Last Thoughts<\/h2>\n