Systemic racism and generational poverty are barriers for minorities (not only racial minorities, but also young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds) to fully participate in lawful, civil society. It has been shown that children born into low-income, culturally deprived areas are more subject to socio-economic, cultural and relational disadvantages that often lead to broken homes, physical and mental illnesses and abuse, as well as substance abuse (drugs, alcohol). Some children find substitutes for broken homes and family on the street. These factors can also force them into various forms of criminality (criminal gangs, theft, drugs, intimidation, etc…) and further cycles of violence and despair.
Topics: The street as a bad school of life vs. good schools as a safe place to find purpose in life. Laws of the street vs. the Rule of Law. The role of power and glamour in media in the corruption of society and youth, vs. their sense of powerlessness and invisibility in so-called civil society. Housing and schooling as a form of ‘legal’ segregation. Structural and systemic racism. Who is a citizen and who isn’t? Who has rights and who doesn’t?
Foolishness vs. Wisdom, Death vs. Life, Street/Gang learning vs. Real Learning. Momento mori (remember that you will die).
Gaining and specifying the knowledge of the subject that the teacher wants to teach.
Citizens behaviour approach:
Preparation of lesson
In class, the teacher discusses the problem of social and racial inequalities but also how current divisions in society undermine trust in civil society and the rule of law, leading to various forms of corruption and ultimately violence.
In many extremely disadvantaged areas, many families are broken and schools are poor and overwhelmed. Poor and/or shoddy housing options for the poor and for ‘minorities’ (Blacks, migrants, refugees) sometimes unwittingly create a form of de facto segregation. The cycle of broken families, violence, and poor schooling in disadvantaged neighbourhoods erects barriers for entry and participation in so-called ‘normal’ civil society. For many, the ‘street’, becomes a parallel education (a place to learn how to survive in the ‘hood’ – gang governed neighbour-hoods) and reality. For many, life in a gang becomes the only way for social advancement, friendship, but also (temporary) protection.
Teacher prepares the topic in detail.
— What does the official curriculum say about systemic racism, poverty, inequality in society as such? In their country? And its effect on participation in lawful civil society?
— What is happening in your country in terms of social/wealth/income inequalities? Are these stable, growing or shrinking?
— How are the poor housed in your country? In what kind of housing or neighbourhoods (Hood) do they live? Do people feel that there are sufficient opportunities (education, jobs, career paths) in your country (country, community, neighbourhoods) or do some groups need to go elsewhere to find it (e.g. internal or external migration)?
— Are these phenomenon the same in all countries, or are there differences (i.e. do some people have opportunities while others don’t for systemic reasons) ?
— What is happening in terms of safety? Are some cities/communities/neighbourhoods safer than others? Do some cities/neighbourhoods feel or look more like a war zone? Do parents/children look for substitutes for familial protection when it isn’t offered by mainstream civil society or by their own families? Does this affect how police police an area?
— How are schools (educational facilities) in these areas? Do they receive enough resources (e.g. Federally distributed or taxed based on neighbourhood income?) Are schools a safe place for students? How about teachers? Do teachers feel safe? Are they overwhelmed, indifferent, engaged and caring? Are they seen as a representative of the antagonistic established system or as a bridge towards participation in meaningful civil society?
— Why are some groups in society marginalized – even though they are citizens? How are/what are the ways that their rights can be undermined? — Is this fair? Why or why not? What are the potential consequences for society?
(Finding an art work) – Gangsta’s Paradise (1995) by Coolio Lyrics, Song, Music Video – Sound Track for film (Dangerous Minds)
Background to the song for the Teacher
The song ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ is a contemporary rap song written in 1995 by the artist Coolio, or Artis L. Ivey, in the rap subgenre of gangsta rap. Rap’ is a genre of music that originated in the 1970s in poorer areas of New York City, e.g. the Bronx, by black Disc Jockeys (DJs) using a repetitive beat pattern as the background and counterpoint to often rapid, rhyming and slangish speech patterns that are spoken by a vocal artist(s). In the 70’s, New York City was rife with violence and criminality from street gangs and the Mafia. In that sense, rap has always been an artistic expression of and voice for people who have experienced exclusion from so-called ‘normal’ civil society. As a subgenre of rap, gangsta rap features stories about life on the street as a member of a ‘gang’. It often uses machoistic bravado to brag about criminal exploits and the violent life of gang members. (See, for example, the recent racketeering trial of “Yung Thug and YSL” in Atlanta, Georgia: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/03/california-mckinley-mac-phipps-rap-music-black-rappers; https://www.npr.org/2023/01/09/1147767380/rapper-young-thug-rico-trial-gunna ).
Coolio was asked to write the song for the feature film, Dangerous Minds, with Michelle Pfeiffer, who played the role of a new teacher in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in Los Angeles. Coolio wanted to capture sense of doom and lack of perspective associated with a life in the ‘Hood’ and how schools in those neighbourhoods fail young people. Coolio used the melody on Stevie Wonder’s song, Pastime Paradise (1977). Wonder only agreed to allow Coolio to use his song when he omitted any profanity in the lyrics or glorification of gang violence. The song became a hit in over 20 countries.
A backdrop to the song is the case of police brutality against the speeding Black motorist, Rodney King, in 1991. King himself had a criminal record and tried to resist arrest. Afterwards, a number of police officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) brutally beat King. An amateur video, shot from a nearby apartment window, captured the beating. Later, and based on the video evidence, the police officers were tried for assault and excessive force, but were acquitted in 1992. Upon acquittal, the city erupted into 6 days of rioting, giving rise to the sense of hopelessness and lack of justice for many Black Americans. Much later, the deaths of Eric Garner (2014) in New York City and George Floyd (2020) in Minneapolis gave rise to and global recognition of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The successful prosecution of the white police officer, Derek Chauvin, in the George Floyd case came almost 30 years after the Rodney King case and was hailed as a landmark in justice for victims of police brutality.
Gangsta Paradise opens with the thudding of a heartbeat and sounds of a woman talking and a baby crying. Then, erupts the symphonic leitmotiv. The repetitive high pitched tone in C minor is reminiscent of a funeral dirge that creates the menacing and oppressive quality that runs throughout the song. The leitmotiv is intermittently interrupted with choral singing evocative of a gospel choir. Gospel Music is a genre of church music that goes back to the period of slavery, where Black African slaves longed for release from their suffering, if not on Earth, then, in Heaven or Paradise. Here, the Chorus and Bridge function as an alter ego or even nagging moral conscience. Over the leitmotiv, the protagonist raps a visual narrative. Instead finding the will to break free, the protagonist recognizes that he is doomed to kill or be killed. Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise – a metaphor for the idealized street life of a gang member – turns this genre’s logic on its head and uses it as a metaphor for a self-made ‘Hell’. The song begins with a quote from the familiar biblical passage in Psalm 23: “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”. In the original Psalm, the Psalmist begins with the contrasting conjunction ‘although’, but the protagonist here begins with ‘As’. Unlike the Psalmist, he doesn’t sense God’s protection. Instead of being led through green pastures, the song evokes images of Hell, smoke and death. He threatens anyone who fails to respect his power with death, but is also preparing for his own death. All the bravado, violence, revenge has brought him nothing. He realizes that the street life is ultimately a death sentence and he will become yet another statistic.
As discussed, Coolio reverses the traditional gangsta rap bravado about life in the Hood by providing a poetic and melancholic account of its ultimate (self)-destructiveness. The protagonist (rapper) autobiographically narrates his short life and positions himself as the wise strong man of the streets, who sees its futileness, but can’t escape it. Men like him are excluded from the good, ‘normal’ life, because they trapped in the hellscape of the ‘gangsta paradise’. He portrays himself as someone with knowledge and street education, but in reality, he is only 23 and probably won’t make it until 24. He is a wise foolish man, who has been seduced by the glamour of TV, chasing after power that comes with having money, but realizing that it’s an empty dream. ‘Normal’ society and the traditional educational system have failed him. He was told to ‘learn’, but no one really understood his predicament and cared about him.
Help with the analysis of the lyrics:
American Songwriter, retrieved from: https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-gangstas-paradise-by-coolio/
Story and Drama, retrieved from: https://www.storyanddrama.com/coolio-gangstas-paradise-lyrics-analysis/
(Shaping or editing of the artistic material)
Use the entire song. Because the song contains both a Bridge and a Chorus, you can allow more students, who do not feel comfortable with a speaking/rapping role, to sing with others in the Bridge and/or Chorus. How many students are in the Bridge or Chorus depends on the number of students in the classroom. This is rap, hence, you can also create different (a number of) rap teams and make a ‘contest’ out of it (e.g. like a poetry slam).
Because the song is very visual, if there are students in class who do not feel comfortable either speaking (rap) or singing (Bridge and Chorus), they can act out the narrative.
(Points of interest and discussion in Class)
Discuss the issues of justice and injustice; citizenship… who is a citizen and who isn’t? How the issues of structural racism, poverty, poor housing and schools prevent some citizens from benefitting fully from and participating in democratic, civil society.
– shows some clips
H.E.R. “I can’t breathe”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRZWiqBHYaY
Neighborhoods (Hoods) of Compton and Watts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir_GPocQ71U
How housing contributed to unofficial segregation of black Americans: https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america
The creation of Black Ghettos (the Hood): https://www.npr.org/2015/05/14/406699264/historian-says-dont-sanitize-how-our-government-created-the-ghettos
Does your city/country have areas where there is a lot of poverty and crime? Why?
History of Slavery in America, History Channel: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery
Brief History of Slavery, NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/19/magazine/history-slavery-smithsonian.html
History of Segregation and Jim Crow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31x0BQzR6Pc
TEACHER: Today we will be dealing with the issue of citizenship – who is a citizen and who isn’t… How can some citizens be excluded from the goods of society even though they are ‘born there’. In this case we are looking at Blacks in the United States, who came to the country in the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves. But this type of exclusion can happen with people in our own country (e.g. Roma, migrants, refugees…. )
- Teacher preps class with some questions and allows discussion and debate:
- When you are a citizen, what rights do you have?
- Is this the same in all countries – can rights different between countries? Or between ethnic groups? Why or why not? (e.g. gun rights)
- Can rights differ between ethnic groups? Are some citizens more equal than others? Why or why not?
- What is discrimination? How can it play out?
- What are some important rights, according to you? Why? Are there any important responsibilities of the citizen that goes along with these rights?
- Do you have people, or ethnic groups in your country, who are treated unfairly because of their background, colour of their skin, gender, religion, etc…? Why is this so? Is it OK? Why or Why not?
- Are there places in your country/city where only poor people live or where people of a certain ethnic, cultural or religious background live? Are their schools the same? Equal quality? Does this put them at a disadvantage?
- Does it matter where you live in a country/city? Can the location of your home/school in your country/city help or harm your chances in life? Is this fair? Why or why not?
Artistic Activity
The teacher gives an introduction to the song in class (see point 2) and some background to the lesson.
Slavery is as old as the beginning of time. Most ancient civilizations had slaves, often from captured people of invading armies. Slavery (modern slavery) continues to exist today in the forms of human trafficking of children, women and young boys and men. Look at the refugee crisis. Sometimes we don’t recognize these forms of slavery as slavery, because we only associate slavery with what we read about in history books, but modern slavery is no less brutal and dehumanizing.
The first African slaves were brought to the United States of America in 1619. This practice was legalized in 1641 in the British colony of Massachusetts. Because African slaves were a cheap source of labour, the practice continued until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. With the Emancipation Proclamation, and the defeat of the slave owning States in the ‘South’, about 4 million black African slaves were freed. Still they were not treated as equal citizens and over time, they were systemically excluded from civil institutions, good jobs, education and good affordable housing that consigned them to second-class citizenship, generational poverty and lingering institutional racism (segregation). When many former black African slaves moved to industrial, urban areas of the North, mid-West and West, Black Americans continued to face discrimination and were asked to move into neighbourhoods with poor housing and job opportunities and subsequently underfunded schools. Even though legal slavery and segregation had been dismantled, many black Americans were prevented from enjoying the fruits of their freedom and citizenship gained more than 100 years before. They experienced a de facto segregation. The story of the protagonist in Gangsta Paradise is an example of this legacy of systemic and structural racism and discrimination and how it plays out in many Black communities in large urban areas in the United States.
Play the scene (first reading – Teacher)
Teacher distributes the lyrics to class. The teacher reads the entire lyrics of the song to the class and then allows the class to listen to the original version (video). The Teacher breaks the class up into groups and allows the students to watch the video several times (either in a group or individually). Later, the teacher divides up sections/strophes of lyrics and distributes it to the members of the class according to abilities and comfort levels.
The song is very visual and has a certain narrative quality. In that sense, next to the reading/rapping of the song, the teacher can also choose to also allow a group of students ‘act out’ the story embedded into the lyrics.
Gangsta Paradise by Coolio (featuring L.V.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPO76Jlnz6c
Instrumental Version, Gangsta Paradise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZh8FUMkB_4
Instrumental Version, Gangsta Paradise with Choir (remix): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YWRREgi8dA
Gangsta’s Paradise (1995)
Artists: Coolio and Kylian Mash
Student 1
As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (cf Ps. 23)
I take a look at my life and realize there’s not much left (cf. Dante’s Inferno?)
‘Cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long, that
Even my mama thinks that my mind is gone
Student 2
But I ain’t never crossed a man that didn’t deserve it
Me be treated like a punk, you know that’s unheard of
You better watch how you’re talkin’, and where you’re walkin’
Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk
Student 3
I really hate to trip but I gotta loc
As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool (cf. line 2)
I’m the kinda G the little homies wanna be like
On my knees in the night, sayin’ prayers in the streetlight (cf. line 1 – death)
Chorus (A number of students)
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Student 1 or 4
Look at the situation they got me facin’
I can’t live a normal life, I was raised by the street
So I gotta be down with the hood team
Too much television watchin’ got me chasin’ dreams
Student 2 or 5
I’m an educated fool with money on my mind
Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I’m a loc’d out gangsta set trippin’ banger
And my homies is down so don’t arouse my anger, fool
Student 3 or 6
Death ain’t nothin’ but a heartbeat away (cf. momento mori, Seneca, Brevitate Vitae?)
I’m livin’ life, do or die, what can I say
I’m 23 now, but will I live to see 24?
The way things is going, I don’t know
Bridge (a number of students)
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me?
Chorus (a number of students)
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Student 1 or 7
Power and the money, money and the power
Minute after minute, hour after hour
Everybody’s runnin’, but half of them ain’t lookin’ (cf. Plato’s Cave allegory – Republic?)
It’s goin’ on in the kitchen, but I don’t know what’s cookin’
Student 2 or 8
They say I gotta learn, but nobody’s here to teach me
If they can’t understand it, how can they reach me
I guess they can’t, I guess they won’t
I guess they frontin’, that’s why I know my life is out of luck, fool
Chorus (a number of Students)
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Been spendin’ most their lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Keep spendin’ most our lives, livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise
Bridge (a number of students)
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me?
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the ones we hurt, are you and me?
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Stevie Wonder / Doug Rasheed / Larry James Sanders / Artis L. Jr. Ivey
Gangsta’s Paradise lyrics © Wb Music Corp., Large Variety Music, Boo Daddy Publishing, Black Bull Music, Madcastle Muzic, Jobete Music Co Inc, Universal Songs Of Polygram Int. Inc.
Rehearsal Procedure – Students in Action; Teacher as Director
Based on the number of students, the teacher divides the class into groups and distributes lines of the song lyrics based on the number of students in the class.
Each student is given a paper with the lyrics of the song, but also links to Coolio’s rap song, Gangsta Paradise. Students read their ‘parts’ according to flow of the text.
Students break up into working groups and discuss their parts based on what they have learned in class. They can look at the original reading of the text and discuss the historical events that pre-dated the creation of the song. They can discuss the differences and similarities of problems about poverty, inequality, housing, schooling in their own countries.
Students come back and read the text again as if one voice until they ‘get it’. In the link, an instrumental version of the song is provided. The teacher can choose to rap the song without an instrumental in the background or with one. The teacher gives tips and direction on tempo, rhythm and emphasis, etc…
The teacher can also choose to allow a certain number of students to act out the narrative element of the song in parallel to the spoken rap in the song. E.g. Protagonist/Narrator/Mother/’Homies’ in the Hood/Enemy Gang member(s)/Murder victim(s)/School and Uncaring Teacher/Chorus
Students in Action – Teacher leads discussion (forum theatre)
Students are now ready to perform the rap song as a group – Song and Acting (when the teacher chooses to allow a number of students to act out the narrative embedded in the rap song).
Teacher stops action after each lyrical segment/strophe (not in the middle of a strophe) with the following questions in mind:
®What is going on? To what is the protagonist of the song referring? Who is he? What kind of life is the protagonist leading? Is it a good life? Is there something bothering him – something hanging over his head?
®What relationships are being revealed? The protagonist is narrating his own story, but who else is involved? What is going on in their community? What is the relationship with the ‘school’ and teachers? There is a relationship with the Mother, but where is the Father? Etc… Can you think of similar situations in your country/community?
-Who are the ‘characters’ present in the song? E.g. Protagonist/Narrator/Mother/’Homies’ in the Hood/Enemy Gang/Murder victim(s)/School and Uncaring Teacher/Chorus
-How are the characters presented ? Positively or negatively? Doomed? A threat= Aggressive? Indifferent? Uncaring?
-What is at stake? (in discussion, justification, etc.)
-What are arguments/points is the song making and how are these expressed?
Students in Action: Support and Debate (teams)
The class is divided into groups that start a debate to support the different points of view that have emerged: the pupils can do research on the net to be able to support their arguments more effectively . Several or more sides can be developed, for example:
- The side of the protagonist and his ‘homies’ (friends)
- The side of the rival gang
- The side of the Mother
- The side the School
- The side of the chorus – tradition – conscience
- The side of the listener
Some questions to reflect upon:
What role does inequality place in the protagonist’s life and his ultimate fate? Is he really trapped or just too seduced by an alternative form of fame?
Are parents to blame? Are schools to blame?
What can schools do to better listen to students in difficulties?
Why do we make enemies out of our neighbours (brothers) ? Etc…