Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Blue 3 Streisel
29 September 2018
Rappers
Every day, rapper and sophomore Isaac Brown tunes in to rap music. At the same time,
Annie Kim, officer in the Share The Music Club and sophomore, can be found listening or
playing classical music, while Sam Chenoweth, associate director of choirs, turns on the musical
theater he enjoys. The three said music is a vital part of their lives.
They are hardly alone. According to Nielsen Music, Americans listened to music for 32
hours per week in 2017. Students at this school create and listen to a wide variety of music,
ranging from cutting-edge electronic to the oldest baroque. But with such a constant presence in
“Some songs end up being earworms, and those are usually the upbeat ones or a slower
one with a nice melody,” Chenoweth said. He cited the main line of “Great Balls of Fire,” a
“It can be something fun to remember throughout the day,” Chenoweth said. “Or it can
even change their mood. If a student comes to choir not having the best day and we do a song
that is fun and exciting and they enjoy, then it can definitely change the way they feel.”
This effect can go both ways. Kim mentioned the song “1-800-273-8255” by rapper
Logic, which references the phone number of the American National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline. According to Kim, that song may make some people depressed.
She added, “I always listen to music in the morning because I’m too tired to function so it
wakes me up.”
Brown said listening to rap definitely has a positive impact on his life.
“Listening to rap sometimes has kept me from doing things that I know I shouldn’t be
doing, so I think it has helped me on a way more personal level,” Brown said.
However, lyrics of songs can also affect students negatively. There are many popular
songs that cover negative themes such as sex, drugs and money. These themes have come to be
“Sometimes there’s not really a lot of school appropriate songs with young kids listening
Lyrics can have different impacts, depending on the person. Chenoweth said he had a
profound experience with the lyrics in the recent fall musical “Edges.”
“The words in that show are about so many different things, but about things that are real
life and that impact people and that don’t necessarily mean the same thing to everyone so it’s
cool to be able to latch on to them in your own way,” Chenoweth said. “In general, I like
anything with a story. Even more than the music, it's the lyrics I get hooked on more.”
Brown said rap lyrics can often have negative connotations, but that’s not for him.
“People think that rappers are very aggressive or violent or all they care about is money, sex, and
drugs,” Brown said. “People think of the artist as bad, and I don’t think that’s great, especially
for me, because if you’re looking at a certain artist and hear those lyrics you associate them with
that bad stuff. So I don’t write about that, I write about my personal feelings.”
He said his music even pokes fun at the negative aspects of his genre. “I kind of joke
about it and put all of that stuff aside, like these rappers talk about this, but I talk about how I
live my life and going through different stages of my life and how difficult it may be or how
Brown brought up the messages of his own music and said how he intends to make an
impact on listeners.
He said, “I want people to know that I am 100 percent honest with not only myself but
with other people,” he said. “I want everyone to know that I put everything in my life into this; I
“Putting your own emotions behind music is exactly what makes it good music. If you
In the end, Brown said rap has certainly had a positive impact on his life. He is currently
working on pieces with sophomore and DJ Ethan Meneghini, and puts passion into his work,
with themes mainly from his personal life. “It’s about more than gangs and Compton. It’s an
outlet.”
“There’s a quote I really like, ‘When words fail, music speaks,’” Chenoweth said. “Music
can touch people in ways that other forms of communication can’t, it’s the most authentic form
of communication.”