Love Beats Rhymes Page #2

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You wanna rap?

That's fine with me.

But from now on you gonna have

to do it between classes.

Hey, coco. Coco!

What?

I thought you'd be

working on your demo.

I'm doing both. Just need eight

more credits to graduate.

What are you taking?

I have an accounting class at

3:
00, just to finish my major.

And then just lookin'

for some bullshit course.

I got the perfect

bullshit for you.

Easy a.

Nah, no, no, no.

Yeah. Trust me

on this one.

No, no, no.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No.

Yeah.

Poetry?

Hell, no.

Just give it a chance.

Professor's gonna be amazing.

Uh, excuse me, darling.

I think you're in my seat.

I think you're blockin' my view.

Well, listen that's my bag

next to the chair.

And this is my ass in the seat.

"I don't write poetry.

"I sweat poetry.

"I drink poetry.

"I breathe poetry.

"I make love to poetry.

"I fight poetry.

"I bleed poetry.

"I once tripped over poetry,

"got angry and kicked poetry."

"I live poetry.

"For I am poetry.

"I do not write poetry.

"Poetry writes me."

Welcome to poetry 101.

I am professor Nefari Dixon.

Thank you.

For the next 12 weeks

we will be discussing

the rhythmic

language of experience.

Poetry.

How many of you have

ever written a poem?

Ah.

How many of you

don't even like poetry?

Well, let me give you

a word of warning.

This class is not

for the faint of heart.

You will explore

the limits of your abilities.

You will find those limits

and you will soar

past those limits.

Remember this.

Reading a book will

change what you know.

Reading a poem will

change who you are.

This is my teaching assistant, Mr.

Derek Morris.

He will run the study services

as well as be responsible

for the bulk of the grading.

We are fully-booked.

Who's that?

Sorry.

Any students that aren't

registered in this class

will have to audition

in order to get a place.

The audition process is simple.

Recite a poem from memory.

No songs. Just poems.

And I will decide who stays

and who goes.

So, let's get into it.

Who's first?

"How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways."

"If thou wilt not,

be but sworn my love

"and I will no longer

be a Capulet."

"Once upon a midnight dreary

"while I pondered

weak and weary." Hi.

Thank you. Chris.

Seat won't go down.

"I pledge

allegiance to the flag..."

And who do we have left?

Who do we have left?

Floor's yours.

"I start to think

and then I sink into the paper

"like I was ink.

"When I'm writin' I'm trapped

in between the lines.

"I escape when I

finish the rhymes."

Yes!

Rakim, right?

Yeah.

Well that's a rap. So, I'm

gonna disqualify you.

You said "no songs." You didn't

say anything about "no raps."

And I think you're misunderstanding

what the audition process was.

No, I understand what

you're saying. I get it.

What you're

trying to say is that

what some dead dudes

wrote 100 years ago

is more important

than hip-hop is today.

Ooh!

I'm sorry,

what's your name again?

Coco Ford.

Well, I'm sorry, coco Ford,

but you're disqualified.

That's wack.

I'm out of here.

It is not an assumption that

you need this class to graduate.

So I suggest to all of you

who are remaining

to focus.

How can they teach poetry

and leave out rap?

Right?

Where's the English department?

This ain't right.

Coco!

Next.

The Rakim fan.

Have a seat.

A little before your time, no?

My pops got me open on Rakim.

It's the first rap

I knew by heart.

Oh, you're one of those, huh?

You think that rap

and poetry are the same.

Yeah.

I grew up on hip-hop, okay?

I was the shorty running

around all the block parties.

I've forgotten more about hip-hop

than you will ever know.

And I've watched it

become misogynistic

and small-minded

and uninspiring.

Not all hip-hop is

misogynistic and small-minded.

Oh. You're talking

about conscious rap.

But no one listens to it.

They don't play it on the radio.

And no one buys it.

So you're just gonna turn your

back on the whole culture?

Oh, with fantastic lyrics like

"I woke up in the morning and

the girls were still there."

"They were naked with

their asses in the air"

and, I don't know,

some canonical work

by Ifmao or

whatever their names are.

Professor, you and your ta,

Mr. Morris

are in a position to inspire

people to do better.

You have a platform and a voice.

I'm not turning

my back on hip-hop.

Hip-hop has already

turned its back on us.

I'm sorry, class is full.

None of this sounds like us.

That's the point. We're

supposed to make a hit.

But it don't sound like a hit.

Yo, man, reasons makes

better beats than this sh*t.

Thank you, man.

Matt, come on.

Seriously,

you guys, we don't have

that much time to

get this together.

We need to come hard, all right.

Like east coast style, son.

Coming hard is why we're still

recording in this dingy-ass basement.

Yo, whatever, man.

I mean, for real.

We are not gangstas.

We have never been to jail.

And we ain't got no guns.

Coco, I got guns.

Where?

That's it.

Let's drop that.

No, that's the sh*t

I'm talkin' about.

Let me know when you guys are done.

I'm takin' a nap.

Get that "I'll be sure" line

and all that.

Especially, get that one.

You good?

Yeah, yeah.

Watch your feet.

You know you're wrong.

Co, can you forget about shorty?

Let me get some.

You ain't gonna give me none?

Have one.

Why are you so worked up?

Hmm?

You wound up way too tight.

Feel good, right?

It feels okay.

You know it feels good.

Yeah, co, we gonna get it.

All right?

We gonna get it.

We gonna get it.

Guess who's blowin'

you up on Twitter.

Derek Morris at

Derekinspace writes,

"students, next time

you can't get your way

"don't go running to the teacher.

#freshmanfail."

That's not me.

Girl, you know it is.

What's his handle?

They can keep me out of class, but

they can't keep me off Twitter.

You gotta turn

everything into a battle?

Check this out.

That little hip-hop diva

is putting you on blast.

Let her in.

The iambic pentameter

is the most common way

of writing poetry.

Can you repeat that?

Iambic pentameter.

I want you to know this.

I want you to take her home,

ride her all night if you will.

But please,

do not marry the b*tch.

Well, this week's assignment

was for you to write something

that scares you.

Who's willing to share

what they've written?

Let's see. Coco Ford?

You only let me in class today.

I'm aware of that.

But you are responsible

for your assignments.

You did receive the email with

your assignment and the reading?

Yes?

I did the reading. I just didn't

have time to finish the assignment.

I only had a few hours.

Oh.

Try to keep up.

As part of your curriculum,

you are expected to attend

at least one of Mr. Morris'

weekly slam poetry field trips.

Mr. Morris,

where is it this week?

This week, guys, we're gonna be

heading to the Nuyorican poetry slam.

Welcome to the house

Miguel Algarin built.

A mix of Nuyorican soul

and neighborhood hustle.

Here, you can learn

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