May 7, 2008
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Hip Hop's M usic Education
Free after school
program shines bright
A my V anacore
F or the P or i land O bserver
Even when it's raining out­
side, a bright light shines on
students at Vernon Elementary
School in northeast Portland.
D e s m o n d S p a n n , a ls o
known as “ Dlux: The Light,” a
local hip-hop educator, pro­
ducer, poet and em cee, has
been teaching V ernon 4th and
5th graders the art o f creating
hip-hop music since last fall.
"This is more fun than w ork­
ing at a bank,” Spann said. "I'm
an example o f how hip-hopcan
be encouraging and positive. 1
want to show kids strength and
beauty, encouraging positive
changes, bui Idi ng up rather than
by
tearing down."
Support for the after-school
program com es from the Ethos
Music Center, a local nonprofit
organization dedicated to the
promotion of music foryouth in
under-served communities.
Ethos is in its fourth y e a ro f
providing V ernon and other
north and northeast Portland
schools with a broad range o f
after-school m usic classes, in­
cluding piano, guitar, band,
choir, A frican drum m ing and
dance, rock band and hip-hop
music and technology.
T he classes are free thanks
to funding from the Portland
C h ild re n 's Investm ent Fund,
w h ic h s e r v e s 1 6 ,0 0 0 o f
Latori "Rose" Wilkerson of Vernon Elementary learns about music during a
hop class made possible by Ethos Music and Portland’s Children's Investment Fund.
Portland's neediest children, at
least half o f w hom live below
the federal poverty level.
All of Ethos' classes encour­
age students to express them ­
selves and thehip-hopclasses
haveaspecial focuson helping
students find theirow n voices.
Spann stands apart from
many hip-hop artists in that his
work is grounded in the desire
for constructive and social
Desmond Spann, also known as the hip-hop emcee “Dlux:
The Light" gives some music tips to Jade Alleyne during an
after-school music program.
progress.
“ I'm tired o f black com m u­
nities looking hopeless. I'm here
to bri ng t he hope back. To g i ve
people a reason to nod their
heads, besides the beat being
tight. I want the beats to be tight
and lyrics tobring insight so we
can goout here in the world and
m ake a change for the better,"
he said
T he Portland City C ouncil
Advertise with diversity in
has subm itted a property tax
m e a s u re to re n e w th e
C hildren's Investment Fund in
the N ovem ber G eneral E lec­
tion. If it passes. Ethos and 66
other nonprofit programs that
provide a variety ofafter-sch» x »1.
early childhixxl, mentoring, and
chi Id abuse prevention and i nter-
vention services will be able to
continue reaching the kids who
need it most.
‘rin |JortIaxxh (Ob sc ruer
Call 5O3-2881-OO33 ads@portland<>b servl-.com