Music and Social Justice Network - Music, Youth and City Life in the Digital Age - Workshop 2

This is the second in a series of three workshops facilitated by youth worker and journalist Ciaran Thapar.

This series of workshops will explore the role that music plays for young people in the contemporary British city and rapidly unfolding digital age. From this context, it will draw theoretical and practical lessons on how to use social and musical education to be as impactful and inclusive as possible whilst working with young people. The focus throughout will be on current music genres, such as Drill, that are popular amongst young people. It will be accessible and beneficial to curious education professionals of all ages and backgrounds.

Who is this session for?

Educators, teachers, youth workers, charity-sector workers (programme advocacy and communications), professionals who would like to improve their understanding about how trends in contemporary urban society relates to music being made by young people within it — and how this can inform best practice in education / youth work.

Led by experienced practitioners from different fields of expertise, the workshops will be dynamic, relevant and practical. Participants will gain:

• An improved awareness about how current social and technological trends in the UK are impacting the lives, educational experiences, career prospects and forms of self-expression of young people.
• An improved understanding of the modern urban music landscape in terms of genre categorisation, important lyrical themes, styles of production, and forms of mediation in the digital age.
• Improved knowledge about current academic, journalistic and industry-based conversations regarding modern music from the city.
• Practical tools for harnessing modern music — its content, form, and social context — to facilitate critical educational experiences and engage with young people inclusively.
• Practical tools for youth workers, teachers and charity professionals to govern and communicate more effectively with young people.

Workshop 2 - Identification

The entire workshop will aim to create an investigatory dialogue with participants about how you identify with yourself, society, music, and young people in the digital age. The session will take you through a critical process of how to “identify” effectively as an educator, using hip-hop pedagogy and the Roadworks music course as a reference point.

During the session we will explore how to do two things:

• Form a strong “concrete base” as a means of self-identification;
• Use a strong concrete base to impactfully identify with a young person.

It will feature facilitation from Mehryar Golestani, an Ethnomusicologist at SOAS University, otherwise known as the Poisonous Poet rapper Reveal, and assistance from Henry Onilude, a teaching assistant for primary school children, music writer, and graduate of Roadworks music education programme.

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Ciaran Thapar

Ciaran Thapar is a youth worker and writer based in London. He is co-founder of Hero’s Journey, a weekly critical thinking and mentoring programme at Marcus Lipton Community Centre in Brixton, South London, which he has delivered since 2015. He is founder of Roadworks, a new music education programme, at pilot stage, which aims to use UK rap and drill music to engage hard-to-reach young people. He has experience delivering educational programmes across secondary schools, PRUs, youth clubs and prisons in inner-London. Ciaran holds an MSc in Political Theory, and applies his interest in social justice and philosophy to writing journalism about contemporary British society. He is writing his first nonfiction book, Cut Short: Youth, Violence and Loss in the City, which will be published by Penguin Viking UK.

Website: www.ciaranthapar.uk

Reveal Poison

Mehryar Golestani, aka Reveal, is a MC and hiphop educator. He won the national freestyle battle championships (FKO Raw) in 2000, at the age of 16, and later signed to BMG / Arista as part of Poisonous Poets — alongside Lowkey, Doc Brown, Therapist, Tony D and Stylah. Born in Tehran, Iran, and raised in West London, Reveal is considered a pioneer of the international Iranian rap scene. He has toured the world with the likes of Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, Immortal Technique, and the godfather of Persian hiphop, Hichkas. Reveal lectures ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London, where he is completing his PhD about technology and the mediation of popular culture, hiphop and UK drill music.

Website: www.revealpoison.com