Are You a High School Rapstar? People Are Looking for You.

Locally, Franklin, Rainier Beach, and West Seattle high schools are participating in the Get MotivatED Challenge, in collaboration with Def Jam Rapstar. The grand prize is a trip to New York City to meet with Def Jam executives like Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles, and the chance to perform a rap live on BET’s 106 & Park. 

The idea is that entrants will come up with a short rap or spoken word video about how education influences their life: "You can rhyme about your goals, going to college, school pride, hard work, dedication--it’s up to you!" You have to get your video entry up by March 18, and the earlier, the better. West Seattle's got one up already:

I do not know a lot about rap, but some of these suggested topics don't sound very gangsta to me. School pride sounds especially soul-killing. Look what "Be True to Your School" did to the Beach Boys, and they really had no rep to lose to begin with. I don't know if this contest is "Blue Scholars Approved," like the Hip Hop Word Count project, but I think it could use a Blue Scholars take. You want something on the influence of education? Listen to this:

As students, we learn that cultures are remembered and live on through how they’re documented, be it oral tradition, historical record, or otherwise. Hip-hop as a culture has its own documentation: its lyricism. Often times, academic takes on hip-hop forgo its own self-expression and context, with a anthropological, subjective and theory-heavy approach that zaps the authenticity out of the account. 

Here are the rules: "Only U.S. residents who are current students, ages 13-19, are eligible to submit videos. Videos must be no longer than 60 seconds in length. The contest is open for submissions from 2/21/2011 to 3/18/2011. Voting will take place from 2/21/2011 to 3/18/2011. Individuals will be required to sign in to vote.  Anyone over 13 years of age can vote.  Voters can vote for multiple videos but can only vote for each video one time."