… this song here contains over 40 different important concepts in the subject of biology/all you homo sapiens out there right in the house/wave your hands above your head and wave them all around… —from the song “Same Kingdom” from Funkamentals’ CD Education by Any Means Necessary
Want to motivate middle school and high school students to study science? Teachers, it’s time to come correct, get your swerve on, and drop science. No, not literally “drop science” from your curriculum. It’s just the hip-hop way to say teachers should do things properly, prepare confidently, and demonstrate their pedagogical skill by using hip-hop music to teach science. So say the members of Funkamentals, an Arizona hip-hop performance group that writes new lyrics for popular rap songs that can be used to teach students science, math, and other subjects.
Founded in 1997 by middle school teacher/producer Wade Colwell and producer/musical prodigy Ranson Kennedy, Funkamentals derive their name from the “funk” of soul music and the fundamentals of knowledge, according to Colwell. And unlike some of the hip-hop and rap songs hitting the charts, Funkamentals’ lyrics contain none of the ill (bad) language while remaining furilla (for real).
The group’s repertoire includes such songs as “I Want Your Elements,” which teaches about the periodic table of the elements, and “Meters, Liters, and Grams,” a hip-hop hymn to the metric system. Besides covering academic subjects, their catalog also contains a song to help students perform well on tests (“Defy the Game”).
Their live performances feature energetic dancing; MC’s (masters of ceremonies) on the microphones; and the band, which includes musicians Troy Hill (drums) and Joel Gottschalk (bass). Funkamentals has performed nationally at such venues as the University of Michigan; the Harlem School of the Arts; The World Anthropology Conference in Washington, D.C.; and a National Council of Teachers of English conference.
Their CD, Education by Any Means Necessary, costs $12 and can be ordered from www.funkamentals.org.