Serpent Trails – ‘Rap’ video transcript
Voice over
The Line campaign has developed these resources about respectful relationships.
(Rap intro music playing)
(Interview with Toby Finlayson)
Toby
Hey what’s happening? My name’s Toby Finlayson from Desert Pea Media and I’m coming to you from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
I’m based in Sydney in New South Wales but I’ve been doing community hip-hop projects in communities all over Australia for the last 10 years.
(Beats music playing in background while shots show Toby in the classroom writing a stanza on the blackboard and students recording)
Toby
It’s taken me on the most awesome journey, all over Australia, the central desert, Torres Strait, even overseas – the Philippines, Thailand, all working with Indigenous communities using rap music and song writing as a tool to engage young people.
(Cuts to a young boy rapping)
Toby
It’s really just about using your own language to express who you are and where you come from and what you want to see in your future. It’s a process of naming your world and describing it and expressing yourself and that’s really important, no matter what form you’re using.
(Beats music in background and cuts to students rapping and recording)
Toby
Rap music gets a bad rap. A lot of people in Australia think that hip hop music is an American form and that it’s not so relevant in Australia. I think that couldn’t be further from the truth. Essentially rap music is rhythm and poetry. That’s what it stands for. It’s just a story telling form that’s really easy to access, really popular in the world at the moment, especially for young people. For me, rap music is an awesome and really good way to tell your story and anyone can do it, doesn’t matter where you come from.
(Cuts to shots of students rapping and recording)
Toby
It’s just been a real honour to be able to go to some of these communities and make music with great people. If you’re thinking of getting started being an MC then here’s a couple of things that might help you get the ball rolling. First up, here’s a basic rhyme structure consisting of four counts of four, or a stanza if you’re feeling technical.
(Cuts to Toby in a classroom writing a stanza on the blackboard. He refers to the board as he continues to talk)
Toby
So each one of these is four beats. Yeah? And so to write one section you need to write four lines. And the end of each line is going to rhyme. Yep? This is a very basic example and rules are made to be broken but this should get you started.
(Continues to write stanza on the board as students rap the stanza they have written)
(Cuts back to interview)
Toby
The next thing I try and get sorted is a story. Every story has three things in common and that’s a beginning, a middle and an end.
(Cuts back to Toby in the classroom at the blackboard)
Toby
So what we’re going to do is there’s going to be two sets of four – one, two three four and that’ll be our first verse. So this is all about the happy stuff, the good stuff. Yeah? So the first one’s going to be about sport, a bit about being healthy and the next one maybe a bit about country, how beautiful this place is, the river, the ranges, you know.
(Cuts to shots of students rapping as Toby continues to talk)
Just make sure you tell a story that comes from you and your experience. It can be anything at all but just make sure it’s spoken in your own voice.
(Cuts to Toby’s studio in Sydney where he is sitting in front of his recording devices and software)
Toby
Alright so here we are back in the studio in Sydney in New South Wales. In this segment I’m going to give you guys a couple of dos and don’ts about how to become an MC and some of the tricks of the trade.
(Beats music playing in background as Toby speaks)
To become an MC the first thing you’re going to need is a beat. Or some kind of rhythm to get you started and give you something to vibe off when you’re writing your rhymes. The options are endless.
(Cuts to Toby walking along a railway track as he speaks)
You can find rhythm anywhere from drumming on the table to your favourite instrumental hip hop track to loop software which you can get for free on your computer. Or you could just get one of your friends to beat box for you. You could use the train and the click clacks of the train tracks as you’re going along. There’s rhythm in everything and that’s the first thing you’ll need when you’re writing the song.
(Cuts back to Toby’s studio)
Next thing you’re going to need is rhymes or lyrics. Earlier we spoke about structure and story and if you were listening in English class at school you might remember things like alliteration, metaphor, simile, all these kinds of grammatical techniques that help your story telling and your communication using the written word. Basically the bigger your vocabulary is, your kind of skill set in writing rhymes, the easier it’s going to be for you. You can get a dictionary and you can look through and find new meanings and find new words for different things and you can get a thesaurus which might also help you with different options for writing. So over the last little while I’ve written a few sets of four on my mobile phone-
(Holds up his mobile phone)
-and I’m going to show you how easy it is to quickly spin a rhyme over a beat.
(Turns to his computer and sets up a background beat and raps his lyrics over it and records it)
(Interview with Toby interspersed with images of students rapping and recording)
Toby
So the next thing to remember is it’s always a good idea to record your rhymes. That means that you can kind of analyse your technique and your sound and you can kind of hear what other people are hearing when they listen to your rhymes. The more recording you do will solidify your recording techniques, up-skill you and you end up with better products. The first thing you’re gonna need is a mike. They come in all different shapes and sizes from about $50 worth to about $1000 worth and varying levels of quality. So this microphone here is your sort of middle of the road performance mike and also recording mike.
(Holds up microphone)
It’s about maybe $150 retail and this will have you sorted for performing and also for recording your first rhymes. So once you’ve got a microphone the next thing you’re gonna need is some kind of system to record onto. If you don’t have access to a computer then you can just try recording on your phone. Most phones have the capacity to do vocal recordings and that’s a great way to get started.
So the idea is to use your words and your voice as a drum when you’re writing hip hop. Every MC has their own sort of system and flavour. They call if your ‘flow’. Try and use your own unique style, try not to imitate anyone else and speak with your own voice and your own story and try and create something that’s a bit different. The main thing is that you enjoy yourself.
(Cuts to image of Toby walking along railway track and juggling)
Hip hop is about expressing yourself and talking about your world and what you believe in and what you think about and also giving people something to listen to and enjoy. As with all art forms, especially at a professional level, it’s not always going to be easy. There’s always some kind of stumbling blocks to get where you want to be.
(Cuts back to Toby in the studio)
It may be technical difficulties, access to equipment, motivation, writer’s block… all these things contribute to making it a challenge.
(Cuts back to Toby juggling on railway track)
Like all things that are rewarding and worthwhile, it’s not going to be easy. So stick at it, keep your chin up.
(Cuts back to Toby in his studio)
Hip hop is about creating, about expressing yourself, about naming your world and the things that are happening around you and telling your story and that’s really valuable.
Voice over
Make some art with your heart. Check out more ideas and Josh’s winning rap video at theline.org.au/indigenous
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