Inuvik (Mar 04/05) - Inuvik may not be a hotbed for rap music, but elementary students in Jerry Woolridge's Grade 6 class at Sir Alexander Mackenzie school (SAMS) class are pretty pleased with their recent contribution to the genre.

As part of a class restitution project, the kids wrote, recorded and shot the video for their song called The 5 Basic Needs.

They call themselves the 6B Rappers.

Woolridge and his students thought writing a song was a great way to express what they had learned about the importance of respecting others - a tenet of the restitution program employed at SAMS to help deal with disciplinary issues.

Rap video

"Then we came up with the idea of a rap video because we thought other kids would be more interested in something like this," said Woolridge.

So his 6B Rappers went about crafting a song, writing a verse a day, and then recording it.

This was followed by the creation of a story board to plan the video.

For 6B Rapper Connor McLeod, the result was well worth the effort.

"It was a good experience for everyone in the class and I had a great time."

His words were echoed by bandmate Merissa Mitchell.

"I was proud to do the video," she said.

"It was the best thing we ever did all year."

Fellow classmate Kyle Bilodeau, who relocated to Inuvik from Hay River in September, thought the project was a good icebreaker.

"I just moved here so it was a good way to get to know my classmates."

Those interested in checking out this crackin' tune can download it at www.restitutionnorth.ca.