RANKIN INLET
A trio of musicians hit all the right notes during a special Hip Hop Week with students at Simon Alaittuq School (SAS) in Rankin Inlet this past week.

Jessie Nahalolik and Kathleen Merritt, right, work on their throatsinging rhythm during a Hip Hop Week workshop at Simon Alaittuq School in Rankin Inlet this past week. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo

Throat singer Kathleen Merritt of Rankin, beatbox performer Nelson Tagoona of Baker Lake and hip-hop artist Aaron (Godson) Hernandez of Yellowknife conducted musical workshops with students throughout the week and performed in a mini-concert to climax the gathering.

Merritt said she thoroughly enjoyed rotating through the SAS classrooms giving throat-singing workshops. She said she was excited to see the music video Hernandez created with the SAS students and the raps they came up with throughout the week.

"We held a little concert at SAS at the end of the week to reward the students for all their hard work, and we got a couple of them up there to perform with us," said Merritt.

"This is actually the third Hip Hop Week we've run through the National Art Centre's Music Alive program.

"The first was in Kugluktuk two years ago, and the second was in Baker Lake this past year.

"We run music programs through the Music Alive (Nunavut) program in Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, Kugluktuk, Iqaluit, Cape Dorset, Iglulik and Panniqtuuq."

Merritt said one teacher told her some students wrote more in Hernandez's songwriting workshop than they had at school all year. She said the key to some of the youths' involvement might very well be the fact they don't realize they're actually working during the sessions.

"It seems to be different to them than what they do every day in their classrooms, but, musically, we are getting them to write and think. To me, that's the really cool thing about this.

"I've also heard a few teachers say some students, who are really shy and rarely speak in class, were really participating in the workshops and were among the most vocal of all the students.

"One comment was about this one a kid who usually never, ever talks but he came into the school this past week beatboxing, and it's really cool to hear about kids coming out of their shells and really participating."

In addition to working with more than 100 youths at SAS, Merritt and Tagoona also performed for more than 200 kids at Leo Ussak Elementary School.

Merritt said the National Art Centre will always be committed to helping create musical education and opportunities in Nunavut communities.

She said a big thank you is also owed the Government of Nunavut (GN) for its help with the program.

"The GN helps fund this program so we can work in schools across the territory. It's a good program I see continuing for many years to come, especially the week-long projects because we also do all kinds of other things in many different communities.

"We're trying to do more week-long projects, though, because we really see the impact they have on the kids.

"We work with the arts organizations, schools and various partners in the communities to determine what they want in terms of programming and then respond to that."

Tagoona said he had a blast teaching the basics to making music during his workshops with the students.

He said he was encouraged by how quickly and eagerly the kids took to his approach.

"I teach them the basics of rhyming to hip hop, as well as the basic history of hip hop and the basics to beatboxing," said Tagoona.

"I also have the youths write a song with me throughout the week.

"Then, at the end of the week, we present the song we came up with."

Tagoona said he couldn't have asked for a better reaction to his work than what he received from the SAS students. He said the youth were in a zone and ready to go every single day of the week.

"The reaction from the youths here was, really, more than what I expected.

"This was, really, the first time I did something like this.

"Usually I just teach music, so the main difference with this approach was in getting the youths to write a song with me I actually played in front of the whole school during our last event here."

Tagoona said he seems to get the biggest reaction from youth when he actually starts performing. He said that's definitely also when the kids get the most inspired by what he does artistically.

"They start saying they want to do this when they grow up, because they're seeing what a trained individual can actually do with it.

"That gives them more drive in wanting to reach, or inspire, themselves towards music."

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