Revision Raps was established by Joel McIlven, aka mc appl juic, a teacher with over 15 years experience of exploring hip-hop education.
Throughout my teaching career I have utilised hip hop, from spontaneous conversational references which help to connect to students, to attempting to apply principles of hip hop to whole school practices and policies. In 2008, whilst supply teaching in east London, I began writing short raps to help students understand and memorise the material they were being asked to learn. This worked very well: the students enjoyed the lessons, and they passed their tests. This led me to write a 26 track album based on the science curriculum.
In the time since, I have created original raps for a great array of different contexts and purposes: subjects from across the educational spectrum and beyond; from nursery schools to PhD students; company mission statements to wedding speeches.
Some raps have been commissioned, well-funded, professionally produced, the result of extensive planning. Others have been made swiftly, with limited resources, or spontaneously in the classroom or corridor. The approach has been the same: the creation and sharing of raps that explain things - often to help learn and teach about particular things; most powerfully when students tell their own stories.
Revision Raps work because they combine ancient and modern technologies. Before writing, songs were a primary way for students to store information and communicate important stories. The innate musical qualities of rhyme attract the ear and make words more memorable. Since the beginnings of hip hop, there has always been a tendency to explore and find new ways of using technology, making it well placed to take advantage of the revolutionary changes we are now facing in education.
Revision Raps can be engaged in different ways: You can watch the videos, listen to the songs or read the lyrics. You can record your own songs or make accompanying videos. Our tailored programmes immerse students in the process, producing a wide range of powerful educational outcomes.
This website showcases a range of Revision Raps. Hopefully it will become an evolving resource as we find further opportunities to translate more of the world into rhyme. If you are interested in finding out more, or would like to be part of this mission, please get in touch.