“I want to congratulate you on an incredible job in school,” rapper Common said to the students at Farragut High School at the Kanye West Foundation’s 3rd annual Stay In School event.
“I want to congratulate you on an incredible job in school,” rapper Common said to the students at Farragut High School at the Kanye West Foundation’s 3rd annual Stay In School event. The event, which rewarded over 3,000 CPS students who improved their grades, behavior, and attendance, brought out three of Chicago’s most notable hip hop stars.
Common, Lupe Fiasco, and Kanye West gave students a memorable performance while celebrating their achievements. The three hip hop icons also visited John Marshall Metropolitan and Percy L. Julian High Schools before ending their mini-tour at Farragut.
The Kanye West Foundation, which partnered with Chicago Public Schools, the Mayor’s Office, and Students Helping Our World, founded by students, David Abrams and Zack Harris, felt it was important to not only address the increase in violence in Chicago, but to go directly to the students and their communities.
“In light of everything that is happening in Chicago, Kanye and the Foundation felt the need to reach the kids directly – in their schools, in their communities,” said Joseph Collins, CEO of the Kanye West Foundation. “The reports about what’s happening in the community have spread around the world and we did not feel it was enough to simply bus the kids to a concert. We want to walk the same halls and sit in the same rooms as the students to show that we care about them and what they are going through.”
West, who’s been out of the public eye since his appearance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, did not want to let the students down.
But before West hit the stage, Lupe Fiasco performed his hit, Superstar followed by a high level performance of Universal Mind Control from Common. As the concert went on, the students grew antsy in anticipation of West.
Then when the rapper, known for his bizzare on-camera stunts, appeared on stage the students went wild. West ran on stage and performed his verse from Run This Town followed by Good Life, and his new single, Power.
West, who was also celebrating his 33rd birthday, kept the students engaged but left most of the talking to Common and Lupe.
“Whatever you do, be the greatest at it,” Common expressed before closing out the concert. Rob Huberman, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, who was also in attendance, was proud of the schools that competed to have the concerts at their campuses.
“As part of the culture of calm … when you mobilize our principals, our students, our teachers – all working together on a common goal of reducing violent incidents, of improving attendance, of focusing on academics, … great things can happen. And these schools that competed and did great things proved just how that could work,” Huberman said.
CPS started the Culture of Calm program at specific schools identified as having high incidents of violence, low academic performance and high truancy rates.
The schools have special programs and initiatives aimed at addressing those issues.
Tiffany Shaw, a junior at Farragut, was also proud of her school and felt other students could achieve the same goals if they worked hard enough. “I was excited when I found out we won. You get rewards if you come to class on time and have great attendance. Farragut was called a bad school in the past but it makes you work harder when you have celebrities come out here, and we made it happen by doing great and putting our best foot forward.”
Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender.
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