A Journey of Focus, Excellence, and Mastery.
Negus- noun: Kingship, royalty. Inspired by the works of artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Kehinde Wiley, I wanted to explore different levels of identity and representation of the black male in the United States. "Negus" is a Hip-hop work that asks African-American males, where do we come from, who are we now, what values [...]
As much as the prison complex and the rap industry affect the livelihood of black males in society, they also affect the way in which black males are seen in this society. Again, the understanding of how a criminal label can affect how you are seen is fairly simple, but the role of the commercial [...]
Part 3: Ice Cube—previous member of the rap group, NWA—in The Art of Rap says, “What [street knowledge] means to me is letting the streets know what the politicians is trying to do to them and then letting the politicians know what the streets think of them, if they’re listening.” In the same interview, Ice [...]
This project explores the impact of many commercial rap songs on our society in regards to the representation of blackness in America. It also combats the use of glorifying criminalization within rap songs as a way to silence the productive voices of blackness and black people in this country. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbnneR--Ucs&feature=youtu.be
I want to tell y’all a story 'cuz Hip-hop showed me something… I remember witnessing 20-plus students in my classroom allow fear and insecurity to inhibit them from comforting and helping a couple of vulnerable students. See, I had given the class a task: Create a circle One person at a time: go into [...]
A little more than a week ago, I completed one of the most ambitious goals I’ve ever set for myself—the production of an online dance course. This course is a culmination of the saturated learning experiences during my short time as a teacher. Releasing the Get Groovy course got me thinking about the journey that [...]
This past semester I was honored to give a talk about passion to a group of undergraduate students at The Ohio State University through an event called "What's Your Number" hosted by Vanessa Scott. Through this event, I was reminded of how powerful testimonies can be. Sometimes, it is not about preaching what others should [...]
Over the holidays I've been processing about my MFA project that I have to create in order to, for a lack of better words, establish my legitimacy as a graduate student in dance at The Ohio State University and show how artfully intellectual I am which I'm clearly doing by writing this long-behind sentence... I've [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI_tJxgPv4g&feature=youtu.be I am in the midst of creating a stage concert work called "From Within. And Back Again" that focuses on conventions in life that help to spark ones soul. Whether it be an overwhelming joy, anger, or sorrow, there are moments in life where our spirits feel as though they want to burst beyond [...]
I look upon the civil rights issues we face as a country today in regards to police brutality and am thankful that there is such a heightened awareness. I appreciate, even more so, the restlessness-turned-to-action during a time in my life where I care about the events that are going on around me. Just a [...]
Quilan 'Cue' Arnold 