A$AP Rocky headed back to a Harlem elementary school to teach kids a thing or two about rap for the Wednesday episode of Celebrity Substitute, where Mr. Mayers’ class was in session and fourth graders got a crash course in hip hop from one of the neighborhood’s most famous success stories. Rocky was peppered with questions initially by the inquisitive fourth graders who asked about his real age, if he had ever been bullied and if he was married to Rihanna, before each student had their chance at Rap 101 which saw them flip their names into a couple of rhymes. The rapper told the kids that rap means everything and is his life, explaining that he was actually just like them growing up not too far away and that’s where he learned to rap, connecting his journey to their own potential. Rocky surprised the kids by building out a professional recording studio space right inside the school, and they each had a chance to bring their bars to life rapping over the Harlem native’s Don’t Be Dumb single “Punk Rocky” beat with real equipment and production.
Fatherhood is treating Rocky well as his parenting skills were on full display while being patient with every kid and giving them helpful rap tips, even stepping in to deliver some bars himself to show them how it’s done. Rocky also played music video director while assisting in choreographing the kids’ debut visual called “IDK” which was shot in the classroom in part with a fish eye lens, with a couple of students rapping together “Welcome to Harlem, this is where I live, there’s no other place as unique as this.” It looked to be a heartwarming exchange for Rocky reconnecting with the youth in his old neighborhood, and the students got a once in a lifetime experience working with a professional rapper, building confidence and learning that someone who grew up just like them made it big and came back to inspire the next generation.
