Positively Philadelphia: Two Students Rap Against Dropping Out
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - "Don't Drop Out, Do Drop In" is the title of a rap song written by two Philadelphia students, Maurice Blackwell and Baasil Branch.
(Song excerpt:) "We don't drop out,/ No, we just drop in,/ If you look, somebody's sitting at home/ Then bring 'em in..."
"The song is talking about not giving up on anything that you do, and it's to motivate kids that did drop out to come back to school," says Blackwell.
Both young men attend Camelot's Excel Academy Central, a school for teens who have fallen behind or dropped out of school. And both have been there.
"It was, like, cutting classes..." recalls Branch.
"Hanging around the wrong crowds, basically," continues Blackwell. "Getting caught up in different things. I wasn't following my own path."
But they are now looking forward to college.
"It makes me happy," says Blackwell.
"Yeah, it makes us happy because, where we came from, we came the long way," adds Branch. "We're still trying to get our education and we're really not gonna give up. We know that giving up is not how to go about it."
And Blackwell says he and Branch are gaining a measure of fame at the school:
"When people hear the song, they're, like, 'We don't drop out, no, we just drop in,' walking through the classrooms, singing the song, just giving us props, all throughout the day in school."
Sadiqa Lucas (right), the managing director for Excel Central, explains how the song came about:
"Well, I got with Maurice and I got with Baasil, and I asked them to come up with a theme song for Excel Central, and they took it upon themselves to turn it into their experiences and what they were going to do to encourage young men and young ladies to get into school, and that dropping out was not an option."
That's Positively Philadelphia!
Reported by Lauren Lipton, KYW Newsradio 1060
Hear Lauren Lipton's podcast, which includes the full song, "Don't Drop Out, Do Drop In"...
