Put God in the zess

SHAUN BIGGART-HUTCHINSON

Bishops High School student Michael Smith, 15, is the star of a series of videos which have gone viral on social media showcasing his rapping skills.

Contrasting with the violent and often unpleasant images sometimes seen of schoolboys and girls fighting, the videos show young men having fun while sharpening their lyrical talents, all while promoting Christian values. And while the radio airwaves are inundated with gunman lyrics and songs glorifying the gangster lifestyle, Smith raps are inspiring – focusing on redemption, optimism and upliftment.

In one of his videos repping "Christian city" and declaring to always put God first, Smith raps, "Well yuh see I could sing about the gunman thing, but I not really hype up on the gunman thing, cuz I have no Beretta, I have no cheddar and I definitely, definitely ain't no zesser."

Another video sees Smith raps about the power of the Bible and the power of prayer. Keeping the train of thought, another member of the basketball group chants, "Put God in ah the zess."

Smith's mindset can be traced to his Christian upbringing and when not playing football, cricket and basketball or concentrating on his academic work – IT and physics are favourites – he can be found at St Joseph’s RC Church where he is an acolyte.

With hundreds of Facebook and Twitter views on the videos, the Form Four pupil and his basketball teammates have been getting a lot of positive feedback for their freestyle Friday sessions, filmed at Shaw Park, Scarborough.

The budding rapper, who says he’s been practising for two years, spoke with Newsday at the Bishops High School pavilion where, joined by his coaches and teammates, he described his recent experience.

“Really and truly I don’t think anyone expected it. I don’t think my parents expected it. The day after (we filmed) my mother had to pick me up from class and she said: ‘Michael, son of mine you are famous.’ It was kinda good, my friends hyped me up and everybody was hyper.”

Speaking confidently, Smith said he raps for fun, recites from memory and recalled taking the craft seriously from the second form of high school, despite light-hearted criticism from teachers.

Basketball coaches Kerry Celestine and Atiba DeLeon, who oversee the Bishops High School under 15, under 17 and under 20 teams, recently established freestyle Fridays – a post training session where music and rapping replace slam dunks, layups and between the leg dribbles. They explained that it was from one of those cool down periods that the viral posts emerged.

Sharing his coaching and life philosophy, Atiba DeLeon spoke of their currently undefeated basketball season where over 40 players across different age groups are learning to respect themselves and each other. He said disrespect, bad behaviour and ill-discipline are frowned upon and an atmosphere of fun, learning, teamwork, development of social skills and positive qualities are key.

DeLeon also emphasised that “basketball – sport on a whole – and life in general, go hand in hand. Where you put in work in life, you get results; if you approach something with a positive mindset, you get something positive in return. That is what I try to preach to other coaches and players. That’s the environment myself and coach Kerry try to create.

"This whole thing going viral is a result of that. It is team building. You do things together with people and you become comfortable. The other aspect is that the kids get to express themselves, they develop their public speaking and social skills which are all elements that you need to survive in society and in life.”

Smith's mother, Aisha Keens-Dumas, said her son was interested in music since he was a young child.

“We remember once when he was four or five years old and we asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up…and he said he wanted to be a rapper,” she reminisced.

Combining her son’s education with this period of fame is something she is managing sensitively but she believes the experience will be a good one. “One of the things I am very proud about is the fact that that he was able to go viral with something positive, which is something you don’t see very often.”