Students, from left, Yonas T, Rex and Noah. 70892 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By Laura Wakely
“Living without fear is like living in a dream.”
This lyric by Victoria University Secondary College students Kyanne and Noah is one of many that describes life for western suburbs teenagers.
Their song, Violence Ain’t Good, also talks about the peer pressure to get involved with drugs, alcohol and criminal activity and what young people have to do to overcome the temptation.
The track was one of many created through the Words not Weapons program, a collaboration between schools, the Department of Justice and Mushroom Music Publishing.
The Deer Park students met with hip hop musician Mantra, who helped them develop rhymes about the issues in their lives.
Teacher Michael Currie said he heard about the program from a friend and started asking if his students could be involved.
“I’ve seen kids at recess and lunch doing rap battles and things like that so I knew we definitely had the students who would relate to that workshop,” Mr Currie said.
“Mantra did a freestyle performance and they were hooked.”
At a series of workshops students developed their rhymes, working on the language structure and talking about how to express the issues that were close to them.
The lyrics were then sent to Mushroom, where professional artists collaborated to create the track.
The song chosen was by students Kyanne and Noah and featured the chorus “violence ain’t good, you gotta change this in the hood, struggling to get through, these streets will take their toll on you”.
The song will feature on a compilation album with the songs created by other schools.
Crime Prevention Minister Andrew McIntosh said the program was all about finding alternative ways to violence for people to deal with their feelings.
“It was also a unique opportunity for students to work and learn from people they respect, outside of the usual classroom experience,” Mr McIntosh said.
Mantra was impressed by the attitude of the students involved.
“These kids just attacked it with so much enthusiasm, but also made really considered choices with lyrics, phrasing and storytelling,” he said. To find out more about the program visit www.livenofear.com.au
