Mr. Mayers’ class is in session. A$AP Rocky headed back to a Harlem elementary school to teach kids a thing or two about rap for the Wednesday (Feb. 4) episode of Celebrity Substitute.
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. Each student then had a crash course in Rap 101, which saw them flip their names into a couple of rhymes.
“[Rap] means everything. Rap is my life. I was actually just like you guys. I grew up not too far and that’s where I learned to rap,” he said.
Rocky surprised the kids by building out a professional recording studio space in the school, and they each had a chance to bring their bars to rap over the Harlem native’s Don’t Be Dumb single “Punk Rocky” beat.
Fatherhood is treating Rocky well, as his parenting skills were on full display while being patient with every kid and giving them some helpful rap tips. He even stepped in to deliver some bars himself.
Rocky also played music-video director while assisting in choreographing the kids’ debut visual “IDK,” which was shot in the classroom in part with a fish-eye lens.
“Welcome to Harlem/ This is where I live/ There’s no other place as unique as this,” a couple of the students rapped together.
It looked to be a heartwarming exchange for Rocky reconnecting with the youth, and the students got a once-in-a-lifetime experience out of it, too.
The Mob frontman delivered his Don’t Be Dumb album in January, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 123,000 total album units earned.
Watch Rocky’s Celebrity Substitute episode below.
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