The Grammy Award winner spent the day dishing out advice, teaching music theory and playing with the students Watch video
TRENTON -- Haitian-born hip-hop star Wyclef Jean dropped a beat -- and some advice -- during a daylong visit to Foundation Academies in Trenton.
With their teachers playing drums, piano and strings, the fourth- and fifth-graders threw out words -- school, music, fresh and sneakers -- and Jean wove them into a rap before launching into "No Woman, No Cry":
"You got to stay in school/ Trust me homie/ When you grow up, you don't want to be a fool."
Jean, a New Jersey resident, spent the better part of Tuesday with the charter's elementary, middle and high school students, sharing his experiences, teaching music theory and playing with them.
"We were able to organically create music together," music teacher Emily DiUglio said. "He answered a lot of questions they had, but then he would lay down a line and we would just build on top of that in a really cool way."
He talked about everything from the importance of the students surrounding themselves with positive people and never doubting themselves to responding to hate and the music-writing process.
"Looking at y'all and seeing what you're doing, it's remarkable," he said. "When I was your age, I had that same passion and that same drive."
The school's CEO Graig Weiss said Jean was generous with his time and the message he shared was invaluable for the kids to hear.
"In a lot of ways, Wyclef has a background similar to a lot of the kids," he said. "The odds are obviously stacked against them and so his presence and his message for the kids lets them know that 'You can dream big,' 'You can achieve these things.'"
At Foundation, the music curriculum begins as early as kindergarten and from fourth grade on, all of the students play a string instrument.
Weiss said that music is part of a well-rounded education, but it also helps them thrive in other subjects and teaches them responsibility and teamwork.
"I think they'll go home tonight and probably practice a little extra hard," he said.
Foundation first opened in 2007 with fifth and sixth grades and has gradually expanded. By next year, it will be a K-12 school serving more than 1,000 students.
The academy has seen every student from its first three graduating classes of 2014, 2015 and 2016 get accepted into four-year colleges and universities.
Weiss largely attributed that success to the "dedicated, passionate staff," who he said sets high bars for the students and works with them to make sure they rise to the occasion.
"Too many times, people set too low expectations for kids, so we're out there saying, '100 percent of our kids are going to go to college and 100 percent of our kids are going to play string instruments,'" Weiss said.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.