As a music-loving kid growing up in Scarborough, Michael Grandsoult vividly recalls his childhood hyperactivity, a state of being that would inevitably lead him toward one of his life’s greatest passions.
“I had a ton of energy when I was younger and was more hyperactive and less refined. My mom took me to the doctor and because of this he wanted to prescribe me medicine like Ritalin,” Grandsoult remembers. “My mom wanted a different route for me, and so hip-hop became my medicine. Listening to those raps, I wanted to understand every syllable, every line of that music.”
With a newfound love for expression through wordplay, the same kid that doctors wanted to slow down found himself speeding up as hip-hop culture became Grandsoult’s main focus and enjoyment. While his style was slowly taking shape through third-grade talent school performances of Kris Kross’ “Jump” and discovering the legendary Wu-Tang Clan before high school, the biggest impact hip-hop had wasn’t the music to his ears, but the message to his brain.
“Not only did it help me to listen, but it also allowed me to project my own voice when I picked up the pencil. I thank the genre for giving me a chance at expression, empowerment and confidence,” he said. “It helped me then, and still to this day, to channel my energy into a positive and constructive task.”
In Grade 6, Grandsoult began freestyling with his friends for fun. Grade 9 saw him pen his first rhyme, and by the end of high school, he along with other artists had begun their own solo projects on the side, leading to the release of three albums in 2008, 2015 and 2018.
As his music projects continued to flourish, perhaps the only thing the MC held in higher regard was his professional career as an educator. As the Grade 8 teacher at St. Maria Goretti Catholic School in his hometown, Grandsoult began exploring ways to bring the same positive effect hip-hop had on him to his students.
Enter the Hip Hop Headucatorz — a crew of 12 connoisseurs of all things hip-hop culture, doubling as professional educators, with the common goal of reaching and inspiring their students. Formed in 2019, Grandsoult recalls how the group first connected.
“I knew a lot of people who had that common intersectionality of being hip-hop-heads but also being teachers. I thought we should do a song where everybody involved is a teacher; from the beatmaker, to the rappers, to the person doing the cover art and even the DJ handling the scratches,” he explained. “It was supposed to be a one-off track for World Teachers Day, but it was so successful and so much fun that we wanted to bring this to the kids as a bigger community.”
One of their latest offerings is a Catholic-themed song made in conjunction with the Headucatorz, with all featured artists being teachers within the Toronto Catholic District School Board. The track titled “We’re Called and We’re Chosen” features backing music produced by hip-hop beatsmith Adrian Khan (I.Khan) and a poetic intro from Kristine Lamonday, while Grandsoult (MikeAll), Dean (Nettz) Netto, Rachael (Rae-C) Chen-Netto, Andrew Gergely and Severyn (Just Sev) Artymowycz provide raps. Rhodora (Rhedz) Meliton-Vanderpool sings a motivating hook throughout the song, which serves as a call to action, enjoining Catholic educators to lead by example.
“This was the first time as a collective we were able to make a song about our faith. It’s rooted in the Gospel, in the message that Christ told us: ‘All people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another’ (John 13:35),” Grandsoult said. “This is another way we are trying to show the children in concrete examples what that love looks like.”
With lyrics like “From Advent, birth of the King, Resurrection, forgive us our sins, we do the same with your direction” and “Why should Catholic ed be taught in school? So common sense pupils see the God in you,” the track does what it set out to do in reaching out to the youth with Catholic principles set to beats sure to make your head nod. (The official track can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=67qC1z5YeNs).
In June, group member Netto was recognized with the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, showing the Headucatorz’s far-reaching impact. The group also recently released Headucator Kids, an album designed specifically for early learners and children with autism.
With the Headucatorz continuing to produce tracks on the side, the group also incorporates hip-hop directly into their school’s curriculum. Grandsoult illustrated that instead of breaking down Shakespearean literature, students in his class may get their reading comprehension by analyzing lyric passages from certain rap songs. For Black History Month, his class takes a look at various artists and projects from artists that relate to the African-Canadian experience. Students have even earned their oral communication marks through performative pieces, presenting their findings in front of the class, at assemblies and even travelling to different schools to perform.
“The same things it did for me, it’s doing for the youth. We have reflected on how the music has improved their confidence, their reading for deeper meaning, their use of figurative language and developing a mastery for poetry,” he said. “It is all about self-expression and engaging your audience. The reading, writing and reciting are all important life skills you gain from understanding hip-hop and students can apply those to any job in the future.”
Grandsoult is hoping that if enough student remixes of the latest song are completed, performances can be arranged for Catholic Education Week in 2025. In the meantime, hip-hop education will continue to take place at St. Maria Goretti and beyond.
For more information about the group, see https://hiphopheaducatorz.com/.