smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, July 8, during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart. On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with Bomani. A seasoned performer, teaching artist, Director of Poetry Events for the Busboys and Poets restaurants, CBS Radio personality, and head audio-engineer for Urban-Intalek Studios, Bomani describes himself as a poet with a Hip Hop style.

During the segment, you’ll get a taste of Baba Bomani’s Hip Hop poetry as well as hear about his experience in the classroom. The artist teaches creative writing and prose through the exciting world of Hip Hop songwriting. By first creating a fearless, supportive and collaborative environment, he instructs children to use elements of creative writing including simile, metaphor, and rhyme to structure a song written in the pattern of a well-written essay. “Young people need to have freedom to develop an idea out loud without self-doubt and to not fear right or wrong answers,” Bomani says.

“At the beginning of a residency, there are three writing rules I give students: Artists don’t make mistakes, they make discoveries; Do not edit in your head; The only wrong answer is a blank answer.”

“One of the reasons I love group creative-writing sessions is because the conversations that go on in a group setting are the same internal conversations that go on in a writer’s head. Showing that process to young people in a physical way, where they are acting out how ideas are communicated — ‘what about this idea, what about that idea, we should take this back, we should add that in there!’ — helps them to better understand complicated topics.”

Young At Heart airs weekly from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.

Hear YA teaching artist and composer Bomani online now!