Push It, Grab It, and Dialectic

Am I the only one who sometimes thinks it would be fun to use Salt'n'Pepa's "Push It" and L'Trimm's "Grab It" to introduce students to dialectic? I wonder if it's crossed Jeff's mind before...the lyrics are a little risqué, and I don't know if I'd really bring the songs into class, but if any of you would like to try it, be my guest, and let me know how it goes. :) As you probably recall, the argument in "Push It" is simply, "Push it real good." But in the lesser-known rebuttal to "Push It," L'Trimm instructs us to "Grab it like [we] want it." The first few lines are as follows:

You say you want to push it but your pushing is through

Let's push you aside and show you what to do

You got to grab it, grab it like you want it

And then later in the song: "So take a lesson, and I hope you learn/That if you push it, it might not return." Listen to the songs, and please share your thoughts. Be sure to listen to "Push It" first, then "Grab It".

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To clarify:

Caveat: I don't want anyone to think I think this is what hip-hop pedagogy is, that I've missed the point entirely (surely I've missed it to some extent, but not entirely). I don't know much about hip-hop pedagogy -- and I'd like to learn more -- but I think I know what it's not: more of the same rhetorical theory. That is to say, I don't think it's about appropriating hip-hop to suit the objectives of training in Classical rhetorical theory. To me, the "Push It"/"Grab It" combination is interesting no matter what one chooses to do with it.

OOh, thanks for the mp3s!! I

OOh, thanks for the mp3s!! I loved Salt n Pepa. And the Grab It sounds good...

the audience loves me

I wouldn't call it megalomaniacal to change "Roxie" to "Clancy"; I'd call it giving a realistic assessment of yourself and your cyber-audience. (BTW, the new color photo of "Roxy" is excellent, but is the older alluring b & w still on the site somewhere?)

And I love them!

Aw...thanks for the compliment on the photograph, but I disagree that the whole Roxie thing is realistic; I definitely file it under "Delusions of Grandeur." :) The b&w photo I think you're talking about is here:

Some people like this sort of goth-y one too, but I haven't posted it here until now:

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