Challenged to try something new as an artist by a friend, Tommy Raps began his Daily Series at the start of 2023, just to see if he could.
Raps was up for the unique challenge of writing a rap, recording and editing a music video, then getting it uploaded to social media, all that within 24 hours.
After completing a video for every day of January, he was prompted by social media followers to complete one for Black History Month—and that's exactly what he's done.
Starting with a video about Robert Smalls, who escaped slavery by hijacking and commandeering a Confederate ship and later became a politician and businessman, Raps went viral on TikTok. His next video about the artist Jean Michel Basquiat garnered over 150K views via Instagram.
Raps goes into each video with a sense of enjoyment and open to learn something new.
"... It started off as something just kind of fun. And then once I started kind of getting into more of it, I was like, you know, I didn't know a lot about Robert Smalls, actually," Raps said.
"What about the other unsung people who have contributed to where we are today? I should probably shine some light on them. Then I was like Beyonce just got 32 Grammys. I think that counts as black history."
In addition to past historical Black figures, his videos give homage to celebrities who play instrumental roles in popular culture such as voice actors Cree Summer and Phill LaMarr, who followed Tommy Raps on social media after viewing a video Raps created sharing his accomplishments and Dallas' very own, neo-soul artist Erykah Badu.
Black History Month
Black History Month was first established as Black History Week in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson. The second week of February was chosen as the observance because both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln had birthdays on the 14th and 12th, respectively.
Nearly 40 years later, Kent State University students proposed a monthly observation in 1969 and in 1970, the first one occurred at Kent State University from Jan. 2 through Feb. 28.
President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month in 1976, during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial.
Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society—from activists to inventors, scientists and entertainers.
Woodson's organization, now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), designates a theme each year.
The theme for Black History Month 2023 is Black Resistance. It is an exploration of how Blackness is not a monolith, but a monomyth . It is the journey of Black heroes and heroines constantly overcoming repeated adversities century after century.
The use by Tommy Raps of rap lyrics as a form of expanding the knowledge surrounding Black History Month comes just at the 50th anniversary of the genre of Hip-Hop.
Tommy Raps is opting out of using profanity and suggestive themes so that the videos are family friendly and can be used in educational settings.
"I want these to be able to be handed down. I want people to be able to show their children these things. And kids go, 'Wow, this music is cool. Wow, this person is cool. These subjects are really cool' ..." Tommy Raps said.
As Black History Month concludes, Raps has compiled a Honorable Mentions list where he shares nearly 80 individuals in a short video. He plans to close with a "secret" video.
"The actual grand finale, which is a Harriet Tubman story... is not the Underground Railroad."
You can catch up on his videos and watch his finale via Instagram at @1tommyraps.
Got a tip? Email Brittany Stubblefield-Engram at bstubblefield-engram@kera.org.
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