For this progress report number one, right now I have just been brainstorming ideas on what the songs are going to be about. Meaning if the songs are going to be school related, like will the content have things mentioning objects used in school or ideas mentioned in class. Or are the songs going to not be school related, it will be about things in life that have nothing to do with school and nothing to do with what classes have been teaching. I’ve also been brainstorming about concepts like one liners or two liners, whether it is something that resonates with my current state or if it’s something clever playing with two meanings like a pun. And when I say I’ve been brainstorming I’ve been writing any conception I can think of almost like automatism to get the creativity going for productivity. Some examples I have been brainstorming are this; thinking of making four songs based on what I’ve learned in the four classes I choose that I should add into the song with all the content I’ve learned throughout the whole class throughout the whole semester. So let’s say one song is going to be about learning in a class that was Technical Production, the song will use all the terms I was taught in the Technical Production class. Maybe some coding phrases I came across in the class, then making a conception in the lyrics that’ll paint a visual or imagery showing what I actually did in the Technical Production class. Another class I passed last Semester was Topics and Perspectives, in that class I was taught current events that are happening lately mostly related to technology usage. Things such as what is the current state of people inventing or doing with the new technology made these days. So another song could be verses going through all the inventions and what people have been doing lately with these inventions that I was taught in the Topics and Perspectives class. That is brainstorming some conceptions that are related to school. Now notions that are not related to school are some going like this; one song being about showcasing lyrical prowess and technicality. Making a song showcasing me varying flows and deliveries on the song. So rapping is slow or normal or fast or extremely fast. Then besides the flow and delivery, the lyrics will be all over the place as if it was made from a scattered-brain artist. From brainstorming the song will probably be inspired from an artist that already made the song, but I will be just using the beat and creating my own lyrics to the same beat. Another song I have in mind that is not related to school is rapping about my current situation in living in the middle class but having to become my own man and make choices in life whether to join the military or stay working where I’m working now. And in turn that choice will determine whether I will stay afloat in the middle class or if I will have to stoop down in the class levels. That song is not scattered everywhere. That song is more topic driven and has a path to stay on throughout the whole song. But even in that song there will be play on words to keep the listener interested throughout the whole song. So those are a few examples of what I’ve been brainstorming and what my brainstorming process is like when I write all of this down on paper in the notepad I showed in the weekly progress update #1 on my ePortfolio. Oh and I can’t forget to mention the beat selection process, I’ve been searching through the internet especially on youtube for rap beats. Any kind of beat that is provided through video or should I say Mp4. Just clicking one video showing a beat to another video showing a beat to another video. Seeing if this beat resonates with the inside of my body somehow versus another beat. Once I find a handful of beats, I add it to a playlist almost like a collection and after I finish the brainstorming process I will get to the next step in making the song to the beat.