"Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake" Objective Summary #2

    In the second section of Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake by Dalton Higgins, Drake works his way into the music industry, making new friends and even gets a record deal. Aubrey Graham, Drake's birth name, was written off of Degrassi and then began to focus more on his music, which had gained a fairly large following. Eventually, Higgins explains, there were so many record labels wanting to pick up Drake that he didn't know which to chose. Drake, having a tough time choosing which label to sign to, recalls getting a call from one of the most popular rappers at the time, Lil' Wayne, asking for Drake to fly out to meet him and record a collaboration. Drake ended up on tour with Wayne. Wayne's label, Cash Money Records, known for such people as Busta Rhymes, Nicki Minaj, and DJ Khaled, asked for Drake to join their extensive roster of well known, popular rappers. Shortly after signing, Drake released what was regarded by many as the best rap song of 2009, Best I Ever Had, proving to Cash Money Records that Drake was worthy of their hit-producing label.

Drake (right) with fellow Young Money members Nicki Minaj (left) and Lil' Wayne (Center).

                                

Drake's most popular song of 2009, Best I Ever Had

Essential Question Blog Post

Essential Question: Do Outside factors affect how you perceive music?

Claim: Yes, outside factors do affect how music is perceived. 

Reason: Emotion being portrayed in a song affects the mood of the listener. For example, a song about death or a break-up, like "You're Not Sorry" by Taylor Swift, is usually sad and leaves the listener feeling depressed, while a song about partying and having a good time, like "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, usually has a happy or excited mood and leaves the listener happy.

This man is showing happiness while listening to music, probably because he's listening to a happy song 

"You're Not Sorry" by Taylor Swift is an example of a song that leave you feeling sad afterwards.

Reason: How one was raised or the religion they believe in affects the mood of the listener. For example, someone who was raised with religious parents might think that some songs aren't morally right causing one to dislike a song.  

Far From Over: The Life and Music of Drake

Drake, in the wheelchair, and the cast of Degrassi: The Next Generation

       In the first section of "Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake" by Dalton Higgins, Aubrey Graham, known better as his stage name Drake, and his friends and family recollect on his early years, where he had trouble fitting in with the other kids at school because of his race. Drake, being one of the only black kids in a largely Jewish dominant area of Toronto, Canada, had a tough time making friends. When he was a little bit older, however, he helped to start a band called Renaissance, which performed mostly hip hop and R&B. Higgins explains Drake felt at home when performing and was completely devastated when he got the call that he was out of the group, only a few weeks after their first gig. At the same time, a peer's father at Forest Hill Public was looking for a fresh, young actor, as Drake recalls, and he saw Drake as the new actor he was searching for. Drake then auditioned for the Canadian hit TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation and got the role. This became a second home for Aubrey where he tells us how he quickly began to make friends with the other actors on set like he had never done before. Dalton Higgins explains in this section the change that Aubrey Graham made, from not being able to fit in, to being the star of one of the most popular teen dramas in Canada.


Higgins, Dalton. Far from Over: The Music and Life of Drake, the Unofficial Story. Toronto: ECW, 2012. Print.

Music Survey Results

   According to our survey music is very popular in our classroom. Hip-Hop/Rap and Rock are the most listened to music in our classroom. Country and electronic/dance were tied at 21% each. 14% picked other music so a few people don't like any of these genres which is rare because these genres are some of the most popular genres. 64% of the class listened to music more than two hours a day, which is a lot! More people don't play an instrument by about 7%. 85% of people listen to different genres of music when they are in different moods.  People like guitar and or other types of instruments in our classroom.

Music Survey

Click here to take survey

Beat the Band Discussion Question #3

        Compare and contrast Helen with Prudence.

Five Great Facts About Bullying

    Cooper Redmond has feelings mainly towards two girls in the story, Prudence Nash and Helen Harriwick, both of which are extremely different in appearance, but similar underneath. For as long as anyone can remember, Helen Harriwick has been picked on and called names like "Hot Dog Helen" but nobody is sure why; they all just follow the crowd. Prudence seems to be the ring leader of the crowd of bullies as she is usually the first one to call her "Hot Dog Helen" in any situation. Cooper has feelings for both girls for different reasons. As stated in the book, Prudence has a great body and a strangely attractive attitude, consisting mostly of snarky comments and put-downs. Helen, on the other hand, always wears baggy clothing, probably because she has low confidence from all of the rudeness and hatred towards her, but has a very soft, kind personality that is warm and welcoming. But even though Prudence is nothing but rude to her now, she was not always that way. In fact, Prudence and Helen used to be best friends in eighth grade until Prudence claimed Helen stole her boyfriend after he left Prudence for someone else. Prudence, even after learning that Helen did not steal him, continued to call Helen names because it was making herself more popular. While Helen is telling this story to Cooper, she says, "Back then Prudence and I did everything together... We had everything in common: bands, the boys we liked, and even pizza toppings..I just think all of the attention got to her head and made her go crazy"(Calame,335). Helen and Prudence shared a lot in common together, and they probably still do. There is only one difference: Prudence is popular and Helen is not. This one difference, though seemingly small actually makes all the difference. Because of Prudence's popularity, her confidence rises and she spends more time trying to impress others by bullying people like Helen and improving her appearance. And Helen is left, alone and depressed, in her baggy clothing and barely brushed hair with no friends because people are afraid to associate with her. Helen and Prudence, seemingly polar opposites on the outside actually have tons in common. This connects greatly to the theme of not judging a book by it's cover. If people got to know the real Prudence and the real Helen, not just the people they see bullying or being bullied, they would see that they are the same person underneath.

This is a Great Segment From an Episode of the Tyra Banks Show About Bullies and Victims of Bullying.

Beat the Band Discussion Question #2

Explain how Cooper's friends Matt and Sean have changed throughout the story so far.

A Great Quote That Goes Along Well With This Book.

    In the book Beat the Band by Don Calame, Cooper's friends, Matt and Sean, have grown and changed greatly. Cooper has been buddies with Matt and Sean since the beginning of time and each has their own perks, Matt is smart and hardworking while Sean is more "Class Clown" like, but during their sophomore year of high school is when change really begins to happen. Towards the beginning of the book, Matt and Sean are very lazy and do not want to work to improving the band. Matt even tells Cooper, "Two whole songs? You have got to be kidding me! Coop, there is no way, no how we are going to ever be half as good as Prudence's band. I've got to go mow my lawn or something. Later Coopee"(130). Even Matt, the hard worker, knows that they suck and won't get any better. He even makes up an excuse for leaving practice early. Towards the middle of the book, however, is when we start to see a real change come on. After being forced to practice, Arnold Murphy's Bologna Dare, Cooper's band's name, has really picked up steam and is definitely getting a lot better. With this, the whole band's confidence rises. Matt and Sean even start to have fun with the band and were telling each other how much more enjoyable it is when Cooper says, "'Guys, we have been rocking out for 5 hours straight. It's 10 o'clock.' Sean quickly shoots me a look of surprise, 'Oh man, I was supposed to be home an hour ago. I guess I didn't realize how much fun playing an instrument could be!'"(227). Sean's change from the beginning of the book is evident here, as he even says that he changed his mind about playing an instrument. The change is definitely visible by the end of the book, after the competition when Matt asks Cooper, "Could we do this again sometime? You know, the Arnold Murphy's Bologna Date? I could see about getting my uncle to letting us play at his restaurant... I just had a lot of fun playing with you guys and would hate to see it end with this competition"(388). Matt and Sean have not just enjoyed themselves in the few months of band practice: they have had a blast. They both want to continue to play even if there is no upcoming competition. Throughout the story, Matt and Sean have gone from hating the band, to wanting to spend more time and money to keep it going. This is clear evidence of their change. Not only do Matt and Sean learn from this experience, but the reader does as well. This book has a lovely take-away message of not giving up, even if you want to, you just might change your mind.

Matt and Sean Show Great Persistence Throughout the Book.