EP. 031 - SEBASTIEN

TO TEACH. TO EMPOWER. TO INSPIRE.

SEBASTIEN ELKOUBY

'360 KNOWLEDGE'

Age: 47

Location: Los Angeles

Sebastien Elkouby is a former hip hop publicist andFounder of Global Awareness Through Hip Hop Culture, one of the nation's only UC/CSU approved, high school based Hip Hop Culture course.

I’m a product of hip hop culture. It’s my voice. I embodied the elements of hip hop without knowing it. Therefore, my relationship with hip hop had to happen.

There are five elements to the culture: MC’ing, Dancing, Graffiti, DJ’ing, and Knowledge. The fifth element is what is often lost in translation in the 21st century. As a kid, I was always interested in metaphysics and the supernatural. Extraterrestrials. All that. Hip hop was the perfect cultural medium and vehicle to channel my interests. It just so happens that it was the perfect frequency for me.

I moved to Los Angeles from France when I was nine years old. I use hip hop culture as a tool to teach my students in South Central because I wish someone would’ve done that for me. As a 16 year old, I never cared about high school. I completely checked out because hip hop captivated me. School couldn’t compete with what I was getting from this culture. I was immersed in seeking knowledge, so I wasn’t really shunning education, I just couldn’t connect with the way school was trying to educate me.

At 16, I started using hip hop to inspire and motivate my peers just like Rakim, Queen Latifah and Public Enemy had inspired me. What I do now as a teacher is an extension of that: To teach. To inspire. To empower. If I can reach just one student to help them see themselves in the music, to see their brilliance, their power, their potential- then I’ve done my job.