What do Others say about rfa?

“[Rap Force Academy] is exceptional at teaching through Hip Hop. Years of experience in presenting to thousands of youth has given [RFA] the somewhat miraculous ability to connect with diverse groups of youth in very short amounts of time. The transformative education provided is a unique resource and represents a critical move forward for education and music. It's been my pleasure to interact, teach with and grow with Rahman over the years, in his niche he is virtually without peer.”
--Barrett Raftery, DJ, Nine Music, September 16, 2011

"I took a class about the history and elements of hip hop during my sophomore year of high school. Learning about this culture connected me to people in my school where I previously was not friends with any of my peers. I transferred to this school at the beginning of the school year and I had never felt so out of place in my life. But through hip hop, I found a place I felt like I belonged in. In this class I learned so much about myself and about becoming emotionally conscious. Being more connected to myself and my emotions allowed me to connect more easily with others, as I was able to read their emotions more easily as well. I look back at the rap songs I wrote for this class and I am amazed that I was able to come up with such powerful words. I am a different person as a result of hip hop. The things I learned in this class have stuck with me and inspire me every day."
​--Jamie Harding, Tahoma/Rainier Public Schools, San Jose, CA, 2012-13

“Rahman was so energetic and he made an effort to make us feel included and like we had a voice.  It was a life changing experience, granted I was only 15 and hadn’t really been out in the world, but I still had real experiences and he allowed me to express a lot of angst.  He always emphasized eye contact and being engaged with our audience.  Just a few days ago I had a job interview and these are things I remembered to help me with that as well."
--Luz Campuzano a.k.a. "Lucy Camp", Tahoma/Rainer Public Schools, San Jose, CA, 2011-2012

"A holistic, experimental, and developmental experience. Not only did we study the history of hip-hop, founding fathers and elements of, but we developed inter and intrapersonal communications. It was such a deep class, I learned a lot about myself, pushed my self, and was able to tie multiple aspects of my life to the art."
Manuel Delgado, Student, Summit Prep Charter School, Redwood City, CA, 2004

"San Francisco's Ruth Asawa School of the Arts will welcome its first full class of students to a newly launched 4 year "Spoken Arts" track....which will have a focus on hip hop and spoken word poetry! One of the issues that we've worked on a lot in SF public schools is making sure that our arts programs, especially at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, fully reflect the brilliance, talents and voices of our young people in San Francisco. This will always mean a place for the "classical arts" (ballet, symphony) but it also must mean an equal place for arts like world dance, world music, and yes, HIP HOP. A couple years ago we authored a resolution to create a task force to address this question, ended out of district admissions at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, created a new summer program to support students in applying. A lot of those recommendations are being implemented now, at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, and across the district. Earlier this year, I was able to connect amazing brilliant hip hop educator Rahman Jamaal with new Ruth Asawa School of the Arts Principal Barnaby Payne (who is an incredible leader and already making big things happen!), as well as with the Mural and Music and Arts Project (my favorite youth arts nonprofit in the Bay Area). And now I just heard that they'll be welcoming their first class of "Spoken Arts" students and that Rahman will be the teacher of the program, in partnership with Mural Music and Arts Project and Youth Speaks! Great news for the school and for our kids! Thank you all for your leadership in making this happen!!"
--Matt Haney, President of SFUSD Board of Education, 2017