Last month, WSHS students spent their French class in the theatre to listen to a unique guest speaker. Many came in expecting to hear just another lecture, but instead, he conveyed his message using his interactions with the audience on the spot.

Xuman, a popular rapper in Senegal, is known for incorporating uncensored and authentic political messages in his music. His most popular song, Daan, has currently over 87,000 streams on Spotify.

As he presented, he taught the students his personal method for coming up with lyrics: brainstorm words to use, match the syllables, and make the last words rhyme. He allowed them to identify what it was they were passionate about and mold it into art, expressing themselves through their own lyrics with his guidance.

Born in Ivory Coast, Xuman started writing lyrics and poetry at a young age, inspired by hip hop culture. When the comments of the Ivorian president during the early 90’s caused disagreement amongst the younger and older generations, he believed it was necessary to incorporate his sentiments around the political scene into his lyrics.

When asked what advice he has for artists at WSHS who want to express their strong opinions about the current state of the U.S. government, he instructed, “Trust the process.” He elaborated by explaining that it’s crucial to take the time to build craft and be sure it’s coming from the soul. His final piece of advice was, “Make [art] out of passion, not mercy.”