I used to be a part of this program called the hiphop academy housed by the liberty leads group inside the bank street school of education. one day one of our students was failing math which prohibited him from hanging with us.
having felt for a lifetime that word problems should involve students' interests and number problems, should be about money, I wrote this here workbook and even illustrated it with crayola marker on looseleaf but I cant find it.
and then Cuccia's beat found me and I went crazy tracking it in a rental car during warrentine. thank you.
lyrics
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1
My student's got issues with remedial math!
He said it don't apply to real life but he don't know the half!
Arithmetic separates the wheat from the chaff.
If you dream of being a star, don't let the label's staff have the last laugh!
2
MC Moe Money likes that beat by DJ Bacteria!
It's fast: 120 beats per minute or nearly huh!
Dang! That track really is wreckin!
I wonder: How many is it in beats per second?
3
MC Moe Money says, "DJ Bacteria, will you slow it by fifty percent?"
DJ Bacteria says, "OK, but only if you calculate that in bpm's!"
4
MC Moe Money has three mixtapes plus one LP.
The mixtape’s got 20 tracks, the LP got 10. Help me:
How many songs total does MC Moe Money have?
Can you express that in a bar graph?
5
If Moe Money sells tapes for $5 each,
he’ll sell over 100 per year -- platinum status in reach!
But if he gives them away free for download
he’ll book 10 shows at $50 per show.
So? Teach! Which way should Moe Money go?
(Appendix: Gross vs Net.
Gross profits are total incomes
but most expenses shrink sums.
Examples? Production and postage just drink funds.
So the costs of creation take away from what you get.
What’s left after investment and taxes is called your Net.)
6
To tour, MC Moe must spend $200 for a rental car,
$50 for gas, $0 for the mental scar, $75 for a smelly motel.
*NOW* which makes Moe money? Show, tell!
7
Booking agents raise MC Moe’s gig gross.
Lucky feller,
Moe’s “in talks” with Agents Yeller
and Cujo.
Booking Agent Cujo
promises $225 per show.
His commission is 15%
(for free he’ll be your best friend).
Agent Yeller will secure
$250 per performance.
His commission is 25%
(“Fill out this here form, friends!”).
Who did you catch a vibe with? Who will pay Moe?
Don’t forget, rehearse befoe yo’ show!
8
MC Moe Money chooses a digital aggregator
to distribute his music through online retailers.
Gooncore charges $1/track and $10/LP.
DVD Baby charges a flat $50 annual fee.
Which should Moe choose? Which does he need?
9
MC Moe Money books a gig at The Equestrian!
The guarantee is $125. His agent collects from them
55%. Tickets cost $5 to scoop.
How many tickets must the venue sell to recoup?
10
After The Equestrian sells enough to recoup Moe’s guarantee,
Moe Many makes half of each ticket sold. It adds to his fee.
The Equestrian space is 350 people at full capacity.
How much will Moe make if 50 folks pay to party?
100 people? Full capacity?
The point at which an artist gets paid by tickets is called the split point.
It helps to draw crowds when you’ve got a hit joint.
11
MC Moe Money hopes to fill venues to capacity
so he works to put on a show everyone has to see.
A mainstream, regional or internet hit generates promo
but Moe Mo’ don’t have one yet so his crowd is grown slow.
He hand-draws flyers and posters, passes out for his own show.
The hard work pays off! Journalists and artists in the front row.
55 tickets sold at box office. Words shower pure power!
Moe spent 60 hours in prep. What did he earn off this per hour?
12
Wyclef Tron earned $30K in 1990,
$25K in 1991, $33K in 1992,
$40K in 1995, $3M in 1996,
$9M in 1997, $30M in 1996,
$9M in 1997, $30M in 1998,
and $300K from 2000 - 2010.
Phew! You deserve time-and-a-half!
Please plot Wyclef’s earnings on a line graph.
Place $ on y-axis, time on x-axis.
The flow of the dough tells what next facts is.
