BRANDON BROWN: Light bulb filament, iron board, dry clean, potato chips, peanut butter...
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
That's Brandon Brown proving history has rhythm.
BROWN: Pacemaker. That's right. Lawn mower mailbox, even traffic lights.
RASCOE: The former California history teacher and assistant principal performs as Griot B.
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GRIOT B: My name is Griot B. We are School Yard Rap. Welcome to my class.
RASCOE: Griot B and his organization School Yard Rap turn lessons into songs - from African Americans in baseball to former President Barack Obama. It's like "Schoolhouse Rock!" with a Black history focus. "Black Made That" celebrates Black inventors and is his entry into this year's Tiny Desk contest. This month, we're showcasing some of our favorite entries.
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GRIOT B: There are many things that Black people have invented, like the stoplight, traffic light, GPS. See, Black made that. When I say Black made that, you say all that. Black made that.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: All that.
GRIOT B: (Rapping) Wake up, hit the switch, whole room light up. Notice that filament, all in the light bulb.
BROWN: I'm not just listing off random things. It's all about telling the narrative and a story, especially on first verse and, you know, waking up, hitting the switch, the whole room light up. Notice that filament in the light bulb? Lewis Latimer invented the carbon filament that actually helped Thomas Edison's light bulbs stay and actually bring light consistently. And I think that is probably the most poignant story and example of, you know, the history of African American inventors throughout America, oftentimes overlooked.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) Black made that, all that. Black made that. What you say?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: All that.
BROWN: The inspiration around "Black Made That" was my mom, really. She gave me a list of all these inventions African Americans have made, all right? And I was like, oh, this is pretty cool. And I was like, yeah, "Black Made That." The hook was - it sparked.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) Every time you Xbox, PS4, Jerry Lawson made the first console. Like, when you go see a 3D movie, say Hannah and Dunkley brought this to me. That's...
The reason why I think these things have been omitted from our history books and our lessons is because Black people didn't write the history books. And it does us a disservice because many of our youth see - and they matriculate through their education system without ever experiencing seeing themselves as greatness. You know, we don't have as many African Americans achieving in those areas of science, technology, engineering, arts and math as their counterparts. And I think this offers an opportunity for them to see themselves as inventors.
RASCOE: Brown says, back in the day before Griot B and School Yard Rap, he was a pretty traditional teacher.
BROWN: Sit down. Be quiet. Raise your hand. Yes, sir. No, sir. Very regimented - one of my students one day, he played a song in the cafeteria. He said, Mr. Brown, listen to this. And I listened, and it was absolutely horrible. I said, it's trash. And I went home and wrote a song about the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act using the same beat from Chief Keef "Don't Like (ph)." That was the song he played. And it was like, (singing) Stamp Act, that's that thing I don't like. Quartering Act, that's that thing I don't like.
And I took it to class, and the kids loved it. It was a shift to my pedagogical style and really a light-bulb moment. And so I started making music, and our test scores went up 14% that year on our standardized test.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) Washington D.C. is nice. The President's house is white. Every time you look at that, know those who built it were Black. Facts.
BROWN: The third verse traditionally is always kind of something more for kind of middle school and high school students as opposed to elementary school students. And that one talks a little bit about cultural appropriation.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) Seen on us it's ugly, but on others it is praised. Like, corn rolls are thuggish, but I love those boxer braids. It's the same thing, different skin and different name. Taken straight from us, but the thief gets the fame. Look, rock 'n' roll...
BROWN: The song was written along - around 2016, '17. And at that time, specifically, it was a huge topic of conversation, cultural appropriation.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) Black made that, all that.
BROWN: I felt it very prudent to include that, not as a - you know, not as a put-down against white folks, but rather an opportunity for us to see those contributions brought by Black folk, but we don't get much credit.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) It's Black-made. This, this, this, Black-made. When you look in the mirror, smile, hey, it's true. You're astonishing, and Black made you. Like, Black...
BROWN: Seeing yourself as an educator, seeing kids that look like me, see me tell them that they're great - it's kind of like an ancestor looking down, an elder telling them they're proud of you. It's a moment where you see yourself, and also you are seen, and everybody wants that - to feel seen.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) Black made that, everybody, all that, all that. Thomas Edison made the light bulb. Cool, but...
RASCOE: That's Brandon Brown, who performs as Griot B. His song "Black Made That" was a 2026 Tiny Desk contest entry.
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GRIOT B: (Rapping) You need a X-ray to see broken arms. How you think food travels across those states? Fridges in trucks keep all that safe. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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