Braille Literacy: A "Revolutionary" Hip-Hop Songwriter's Perspective
Donna W. Hill
December 16, 2009
He may only be 19 years old, but Gary Kammerer of Monroe, Louisiana is already energetically building a better world, not just for himself and his family but for the community and beyond. From his positive work ethic to his volunteer efforts for the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), he is using his many talents for the greater good. He's one of those young people who inspires everyone and makes us optimistic about the future.
In 2008, Gary was elected to the board of directors of the NFB's non-profit Performing Arts Division (PAD). Recently, Gary, a musician and DJ as well as the group's youngest leader, accepted the additional position of Social Media Manager. PAD assists blind performers with their professional and amateur goals through scholarships, subsidies and networking: http://www.padnfb.org
Gary manages PAD's Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages.
Engaged to be married in March, Gary will attend Delta Community College in January as a business major with a minor in music. A Baltimore native, he is a 2008 graduate of Overlea High and Academy of Finance, a magnet high school, where he studied business, world finance, sales and marketing, as well as Information and Technology. As a senior, he ran his school's radio station.
A pianist, singer, songwriter and deejay, Gary writes music in many styles, including soul, reggae and RB. He's bringing a positive, family-friendly approach to hip-hop. Born with detached retinas, he is also legally blind.
"My parents tried to save some of my vision when I was nine months old," he says, "but it could only do so much. When I was ten I developed glaucoma and have been losing a bit of sight ever since."
Gary developed his can-do attitude and independence through his association with the NFB, which believes that with the proper training, blindness can be reduced to a mere nuisance. He received training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, an NFB rehabilitation center.
"I believe I can utilize my skills as a businessman in conjunction with my music," says Gary, who is expecting his first child, "My career goals are numerous, and truthfully it depends on what comes along first. I'm a DJ, a singer, a songwriter, a composer, a secretary and an advocate. So, whichever door opens at God's will first is what I will take, and I will do my best to excel in whatever that may be to support my family."
Unlike most blind kids in America, Gary was taught to read and write Braille as a young child. It is troubling to him that over 80% of America's blind children are not taught Braille.
"I use Braille to write all of my music," Gary explains, "I am very reliant on Braille. It helps me memorize my songs, because for some reason when I write these songs, they flow from my heart and my emotions, so when I'm done I forget what I just sang or wrote. Braille helps me go over them so that I don't forget the lyrics. I will also be utilizing Braille as much as I can in school. I think without it I would be very dependent and vulnerable, because I would not have the knowledge or the ability to know what I'm writing, reading, comprehending or signing. That's why before I sign any contracts, I want a Braille transcription."
Recent studies show that of the mere 30% of working-age, blind Americans who are employed, over 80% are Braille readers. Braille literacy is a crucial factor in gaining employment, achieving post graduate degrees and earning over $50,000 a year.
"It's actually very pathetic. The ignorance of our school systems nationwide to refuse to teach blind students how to read is totally incomprehensible and unacceptable. I was taught Braille at an early age, and I'm an avid reader of Braille today. So, I find these Braille stats scary," Gary says.
Gary encourages people to help reverse this trend through the NFB's Braille Readers are Leaders campaign. Congress enacted legislation which gives the campaign $10 for each sale of the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, the first US coin with tactile, readable Braille. The coins will only be available through the end of 2009: http:// www.braille.org
Gary calls his brand of hip-hop "revolutionary hip-hop."
"I call it that because it's hip-hop that uplifts everyone," he explains, "instead of degrading women and encouraging men to fight amongst themselves. It's hip-hop that's a bit political and definitely new age. I don't think there's anything like it. One track I'm working on is called Airwave Pollution. It's about all the hip-hop that talks about the same stuff and is fed to us by the industry, even though it puts a lot of the youth in the situations they are in today. Music is influential. People need to learn to use it in the right way. Let's take music and make people feel happy again. We don't want to fight, we just want to have a good time and unite with one another. It's that type of music that everybody can groove to and feel love and positivity from."
Gary is working with blind youth across the nation to help improve opportunities for blind performers. He tells them that they shouldn't just complain about what is being done or not done, but put themselves in a position to help bring about change.
"I think social media is very important for blind performers," he says, "Apart from the big league men like Ray Charles and Stevey Wonder, blind performers are strictly underground. We are the last of the bunch, and that equal-opportunity-for-artists thing that record labels try to sell you is so unreal. I believe that the youth know what the future holds and we can apply change if we really want it. In order to accomplish these goals, we need enough of us to get the job done."
Gary is also working on his own independent record label, Grand Eagle Entertainment: http://www.twitter.com/grandeagleent
Despite his outside-the-box approach to hip-hop, Gary's music is getting noticed. He is working with the producer Killa T, head of the independent label, Outta Da Woods Entertainment.
"He works primarily with gangster rappers and RB artists," Gary explains, "but he has taken an interest in my musical talent and it's definitely a blessing to be working with such a steller producer."
The NFB has its national offices in Baltimore where Gary grew up.
"I joined the NFB as a youngster, and my life has been forever changed. I have found a belief in myself, and have received many networking opportunities as well as made a lot of friends. I believe that without talking to the NFB, I would not have gone to the Louisiana Center for the Blind. That training enables me to be a productive and contributing blind person in society," he says.
In addition to pursuing his education, getting ready for his new baby and marketing his original music, Gary is building his reputation as a professional DJ in the Monroe, Louisiana area. He has many ideas for the future and plans to continue to work to help blind Americans.
"I plan to start a youth group in the next few years for wherever I am in the NFB," he says, "and this year I plan to get an NFB chapter started where I live in Monroe, Louisiana. The blind citizens of the south need that support that they have not received like I have in Baltimore. I want to make that happen for them. It's just my way of paying it forward."
Visit Gary's site: http://www.freewebs.com/djgfire
Follow him on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/djgfire
Or, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/protigee
In 2008, Gary was elected to the board of directors of the NFB's non-profit Performing Arts Division (PAD). Recently, Gary, a musician and DJ as well as the group's youngest leader, accepted the additional position of Social Media Manager. PAD assists blind performers with their professional and amateur goals through scholarships, subsidies and networking: http://www.padnfb.org
Gary manages PAD's Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages.
Engaged to be married in March, Gary will attend Delta Community College in January as a business major with a minor in music. A Baltimore native, he is a 2008 graduate of Overlea High and Academy of Finance, a magnet high school, where he studied business, world finance, sales and marketing, as well as Information and Technology. As a senior, he ran his school's radio station.
A pianist, singer, songwriter and deejay, Gary writes music in many styles, including soul, reggae and RB. He's bringing a positive, family-friendly approach to hip-hop. Born with detached retinas, he is also legally blind.
"My parents tried to save some of my vision when I was nine months old," he says, "but it could only do so much. When I was ten I developed glaucoma and have been losing a bit of sight ever since."
Gary developed his can-do attitude and independence through his association with the NFB, which believes that with the proper training, blindness can be reduced to a mere nuisance. He received training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, an NFB rehabilitation center.
"I believe I can utilize my skills as a businessman in conjunction with my music," says Gary, who is expecting his first child, "My career goals are numerous, and truthfully it depends on what comes along first. I'm a DJ, a singer, a songwriter, a composer, a secretary and an advocate. So, whichever door opens at God's will first is what I will take, and I will do my best to excel in whatever that may be to support my family."
Unlike most blind kids in America, Gary was taught to read and write Braille as a young child. It is troubling to him that over 80% of America's blind children are not taught Braille.
"I use Braille to write all of my music," Gary explains, "I am very reliant on Braille. It helps me memorize my songs, because for some reason when I write these songs, they flow from my heart and my emotions, so when I'm done I forget what I just sang or wrote. Braille helps me go over them so that I don't forget the lyrics. I will also be utilizing Braille as much as I can in school. I think without it I would be very dependent and vulnerable, because I would not have the knowledge or the ability to know what I'm writing, reading, comprehending or signing. That's why before I sign any contracts, I want a Braille transcription."
Recent studies show that of the mere 30% of working-age, blind Americans who are employed, over 80% are Braille readers. Braille literacy is a crucial factor in gaining employment, achieving post graduate degrees and earning over $50,000 a year.
"It's actually very pathetic. The ignorance of our school systems nationwide to refuse to teach blind students how to read is totally incomprehensible and unacceptable. I was taught Braille at an early age, and I'm an avid reader of Braille today. So, I find these Braille stats scary," Gary says.
Gary encourages people to help reverse this trend through the NFB's Braille Readers are Leaders campaign. Congress enacted legislation which gives the campaign $10 for each sale of the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, the first US coin with tactile, readable Braille. The coins will only be available through the end of 2009: http:// www.braille.org
Gary calls his brand of hip-hop "revolutionary hip-hop."
"I call it that because it's hip-hop that uplifts everyone," he explains, "instead of degrading women and encouraging men to fight amongst themselves. It's hip-hop that's a bit political and definitely new age. I don't think there's anything like it. One track I'm working on is called Airwave Pollution. It's about all the hip-hop that talks about the same stuff and is fed to us by the industry, even though it puts a lot of the youth in the situations they are in today. Music is influential. People need to learn to use it in the right way. Let's take music and make people feel happy again. We don't want to fight, we just want to have a good time and unite with one another. It's that type of music that everybody can groove to and feel love and positivity from."
Gary is working with blind youth across the nation to help improve opportunities for blind performers. He tells them that they shouldn't just complain about what is being done or not done, but put themselves in a position to help bring about change.
"I think social media is very important for blind performers," he says, "Apart from the big league men like Ray Charles and Stevey Wonder, blind performers are strictly underground. We are the last of the bunch, and that equal-opportunity-for-artists thing that record labels try to sell you is so unreal. I believe that the youth know what the future holds and we can apply change if we really want it. In order to accomplish these goals, we need enough of us to get the job done."
Gary is also working on his own independent record label, Grand Eagle Entertainment: http://www.twitter.com/grandeagleent
Despite his outside-the-box approach to hip-hop, Gary's music is getting noticed. He is working with the producer Killa T, head of the independent label, Outta Da Woods Entertainment.
"He works primarily with gangster rappers and RB artists," Gary explains, "but he has taken an interest in my musical talent and it's definitely a blessing to be working with such a steller producer."
The NFB has its national offices in Baltimore where Gary grew up.
"I joined the NFB as a youngster, and my life has been forever changed. I have found a belief in myself, and have received many networking opportunities as well as made a lot of friends. I believe that without talking to the NFB, I would not have gone to the Louisiana Center for the Blind. That training enables me to be a productive and contributing blind person in society," he says.
In addition to pursuing his education, getting ready for his new baby and marketing his original music, Gary is building his reputation as a professional DJ in the Monroe, Louisiana area. He has many ideas for the future and plans to continue to work to help blind Americans.
"I plan to start a youth group in the next few years for wherever I am in the NFB," he says, "and this year I plan to get an NFB chapter started where I live in Monroe, Louisiana. The blind citizens of the south need that support that they have not received like I have in Baltimore. I want to make that happen for them. It's just my way of paying it forward."
Visit Gary's site: http://www.freewebs.com/djgfire
Follow him on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/djgfire
Or, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/protigee
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