Sean Forbes, a hip-hop artist started playing the drums at five years old and is part of a family that is heavily involved in music. “I am just able to feel the music and I was born into a musical family,” said Forbes. “The bass and the drum are the most easiest for me to detect.”(Sean Forbes) His father is in a Detroit country-rock band called The Forbes Brothers. Rapping is his way of preventing people from having to listen to his singing. (Or so he says!)
After a weekend workshop with Sean Forbes, parents are often in awe and ask him what happened
to their child. These children that attend his workshops are often in situations where they are unsure of themselves because of being alone in a hearing classroom.
“When they show up to the workshop they are kind of like, ‘What’s going to happen?’ By the time Sunday comes around they are like — they think they are the coolest people in the world. We show the video and the parents always come up to me like, ‘What did you do to my child?'” (Sean Forbes)
The gift Sean gives these children is the gift of music. They are able to take that inspiration and find themselves after being lost for so long. This is a wonderful way for parents to get their children exposed to their community and incorporate music into their lives. People often think that because these children can’t hear, they are automatically not able to enjoy music.
Thank Sean Forbes the next time you see him for bringing light into lives of children and reminding them that it is possible to do anything they want. It just takes hard work and dedication. It has nothing to do with being Deaf, it has to do with being human.
