Skip to Content

YOUR VOICE IS POWER - WORDS

This page contains instructions to use generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help you create lyrics for a hip-hop song to express your voice on social justice for Indigenous in Canada.

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems designed to create new content, such as text, images, or music, by learning patterns from existing data.

How can we use Generative AI to create song lyrics?

You can ask generative AI to help you create song lyrics, by providing a clear prompt asking it to create lyrics for a song and providing a theme such as a specific emotion, story, or genre you want the song to convey.

The activity

We are going to go through a series of steps where we ask the AI to generate lyrics by entering a prompt. Then we will evaluate the lyrics created and try to figure out how we can get the AI to generate better lyrics

Try it!

Ask the AI in the box below to generate lyrics for your song. For example

Write a 4 line verse and 2 line chorus for a song about Indigenous peoples in Canada

Evaluate the output

  • Do the lyrics generated have a language and rhythm that fits a hip-hop song?

You can get better output from generative AI if you evaluate the output, compare it to what you want, and then update your prompt to try and improve the generated output. This is a process called prompt engineering.

Try again!

Ask the AI to try again but this time let it know you want lyrics for a hip-hop song. For example:

Write a 4 line verse and 2 line chorus for a hip-hop song about Indigenous peoples in Canada

Evaluate the output

  • Do the lyrics generated have a language and rhythm that fits a hip-hop song?
  • Do they express a voice of social justice for Indigenous peoples?

Try again!

Add details to the prompt to let the AI know you want to talk about social justice for Indigenous in Canada. For example:

Write a 4 line verse and 2 line chorus for a hip-hop song about social justice for Indigenous peoples in Canada

Evaluate the output

  • Do the lyrics generated have a language and rhythm that fits a hip-hop song?
  • Do they express a voice of social justice for Indigenous?
  • Do the lyrics feel powerful and convey emotion?

The Musqueam First Nation along the Fraser River, the Inuit in Nunavut, and the Nekaneet Cree Nation in Saskatchewan each faced very different challenges. Even within a community, not all individuals have the same experiences.

The AI is generating lyrics based on the information it has on any Indigenous community in Canada. Our lyrics will be more powerful if we focus in on one community, one issue, or one lived experience.

Try again!

Visit the Indigenous Role Model Profiles Gallery or Whose Land and find information about a specific person or community.

Add details to the prompt to let the AI know you want to talk about social justice for Indigenous in Canada from the perspective of your selected role model or community. Copy and paste the paragraphs you found about that community or person and include it in the prompt. For example:

Write a 4 line verse and 2 line chorus for a hip-hop song about social justice for Indigenous peoples in Canada from the perspective of Douglas Cardinal Siksika Blackfoot Metis Architect

Born in 1934 in Calgary, Alberta, architecture interested Cardinal from an early age and his high school yearbooks list architecture as his ambition. Following a brief stint at the The University of British Columbia, Cardinal pursued a degree in architecture at the University of Texas in Austin where he achieved his degree and found a life experience in human rights initiatives. 

After graduation, Cardinal returned to Alberta. Here he continued to develop his style of curvilinear, organic forms. Douglas then became a forerunner of philosophies of sustainability, green buildings, and ecologically designed community planning. His architecture springs from his observation of Nature and its understanding that everything works seamlessly together. His worldview and organic architecture approach is central to his design. His buildings reflect the relationship between people and natural and built environments.

On his early projects, Cardinals fluid designs were met with skepticism. To prove their constructability, Cardinal adopted new technologies. He was the first Canadian architect to use CAD (computer-aided design) software. The software calculated the complex geometries created by his organic forms proving they could be built.

In 1978, the Edmonton Space Sciences Foundation sought an architect to design a new science centre. Douglas Cardinal shared his idea of a spiraling, spiky design with the board. Engaged by his vision, the board hired him. The design of the building showcases his worldview as well as his embrace of technology. Early sketches of the building have been described as both classic science fiction" and Indigenous.

Evaluate the output

  • Do the lyrics accurately reflect the community or role model you selected?
  • Do the lyrics generated have a language and rhythm that fits a hip-hop song?
  • Do they express a voice of social justice for Indigenous peoples?
  • Do the lyrics feel powerful and convey emotion?

EVALUATE THE OUTPUT:

Ultimately the generative AI should be helping you share your voice, but it does not replace the need for a person to get involved in song-writing. At some point you will want to take the output from the generative AI and use them as input to create your final lyrics offline

  • Do you want to change any words because they don't fit your personal style of expression and voice?
  • Do you need to change or drop any words so that the rhythm works when you read it aloud?
  • Do you see some lyrics you like and others you don't?
  • Would it be helpful to have a member of the Indigenous community whose perspective you are trying to share review the lyrics? This might ensure there are no terms or expressions that might be offensive. What is offensive can be very subjective. For example, the word Indian is acceptable in some situations but offensive in others.

KEEP GOING

Keep going until you are happy with the lyrics or until you feel like the generative AI has done all it can to inspire you with your own lyrics. There are lots of ways you might be able to improve or adapt the generated lyrics:

Try different communities or role models

Focus on one specific issue the role model or community faced

Ask for a chorus

Ask it to make sure the lines rhyme

Ask it to make sure the rhythm works to read the lyrics like a rap

Share your lyrics

We would love to read your lyrics! Post them to our bulletin board!

Record your lyrics in a song

Save a copy of your lyrics by taking a picture with your phone or posting them to the bulletin board. When you get home try the Your Voice is Power - Music activity During this activity you use Python code in a platform called EarSketch to remix sound clips and create a song. As part of that activity you can record and add your lyrics!

Ask the volunteer to give you a card with the website information so you can access the activity from home.