A student in class finally did his first performance. He is a nice fellow, comes to every class, sits at the back, quiet. I do not sense much of a sense of humour. He is from the Ivory Coast. His piece, read from his journal, was delivered unemotionally and addressed upcoming elections in his home and scenes of graphic violence nobody was expecting. The class was silent and shocked after he finished. It was set to beats he found online. I understood the question one student had for him afterward, he asked if this writing did some relief for him and the African student replied with a gesture to his heart nodding his head affirmatively. Mendelson Joe had a similar take titling his last album Art is the Healer.