An assistant principal at a Washington state high school has the backing of his district after rapping about shooting up a school.
Logic Amen, who has served as the assistant to the principal at Tacoma’s Lincoln High School since 2011 and is also an entertainer, wrote a rap called “Cancel Christmas” with lyrics that discuss taking a loaded gun to school, according to the Tacoma News Tribune Wednesday.
Tacoma School District says assistant principal’s work is freedom of expression — with lyrics like “Give me a reason just to load up a rifle. … Leave the halls bloody like a high noon tycoon.” Listen and decide for yourself. https://t.co/aAkaW8cKFx
— Tacoma News Tribune (@thenewstribune) May 9, 2018
Here are the lyrics:
“Give me a reason just to load up a rifle.
Pull the fire alarm in the lobby of my high school.
Leave the halls bloody like a high noon tycoon
I’m about to cancel Christmas.
I won’t leave a freakin’ witness.
Naw. I put Santa on my hit list.
Celebrate Kwanzaa and cancel all Christmas.”
The assistant principal defended his song, saying he’s not condoning the actions discussed.
“Nowhere in the song did I condone [violence]. I just told a short story of something that happened to a young person that inspired and caused him to commit acts of violence,” the 43-year-old principal/rapper explained. “I think it’s condescending that young adults cannot understand, with the right coaching and guidance, what’s going on in my music.”
Tacoma School district spokesperson Dan Voelpel said that Amen’s actions did not violate any district policy and falls into the category of “artistic expression.”
“Logic’s good work at Lincoln High School has contributed to helping turn around the academic success of students there over the last several years, helped close achievement gaps and dramatically improved the image of the school,” Voelpel shared. “In no way has his non-school activities disrupted the educational environment at Lincoln.”
“It goes without saying that anytime anyone speaks of school violence as a threat, we pay attention,” he added. “In this case the language of the song in question falls into the category of artistic expression and is not perceived as a threat.”