On any given school day, he looks like a clean-cut Marine with a fresh young face and an eager new-teacher attitude. But beyond school hours, Lancaster High School government teacher, Graham Roan is an internet rapper. His music videos are on SoundCloud and YouTube. Apparently his hidden talent was discovered by a student and now the word is out.

“I’m not sure if the teachers know or care, but I have gotten positive feedback from the students about my music,” said Roan.

His students seem to like his music so much that they have encouraged him to produce more videos. Roan says he using their interest to motivate them.

“Some of my government students have asked me to make more music so I told them that if they do well on their weekly quizzes I would possibly make another song.”

Music, in general, is something Roan says is effective in other areas of his instruction as well. In fact, he said it helps as an attention-getter at the beginning of class.

“There are days that I like to incorporate an artist into my question of the day to wake the students up,” he said.

“I will ask the students to guess the lyrics and artist of a particular song.”

Overall, students have connected to his creative rap lyrics and reacted well to his online music. LHS senior, Brevin Lambert said at first it was strange to see his teacher performing online but later realized how effective the music was.

“The first couple of times I heard his music I cringed, but once I fully listened to a song, I realized it told a story,” he said.

“By the end of the school year I didn’t see him as an authority figure I saw him as a friend,” said Lambert.

Roan, who has been teaching at LHS for two years, started rapping with his friends while he was in high school. He was interested in making his own music as a creative outlet. He continued his passion through college but never thought of making a career out of his musical hobby. Roan’s rapping side business though has certainly struck a chord with high school students who think his music is cool.

Roan said his music is more than a hobby and that it has a very distinct purpose.

“I think my rapping is effective and unique because there is a message that I am trying to convey,” said Roan.

“I try to make each song different whether it is my flow or the tempo,” he said.

Lambert agreed.

“I really like his creative writing style. Most of his songs all have meaning. I feel that a teacher with this hobby can relate to kids more. He could rap instructions for the class,” said Lambert.

Listen to one of Mr. Roan’s videos by following this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wbHTFnKzhQ