Rising Rap Star Returns to Perform at School He Attended

It’s not often children get to interact with a real-life rap star on the rise, and even more rare when the rapper attended their school. Jason O’Banner, known as KidJay in the music world, visited Fortis Academy recently to perform for scholars and talk about his previous experiences as a student at the school.

“KidJay started out his visit performing five of his songs, which all include positive messaging about working hard and dreaming big,” said Fortis Principal Erin Dixon. “All of his music is authentic and clean – no violence, drugs, or guns. It was a great way to get the students engaged and hooked about his talk with them later in the visit.”

After his songs, he shared a little bit about himself and his time as a student at Fortis. He also answered some fun questions from the students, which only helped to engage them further and internalize his message.



“He shared some great life lessons he learned at Fortis,” Dixon said. “When asked what he would share with his middle school self, he mentioned listening to his teachers especially about behavior and how to get along with others. He stressed to our students that the teachers are only here to help them, and they need to take advantage of that while they can.”

KidJay said the most important life skill he learned at Fortis was his work ethic. He learned to work hard, even when he didn’t want to, and that has served him well in his life.

“It was so great to see him come back with such success under his belt with his only motivation being to give back to students who are in the same place he was about 12 years ago,” Dixon said. “For our students, they were naturally hooked knowing he had literally sat where they were for the assembly, experienced what they have experienced, and was showing them how to achieve their dreams.”



KidJay took time to pose for pictures with students and have one-on-one conversations with some of them.

“This is one of the best things about being a staff member at Fortis for the last 20 years,” Dixon exclaimed. Getting to see former students come back is huge – it shows the impact that Fortis, and NHA, has on every single child that walks through our doors.”
About Fortis Academy
Fortis Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Ypsilanti, Michigan, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

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