Foundations
- Draws on Freire’s concept of conscientization: the process by which students develop a critical consciousness (Freire, 2000)
- Critical literacy can be taught through lyrical analysis of hip-hop music (Karvelis, 2018).
- Hip-hop education goes beyond the musical genre; it includes using the forms of hip-hop such as collage, “staying fresh,” and “flipping something out of nothing” (Ladson-Billings, 2015, p. 416).
- Hip-hop pedagogy centers counternarratives that destabilize dominant culture (Kruse, 2020).
How is it anti-racist?
- Hip-hop originated with Black youth in New York City in the 1970s when their communities were under attack (Chang & Cook, 2021). The genre provides powerful examples of youth resistance to capitalism and white supremacy.
- Exemplifies the ways that music can be used for activism
- Centering hip-hop means centering Black art and culture.
- Music educators can use hip-hop to initiate critical and intentional conversations about race and racism (Hess, 2018b).
Practical/ Pedagogical Tools
- Collage = interdisciplinarity: hip-hop often involves the mixing of different sources to create something new; students can draw from this through interdisciplinary music projects (i.e., incorporating breakdancing into musical performances, writing a rap about climate change).
- Flipping something out of nothing = creative use of resources: hip-hop emerged out of the ruins of destroyed communities; you don’t need a lot to do hip-hop in the classroom (i.e., making beats with body percussion or DAWs)
- Staying fresh = valuing youth culture: hip-hop is constantly evolving; let your students decide what social issues and musical choices are most important to them.
Potential Challenges/ Missteps
- Lack of familiarity: it is likely that hip-hop was not a part of your preservice training but that does not mean that you should avoid teaching it. It is important that you address any personal bias you have against hip-hop, create opportunities to learn from your students, take accountability for gaps in your knowledge, and lean into the forms of hip-hop rather than the vastness of the content (Kruse, 2020).
- “Eating the Other”: occurs when dominant groups consume the culture of marginalized groups purely for their own enjoyment or satisfaction (hooks, 2015). Especially for white educators, it is critical that engagement with hip-hop is accompanied by explicit and intentional conversations about race and power (Hess, 2018b).
Leading Hip-Hop Music Education Scholars
These are some of the leading music education scholars who have contributed to the development of hip-hop pedagogies (click on the images to read their bios):
