Engaging Hip Hop in the classroom can be a bridge for uninterested students, and to ‘standard English,’ however, doing so would be underutilizing Hip Hop and not necessarily engaging in culturally relevant teaching. Some scholars have argued that students uninterested in current curriculum, can be attracted through rap lyrics. Ernest Morrell and Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade (2002) provide example of rap songs that serves as transitional text to booklists in classrooms (p. 91). In a unit designed for a 12th grade poetry unit, students were asked to analyze links between canonical texts and rap songs. Students are immersed in canonical texts through a bridge of Hip Hop. Hip Hop has also been used to make students can become more comfortable with standard …show more content…
Hip Hop connects to many students in urban schools and allows them to display their ideas and study their culture. By doing so, students become empowered and socially aware about issues and success that surrounds their culture. In order to purse Hip Hop based education in the class room more research needs to be conducted on the topic. There have been scattered instances of Hip Hop in the the classroom like Ladson-Billings’ (2009) and Kelly’s (2013) examples, but widespread Hip Hop curriculum and instruction has not taken place. Curriculums should be developed to be studied and critiqued. New research also needs to be conducted on culturally relevant pedagogy as a whole. As pointed out, current research has been minimal. New research on different classrooms and different scales should be considered. As urban school reform becomes increasingly discussed, culturally relevant should be a topic that takes on importance and attention. Culturally relevant pedagogy can be one tool to combat failing urban schools and students, and provide an equal and relevant education for the nation’s diverse
In Adam Bradley’s “Rap poetry 101” he shows us how rap is more than just songs being sung, it is poetry; it is something that has an empowering ability to make the familiar unfamiliar.In this chapter Bradley creates a new viewpoint too rap. Bradley shows us how rap and poetry has become a very similar piece of art that should be further appreciated. In the chapter poetry 101 Bradley describes how rap is a form of public art, and how rappers have become our greatest public poets. The importance of rap as poetry is shown throughout Bradley's book as well as the evidence behind the reasons rap is poetry.
Some weaknesses of James McBride’s “Hip Hop Planet” include its cynical tone and his attitude towards the musical side of Hip Hop. McBride opens the essay with a reflection on what his ultimate nightmare is. He showcases the Hip Hop community in a negative light with phrases like, “music that doesn’t seem to be music—rules the world” (McBride, pg. 1). This starts the essay off negatively because it misleads the reader by letting them think he is not a supporter of the Hip Hop movement. As you read the entire essay you realize this is not the case. The article itself isn’t very inviting because tone of the entire essay is very cold and cynical. He also doesn’t agree with the typical Hip Hop sound saying things like, “It sounded like a broken record” (McBride, pg. 1). The sound of Hip Hop music is what helps define it and is a crucial aspect of
The article discusses the fact that hip hop “provides a lens [through which white students and faculty at institutions] interpret Black culture” and that because of this not only is the Black female’s view of herself being manipulated, but black males expect what is being promoted by hip hop culture from them, and so does every other person (Henry, West, & Jackson 238). A professor at North Carolina Central University spoke about how he dislikes how hip-hop has influenced the way his students dress, he said “ They look like hoochie mamas, not like they’re coming to class” (as cited in Evelyn
Hip-Hop became characterized by an aggressive tone marked by graphic descriptions of the harshness and diversity of inner-city life. Primarily a medium of popular entertainment, hip-hop also conveys the more serious voices of youth in the black community. Though the approaches of rappers became more varied in the latter half of the 1980s, message hip-hop remained a viable form for addressing the problems faced by the black community and means to solve those problems. The voices of "message" hip...
The most poignant finding is not that black and whites think differently about its meaning, but what emerged was the acknowledgement that Hip-Hop was created as a tool to voice the sentiments of the disenfranchised. This locates the birth of Hip-Hop in cradles of disenfranchisements, the hood. Hip-hop worked as a megaphone, a magnifying glass that candidly told whoever would listen about the hardships, injustice and racism faced by those living in American ghettos. It worked as a tool to tell the stories of the people living there in order to build empathetic conversatio...
In the words of rapper Busta Rhymes, “hip-hop reflects the truth, and the problem is that hip-hop exposes a lot of the negative truth that society tries to conceal. It’s a platform where we could offer information, but it’s also an escape” Hip-hop is a culture that emerged from the Bronx, New York, during the early 1970s. Hip-Hop was a result of African American and Latino youth redirecting their hardships brought by marginalization from society to creativity in the forms of MCing, DJing, aerosol art, and breakdancing. Hip-hop serves as a vehicle for empowerment while transcending borders, skin color, and age. However, the paper will focus on hip-hop from the Chican@-Latin@ population in the United States. In the face of oppression, the Chican@-Latin@ population utilized hip hop music as a means to voice the community’s various issues, desires, and in the process empower its people.
In Total Chaos, Jeff Chang references Harry Allen, a hip hop critic and self-proclaimed hip hop activist. Harry Allen compares the hip hop movement to the Big Bang and poses this complex question: “whether hip-hop is, in fact a closed universe-bound to recollapse, ultimately, in a fireball akin to its birth-or an open one, destined to expand forever, until it is cold, dark, and dead” (9). An often heard phase, “hip hop is dead,” refers to the high occurrence of gangster rap in mainstream hip hop. Today’s hip hop regularly features black youths posturing as rich thugs and indulging in expensive merchandise. The “hip hop is dead” perspective is based on the belief that hip hop was destined to become the model of youth resistance and social change. However, its political ambitions have yet to emerge, thus giving rise to hip hops’ criticisms. This essay will examine the past and present of hip hop in o...
Hip hop is both a culture and a lifestyle. As a musical genre it is characterized by its hard hitting beats and rhythms and expressive spoken word lyrics that address topics ranging from economic disparity and inequality, to gun violence and gang affiliated activity. Though the genre emerged with greater popularity in the 1970’s, the musical elements involved and utilized have been around for many years. In this paper, we will cover the history and
Hip-Hop can be an effective strategy to engage students in core curriculum as well as expand learning among students with all learning modalities. Applying Hip-Hop to teaching is Hip-Hop pedagogy (Adjapong and Emdin 2). In the article, “Hip-Hop Helps Teach Everything from English to Algebra,” Eric Hellweg mentions different teachers such as Alan Sitomer from Lynwood, California, that use Hip-Hop as a way to teach to their students. Sitomer came up with the idea of trying to translate the words of Dylan Thomas for his students to understand. Sitomer found a “bridge” from Thomas to the famous African American rapper, Tupac Shakur.
Most people believe that they know what hip hop is. Yet, these same people are more familiar with rap music than hip hop. Rap music tends to b the music broadcasted on television and radio stations alike. Hip-Hop itself is relates to a culture and history of peoples. Hip-Hop tells the stories of people oppressed in urban ghettos in all cities, and it promotes change and a transition in those oppressed. Dr. Charles Pinckney author of The Influence of Hip Hop Culture on the Perceptions, Attitudes, Values and Lifestyles of African American College Students states that "Hip hop culture is a form of musical art in words and stories that describe critical messages that are spoken over music" (Pinckney). William Boone who has conducted research in hip hop best explains the phenomenon of Hip Hop as, " Art in "the hood". Hip Hop is the antitheses of economic discrimination and social alienation in Americas impoverished African American communities" (Boone).These origins of ...
For many, music is a cultural history that brings families together, allowing them to share a common interest. The birth of hip hop ignited a whole new world of music, which lead to vast amount of controversy in the music industry. Hip hop has always been recognized as the platform for the black American culture. Hip hop become a moment that changed the entire music industry, and as the culture progressed it become more mainstream. In today’s music society, it is evident that the white race has become greatly involved with hip hop and the lifestyle that entails this culture. Notorious artists such as the Beastie Boys and Vanilla Ice enabled artists such as Eminem, Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea to follow their dreams in the hip hop world. If one acknowledges all the aspect of the hip hop culture such as the type of dance or the graffiti art, does the color of his or her skin really matter? It is clear that these artists have tested this theory, and have results that are shocking. White artists are becoming more accepted and appreciated for their music and are being mentors for the hip hop community. As a result of the outbreak of hip hop out of the Bronx, all races were able to enjoy and love the culture of hip
Hip hop has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, it is a great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hop's influence has become well received by a number of different races in this country. A large number of the rap and hip hop audience is non-black. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Because it has become the fastest growing music genre in the U.S., companies and corporate giants have used its appeal to capitalize on it. Although critics of rap music and hip hop seem to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers a new paradigm of what can be (Lewis, 1998.) The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. Hip hop has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals across a rich ethnic spectrum. This art form was once considered a fad has kept going strong for more than three decades. Generations consisting of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians have grown up immersed in hip-hop. Hip hop represents a realignment of America?s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver a message, again and again, to keep it real. It has influenced young people of all races to search for excitement, artistic fulfillment, and a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass (Foreman, 2002). Though it is music, many people do not realize that it is much more than that. Hip hop is a form of art and culture, style, and language, and extension of commerce, and for many, a natural means of living. The purpose of this paper is to examine hip hop and its effect on American culture. Different aspects of hip hop will also be examined to shed some light that helps readers to what hip hop actually is. In order to see hip hop as a cultural influence we need to take a look at its history.
People are surrounded by music every day of their lives. They hear it in their homes, on the radio on their way to work; some people have even caught themselves humming the tune of their favorite song to themselves. But how many people actually listen and not just hear the music they are listening to? Teens in particular don’t realize the message behind the music they are quoting the lyrics to, or the effect it has on them. In today’s culture where rap music has become increasingly popular, many teens aren’t realizing what they are listening to. A lot of teens would argue that the music they listen to has no effect on them, but they are wrong. Rap music, especially, has had a major impact on teenagers in today’s society.
Imagine our youth all over the country being exposed to this explicit kind of language. There is no need to imagine, because it is already happening. Ever since the rise of Rap and Hip Hop music, teens have been turning to them to help solve their problems. However these kinds of music can be very destructive to teens. It is not the youth’s fault; it is the content that the music contains. Although Rap and Hip Hop music can be a force for good, they can also have an extremely negative impact on the attitudes and behaviors of our youth.
15 March 2014 Springer.com. Riley. Springer:’’ Rap and Hip-Hop Genre Today’’. April 2004 15 March 2014 Springer.com Ruiz, Jonathan. Cross-Cultural Rhetoric.