Hip Hop and Education

Hey Bonners,

I hope everyone is doing well.

So, lately my attention has gone back to hip-hop after a pretty long hiatus from the genre. I have recently begun to have a renewed appreciation for how much creativity exists in hip-hop. For instance, in the case of free-styling, it really takes a lot of imagination to be able to come up with so many similes and metaphors, a key feature of free-styling, instantaneously. I can only imagine what goes on in a person’s mind that can make so many poetic connections at such a high speed while at the same time maintaining the rhythm of the beat that they are following. And speaking of the beat, this is one of my favorite aspects of hip-hop. I think that many people, myself included, have such a natural visceral reaction to the rhythm of hip hop songs which is what makes this genre so popular all over the world.

Well, with all of this on my mind, it was with pleasure that I saw this organic process of creating hip-hop music happening at my new service site, “The Backspace” of The Bridge. The Bridge, a division of the Oberlin Public Library, is a community technology center aimed at provided free technological and educational access to the Oberlin community. “The Backspace” is a large back room dedicated to middle school and high school youth. Everyday there are available computers to work and play, crafts, homework tutors (my position!) and a small ‘studio’ where young people can create music.

During the time when I wasn’t individually working with kids I was fortunate to observe a group of teenage boys creating hip-hop. I was not only struck by their creativity but also how academically the approached the process. When I came in they were taking turns either free-styling or rapping verses that the had already written. When someone messed up they all encouraged that person to continue either in a ‘tough love’ way or by talking about their own initial difficulties. After everyone had a turn and they finished editing the song. They all sat down to write new verses. It really looked as if they were in school, all hunched over intensely scribbling away. It was completely silent. When they were done, they all rapped their new verses. They lyrics were varied. Some of it was the typical boasting you hear in a lot of commercial hip hop. Yet some of it was very personal- about family difficulties and valued friendships. All of the lyrics included very clever word play and wit.

As someone who has worked a great deal with youth in reading and writing and language, I was struck by how easily teachers and educators can espouse the free-styling and lyrical writing process of hip-hop in order to improve education, specifically English and writing. Vocabulary, syntax and inventiveness are all things that English teachers try to emphasize to their students. If more teachers try to harness the enthusiasm that many pre-teens and teenagers have for hip hop and show the broader connection to language, I think we would be taking a large step forward to improving education in this country.

So I would be interested in reading what you all think about hip-hop used as a way to enrich writing and language education. And in what specific ways it could be implemented.

Much Bonner Love,

-Patience