feature Engaging Students Through
Hip Hop Education Luke Hrovat-Staedter, Madison
I was first introduced to the idea of hip hop education by my former high school choir teacher, Anthony Cao, who recently developed a high school curriculum for the study, creation and performance of hip hop music. I was quickly drawn to the richness of the class, which combined an array of disciplines into an environment of students creating, including and reflecting with one another on a level all students could ac- cess. As I continued to learn more about hip hop education, it became evident I was joining a wave that has been growing for some time.
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Just type “Hip Hop Ed” into Google and up pops resources, forums, names and videos explaining the philosophies of hip hop educators. People like Christopher Emdin, Bettina Love and Marc Lamont Hill all describe the role of a hip hop edu- cator. It is more complicated than putting the Pythagorean Theorem in a rap song. This warning from prominent hip hop educators echoes the concerns I’ve heard from teachers worried they are “selling out” by singing the hottest new song. It’s not about rapping for the sake of rapping. Hip hop is a culture, not a genre, and this idea lies at the foundation of a thriving hip hop environment.
Although I could talk about the philoso- phies behind hip hop education and how the history of the culture affects all of our students today, I would like to focus on the hip hop class I began with the hope that it could give you a little practical and achievable inspiration for use within your own classroom.
The Class
Last year, I was encountering challenges with my seventh grade choir classes. Students weren’t connecting with the environment of a traditional choir class and because of that, we often struggled to maintain a positive learning space. After
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months of rehearsals with minimal growth and communal frustration, I needed to make a change. With the approval of my principal, I began the creation of the class.
The class was funded by two grants, one from Foundation for Madison’s Public Schools and another from the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium. These grants covered the few expenses of the class and an artist-in-residence program with a local hip hop artist. He joined us 15-20 times over the course of the semester to offer his expertise and support our learning.
My goal in selecting students was to find kids who I thought would engage with the material, benefit from an alternative music class, and I also wanted to separate students based on gender. I’ve found that middle school students, particularly sev- enth graders, take more risks in gendered ensembles. We came up with two sections, one with six boys and another with five girls, both meeting every other day.
The Five Pillars of Hip Hop
Although hip hop culture has undeniable complexity and depth, early hip hop artists condensed hip hop into four, and eventu- ally five, main elements:
1. MCing – The most recognizable ele- ment of hip hop. MCing is the art of rhythmic, spoken word, otherwise known as rapping.
2. DJing – The music making aspect. Originally only describing the art of fading and mixing records live, it now includes any music production and beat boxing.
3. B-boy/B-girl – Also known as break- dancing. The physical manifestation of hip hop.
4. Graffiti – The visual interpretation of hip hop.
Go to the online version of this article to access student-made videos for “We Matter” and “Respect,” plus a bonus feature article by Anthony Cao!
5. Knowledge – The awareness of current events, politics, community problems and pop culture. Also, knowledge of oneself and their place within hip hop culture. This element can and should be a part of the other four elements.
Each element demands development of specific skills, while simultaneously en- hancing your understanding of the others. The skill outcomes of each lesson directly addressed at least one of these elements. The final goal was for both sections to write, rehearse, record and film their own music video. All five elements went into the final product.
MCing
This was the element we interacted with the most. We had a cipher (a free-style rapping circle) almost daily. It was the primary location for honing and practicing our MCing skills. Early in the semester, we practiced by writing nonsense rhymes and performing them in different styles. During March Madness, we had our own MC bracket. Each student brought in two different artists they particularly liked and we put them on a tournament-style bracket. For each match-up, we analyzed and described each rappers flow and voted on who moved on to the next round. It was a fun way to use traits from our favorite MCs to augment our own style.
As we got closer to recording each class’s song, the cipher also became a place to workshop drafts of each rap. Students were able to reflect with each other and
April 2016
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