Rap as the Voice of Criminality: Empowering "Hood" Students Through the Exploration of Street Rap

• In Event: Sub-Cultures and Self-Care

Abstract

Underground or street rap music with direct ties to criminality (gangs, drugs, violence) has become a critical voice for the expression of the lived experience of criminal involvement, its causes and consequences, and its connections to the formal criminal justice system. This music, which is often a side-note in classes or academic work on hip hop, forms the basis for a new kind of discussion about crime, justice and the impact of the "hood". This presentation will explore this approach to teaching rap and crime and will present results from an initial study that demonstrates how this type of educational approach also empowers students from the "hood" to find and express their unique voices through classroom involvement and related advocacy projects.

Author

• Rebecca Maniglia, Northern Arizona University