Hip hop as a cultural genre of the African American musical tradition: a critical race theory analysis of hip hop's pioneers' experiences

Today the classroom is filled with students from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The reality of this cultural variance presents the educator with opportunities to teach from multiple perspectives. In developing the Hop Hop Initiative at North Carolina Central University I found that some educators (collegiate and pre-collegiate) have frowned upon and disavowed the notion of Hip Hop pedagogy. This study situates Hip Hop as an identifiable genre and culture within the African-American and Black musical tradition. My desire was to pursue a line of investigation, which presents plausible approaches to utilizing Hip Hop in a culturally responsive pedagogical framework. The purpose of this study was to examine Hip Hop in its historical and cultural contexts. Shor (1992) posits that teachers who acknowledge the culture of students as fertile ground for instruction must recognize that teachers must also be learners. This project chronicled Hip Hop through the eyes of the individuals who contributed to the creation and development of the art form as compared and contrast to its majoritarian view. The outcome(s) of this study was to produce a document that will serve as a historical source for teachers who wish to incorporate aspects of Hip Hop into their classroom environment