Indigenous youth rhyme about crime : hip hop as qualitative methodology in criminology

This paper explores the potential of Hip Hop as a qualitative methodology for garnering youth perspectives of crime, with particular reference to Indigenous youth living in Western Sydney. We describe a research method designed to create space for Indigenous people to control the epistemological direction, and action outcomes of a research project. Hip Hop as a qualitative methodology is utilised here by a collaborative team to find out about Aboriginal youth strengths and ‘protective factors’ which mitigate criminal behaviour. We will discuss the way in which this project differs from other pieces of criminological research which has sought to answer similar questions, and why Hip Hop in this particular case offers a complex, yet safe, platform for young Indigenous people to express themselves for the purposes of research