Hip Hop vs Higher Education: Dawn of Justice

Is hip-hop worthy of higher education? Will hip-hop themed courses ever be taken seriously in academia? Since the rise of hip-hop, universities have offered many hip-hop courses and have incorporated influential hip-hop artists’ catalogues into college syllabi. Today, the course itself and teaching hip-hop itself remain controversial. The group of hip-hop artists that make music highlighting their college experiences while opting for a more conscious approach are occasionally looked over. College doesn’t respect hip-hop and hip-hop doesn’t glorify college.

Over the years, hip-hop has become an extremely influential movement around the world. Hip-hop is more than just music, it is a culture that impacts society, connected ethnicities and infiltrated the masses. During the 1970s in the Bronx, hip-hop was born by the founding father, DJ Kool Herc. The foundation of hip-hop includes breakdancing by B-boys/B-girls, DJs, emceeing, beat boxing, fashion and more. The elements, which were formerly localized, have risen at an exponential rate, starting from South Bronx to places like South Korea. The major layers that make up Hip-Hop have grown tremendously, like the graffiti scene in inner city neighborhoods expanding into museums, rap battles went from taking place in alleys to televised platforms, breakdancing in underground clubs to worldwide competitions, and rap performances in basements now fill the airwaves across the world.

Although these components have successfully crossed over on a major scale, the transition into classrooms is not taken as serious. The concern is not only the value of these courses, but the importance of avoiding exploitation and culture appropriation. As the culture elevates and courses invade predominantly white universities, some feel it can be looked at as appropriation due its harsh and poverty stricken beginnings. Who should teach the course is also a factor because authenticity is important.

Former beat boxer, B-boy, and University at Buffalo professor, Dr. Kushal Bhardwaj who teaches ‘Hip-hop and Social Issues says, “Legitimacy and authenticity is not exclusively tied to race. You can’t teach people how to be black but you can have people study socially, historically, and culturally what it has meant to be black. If hip-hop culture makes a white kid more conscious of who Malcolm X really was or who the Black Panthers really were, and it makes them consciously say ‘maybe these cops need to stop shooting us because police brutality isn’t exclusively done to black folk’, then that’s the point.”

On the opposing side, many are reluctant to bring hip-hop culture into the classroom due to the negative stereotype. Universities fear the suggestive lyrics, dance moves, attire, and videos can lead to risky behavior. Alex Beam, a columnist from the Boston Globe, claims the study of hip-hop is not suitable for academic study describing it as “celebration of ignorance, gangster-ism...and violence against women.” But, this is merely a reflection of the aspect of hip-hop they were exposed to. However, when examining these suggestive lyrics, videos, et cetera, courses tied in with sociology, women studies, film and history arise.

“There are generational and racial disdain with hip-hop and that is the same way that mainstream society called rock and roll “jungle music. That fear reflects broader societies’ lack of understanding of black culture and history. Certain departments don’t get it and I’m afraid sometimes, they won’t get it. There is a growing population, a progressive population, of not just African American departments but like sociology, history, and communications,” says Bhardwaj.

City College of New York student and music artist Arthur ‘Ar-Stylez’ Baton says, “Pursuing higher education does not take away from your authenticity, in fact it does the opposite, it adds on. As an artist, the more you learn, the more you can tell. Sharing your experiences and stories with the World. As people, we should seek and take pride in learning both inside & outside the classroom on a consistent basis.”

Rappers like J Cole and Childish Gambino are current artists who don’t shy away from delivering lyrics about their college experiences. Kanye West put out a legendary album named “The College Dropout,” where he encouraged the youth to make their own decisions and not let society tell them what to do and for him college was one of those things. This doesn’t mean he is against college, it actually promotes entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, some hip-hop artists refrain from talking about higher education because of many factors like radio play, their image, the false impression that they have to live up to negative stereotypes, and or simply because they aren’t exposed to it.

“Speaking as an artist who is attending college, pursuing a college education is very time-consuming, as students tend to make stressful commitments and sacrifices to excel. Being an artist, stressful environments and time management can affect or/and alter your creativity,” said Baton.

The scholarly work ‘The hip-hop Generation’ claims, the keys to communicating with an entire generation of young people can be found in hip-hop. Howard University, a historically black college was the first to offer a hip-hop specific course in 1991. Since then, colleges all over the United States have adopted hip-hop specific courses including top-ranked universities such as Harvard, Penn State, University of Southern California, University of California, Stanford, Rice, Duke, Princeton, and New York University. According to JET magazine, Georgetown offers a course called ‘Sociology of hip-hop: Urban Theodicy of Jay Z’ where students explore the blurred lines between his artistry and harsh upbringing.

The culture and the movement as a whole has grown. Colleges and Universities should not only continue offering hip-hop courses, but add to the culture by taking it serious. Michelle Obama chose to use rap to promote the White House’s agenda in a College Humor video this year encouraging students to attend college. Hip-hop in academia goes beyond the stereotypical gang and drug cultures to analyze the movement’s intersection with social issues, politics, academics, business, and more. Hip-hop is dominating the youth and is truly an effective way to communicate with today’s generation. Higher education and hip-hop must intersect and be valued in both arenas. Hip-hop is proven to be not only an art but also a valuable lesson.