How can hip hop be used as a tool to promote social justice and youth activism in the classroom? What is the relationship between hip hop culture and the development of critical consciousness amongst students?

The article points out that many of the lyrics in notable hip hop artists’ songs criticize the current education system by saying the schools are teaching students lies rather than how to survive. Hip hop music can be a great way to educate students on social justice issues like police brutality, misogyny, incarceration, and racial discrimination because the lyrics can highlight the point of view of the oppressed; because this messaging is portrayed in a popular music genre, more people, especially students, will be open to listening. Music is also something that almost everyone has access to, whether on your phone, the radio, or the mall.

The Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy (CHHP) is meant to be student-centred and engaging which will allow for a more personal experience in the classroom and allow the teacher and students to identify and find solutions to issues that their students face. Because students are actively involved in finding said solutions, they are therefore making an effort to “create positive social change”. The main student project in this pedagogy was to get students to identify a local social injustice issue and educate the public through hip hop culture while also developing a plan to solve the issue. Students had to think critically about the problem to identify why it was happening and what needs to be done, conduct research, and discuss the implications of their research. The CHHP also wishes to challenge the common ideology that students are at fault for their failure rather than the teacher, the school, or society. It is my belief that students have the right to be educated on “political” topics and social justice issues so that when they create their own worldview, it is an informed and educated one. 

Akom A. (2009). Critical hip hop pedagogy as a form of liberator praxis. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(1), 52-66.