Hip Hop Can Save America

Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings' theories and research around culturally relevant pedagogy has been a foundation of forward thinking education circles, and many of today’s leading hip-hop educators are proving her work to be vital in improving how we teach our kids. She is, as some refer to her, the OG at this, and it is fitting that it is with Dr. Ladson-Billings that we wrap the first season of Hip-Hop Can Save America.

Tierney Oberhammer is the Director of Production for Flocabulary, overseeing content creation, working with rappers, singers and producers to make music that aligns with K-12 curriculum. She has helped create hundreds of videos ranging from math to social and emotional learning, and spearheaded a series on social justice.Tierney is a passionate advocate for hip-hop based education, and often writes and speaks on these topics, as well as the overall effectiveness of the Flocabulary program, and I was thrilled that she took time out to speak to me about how their brand of hip-hop education can mean so much more than just being able to pass a test.

Ben Oritz serves as the assistant curator for the Cornell Hip-Hop Collection, a part of Cornell Library’s Rare and Valuable Manuscript department. As someone who is very much of the culture, we hear about his work in this esteemed position, what the collection consists of, and why it is so important to archive hip-hop culture in an institution like Cornell.

On this episode, we return to the hip-hop education space, as I talk with Dr. Andrea Hunt.Dr. Hunt developed and teaches a Sociology of Hip-Hop Culture course at the University of North Alabama, and while she is very much involved with the regional hip-hop community, what I really like about her course and her work, is that she is bringing hip-hop into a school with a predominantly white student body -- and in a quote unquote “red state” to boot.Of course, we’ve seen educators using hip-hop in urban and predominant minority settings with great success, but I was curious to hear about Dr. Hunt’s experience merging hip-hop studies in this setting. And as I mentioned, Dr. Hunt also does a great job at extending her connection to hip-hop way past the walls of her classroom, using the culture and associated artform to improve lives in the communities where it’s needed most.All in all, I think you’ll be as inspired as I was to hear how she is using hip-hop to inform and inspire folks from all walks of life, in ways that I think can help contribute to an increase in cross-cultural understanding, and help repair some of the damage that has been done to our collective social fabric.

My guess is that if you’re listening to this show, you’ve heard of a lil ol musical called Hamilton. The unlikely mix of hip-hop and live theater caught many mainstreamers off guard with its multi-cultural, multi-genre approach to the stage.But what not enough people know, is that Hamilton is not a one-off. Hip-hop and live theater have a history that far proceeds and expands way past Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit show.In this episode, I speak with one of the innovators who has been rocking hip-hop theater for well over a decade in a very unique way -- merging intellectually deep, topical dives with beat, rhymes and performative art.From Climate change to evolution to religion to how the brain actually works, Baba Brinkman pens and performs incredibly memorable experiences pairing hip-hop music and culture with the most complex issues of our time, and does so with brilliance, humor, and a universal appeal that stretches from the block to Broadway.

On this episode, Manny Faces speaks to artist, educator and entrepreneur Gil Perkins, aka Sage Salvo who, founded a literacy program called Words Liive that helps teachers build standards-aligned lessons that integrate music and media, increasing student engagement and educational success.Sage details the core offerings of this groundbreaking program, and talks about how hip-hop music and lyrics can help students better understand complex literary works.

Kevin Kosanovich founded the College of William & Mary Hip Hop Collection dedicated to documenting and preserving Virginia’s hip-hop history. Kevin earned his PhD writing about the Bronx River Houses, the Zulu Nation, and hip-hop’s international expansion. He is currently the Content Archivist for StockX.

A veteran of more than a dozen international tours, including as a State Department Cultural Ambassador with the Music Abroad Program, Mikal Amin is someone I consider to be the epitome of a hip-hop teaching artist. He’s taught master classes, led workshops, lectured, published essays, produced and curated events, and most important, stood right by the sides of young people from all walks of life, helping them find their best selves through poetry, rap and music.

This episode, I speak to Mark "Metal" Wong and Steve "Believe" Lunger from Hip Hop Fundamentals. Based in Philadelphia, Hip Hop Fundamentals is an educational company run by breakdancers, whose mission is to “use the dynamic American art form of Breaking to effectively teach academic content, youth empowerment, and social issues.” With a roster chock full of talented, passionate teaching artists, the Hip Hop Fundamentals crew delivers memorable and inspirational workshops and in-school residencies through Pennsylvania and New Jersey -- as well as throughout the country.

This episode, Manny Faces talks with Dr. Ian Levy about hip-hop and school counseling. Dr. Levy was the 2016 New York State school counselor of the year and is currently Assistant Professor of School Counseling at Manhattan College.Levy, who has been recognized for piloting the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Hip Hop based counseling framework in urban schools, examines mental health practices in those schools, interrogating the role of the school counselor and other school staff to ensure the emotional lives of young people are adequately addressed.His work has been featured on CNN and in the New York Times.But most important. He has used hip-hop to help kids. Lots of them.