arts

Article
Hip Hop Pedagogy as Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
Melanie L. Buffington * and Jolie Day
Department of Art Education, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA;
[email protected]
* Corresponding: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-804-8283805




Received: 21 August 2018; Accepted: 28 November 2018; Published: 3 December 2018


Abstract: This paper argues that Hip Hop Pedagogy is a version of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
and should be a part of art education. Further, we believe that when exploring Hip Hop Pedagogy,
teachers need to reference the work of Black female and non-binary artists. After an overview of
Hip Hop Pedagogy and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, we argue that these approaches should be
a consistent part of art education. Through the work of contemporary visual artist and DJ, Rozeal,
we offer suggestions for art educators about how they might transition their practice to embrace
some aspects of Hip Hop Pedagogy. Specifically, through sampling and the distinction of cultural
appreciation versus appropriation, we believe that art educators can change their practice to make
their teaching more relevant to their students and to contemporary culture.

Keywords: Hip Hop pedagogy; Rozeal; culturally sustaining pedagogy; art education; culture

1. Introduction
In this paper we argue that Hip Hop Pedagogy is an extension of culturally relevant pedagogy
(CRP) as originated by Ladson-Billings (1995) and Gay (2000) work in culturally responsive teaching.
Paris (2012) built upon their ideas to develop his idea of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP). Rather
than using Hip Hop as a hook or as social currency (Kuttner 2016), we argue that CSP can be used in
the arts to teach about artists from the genre, going beyond cyphers and rap battles about academic
subjects. We argue that using Hip Hop as a hook toward enticing students into learning about
traditional topics de-legitimizes Hip Hop itself as an important cultural and artistic form and promotes
superficial understandings of cultural practices. Further, we argue that many calls to include Hip
Hop Pedagogy focus on male artists and that the practice needs to include Black and Brown women,
women identifying, and gender minority artists from Hip Hop. The call for this special issue includes
the names of five individual artists, Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne, all male.
Thus, we chose to focus on the work of a Black female contemporary artist and DJ, Rozeal, and the
implications for her work in art education settings.
We came to have the discussions that inform this paper through a graduate class, Curriculum
Development and Evaluation, in which Jolie was a student and Melanie was the professor. As a part
of this class, we addressed culturally relevant and culturally sustaining pedagogies. Throughout the
course, we emphasized the diversity of learners and educational settings. In addition to numerous
journal articles, we also read Emdin (2016) For White Folks who Teach in the Hood . . . and the Rest of
Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education. Through conversations we came to see the need
for more examples of Hip Hop Pedagogy, informed by Black feminism (Brown and Kwakye 2012;
Peoples 2008), in art classrooms. Our collaboration on this paper resulted from Jolie’s research into
Rozeal, a contemporary painter who remixes traditional Japanese woodblock prints with contemporary
Hip Hop imagery while questioning cultural appropriation, globalization, and representation. We saw
similarities between Paris (2009) and Emdin’s ideas (Emdin 2016) and Rozeal’s work and believe that

Arts 2018, 7, 97; doi:10.3390/arts7040097 www.mdpi.com/journal/arts

Arts 2018, 7, 97 2 of 11

the work of Black women artists needs to be as central to the discussion of Hip Hop Pedagogies as the
work of male artists.

1.1. Personal Connections (Positionality)

1.1.1. Jolie
I am a graduate student, a White woman, who grew up hearing Hip Hop on the radio. My father
loves jazz and that music was a prominent part of my home culture, but Hip Hop was not. I first
connected with Hip Hop in the sixth grade listening to a friend’s copy of “3 Feet High and Rising”
by De La Soul (1989). De La Soul’s sampling of jazz on this album was my entry point to Hip Hop.
I started listening to Hip Hop more actively as a teenager, not always understanding the complexities
of the subject matter or lived experiences that artists express. The energy of the music and the cadence
of voices in connection to the baseline drew me in. I am not a Hip Hop expert, and currently listen to a
blend of mainstream Hip Hop, old school, and current indie artists, including Princess Nokia, Angel
Haze, and Mykki Blanko.

1.1.2. Melanie
I am a White woman with 23 years of teaching experience who grew up during the 1980s and
1990s. In my middle school and high school days, Hip Hop and rap artists including Run DMC,
Salt-N-Pepa, NWA, Queen Latifah, and others were popular and I listened to their music. While I am
not a serious Hip Hop fan or expert, I notice how positively students respond to ways of teaching
that relate to their interests and contemporary culture. For instance, I have seen students respond in a
far more visceral manner to contemporary visual artists whose works relate to the students’ cultural
backgrounds than to historic artists. Thus, I have a deep interest in CSP and see Hip Hop Pedagogy as
one vein of CSP.

1.1.3. Our Collaboration

Neither of us (the authors) are women of color and we are aware of our positionality and, at times
during this writing process, felt like “posers.” At the same time, we fully believe that White people
need to do the work of dismantling structural racism and it is not right or fair to expect scholars of
color to do the heavy lifting while the White folks stand by and say, “It’s so hard.” Our job is to be allies
and to recognize and honor our limitations while we continually strive to do better and contribute to
the process of building a more equitable education system. This article is one of our attempts to be
allies, to contribute to the art education literature around CSP, and to educate ourselves during the
writing process.

2. Working Understanding of Hip Hop Culture

It is important to establish a working definition of Hip Hop to aid an understanding of Hip
Hop Pedagogy. Hip Hop originated in the early ‘70s in the Bronx with block parties thrown by DJ
Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc, a Black DJ from Jamaica (Jeffries 2014). Hip Hop spread quickly
as a community effort made under the specific contexts of working-class Black and Latinx youth
in New York City, and beyond during the ‘70s and ‘80s (Petchauer 2015). The economic and social
situations experienced by those in New York were not isolated, as economic shifts moved away from
manufacturing, leaving many working and middle-class families under-employed and unemployed
(Jeffries 2014).
Hip Hop was also a social movement that promoted constructive dialogue, and responded to
racial and class discrimination, lack of opportunity, and chronic poverty, as well as a resistance to
intensifying gang culture in New York (Hoch 2006; Peoples 2008). Originally seen as a recreation
and social space, Hip Hop represented a “ . . . resistance to social marginalization,” and gradually
developed as an active form of protest against institutional oppression (Peoples 2008, p. 23). Afrika
Arts 2018, 7, 97 3 of 11

Bambaataa founded the Universal Zulu Nation, a community organization that promoted peace
between gangs and local residents (Morgan and Bennett 2011). Bambaataa, among others, believed in
upholding equality, working against racial divides and hierarchies (Morgan and Bennett 2011).
With its Africanist aesthetics, rhythm, and layered meaning within lyricism, Hip Hop soon spread
globally (Fernandes 2003). Transnational Hip Hop becomes potentially problematic when non-Black
appropriations of Hip Hop do not address the racial dimensions, or cultural hybridity of Hip Hop
(Fernandes 2003). Fernandes (2003) examines the development of Hip Hop in Cuba, that Afro-Cuban
youth use Hip Hop as a mode of creative expression that addressing historical and racial conditions,
providing critiques of capitalism, and advocating for social justice. Noting this, Fernandes (2003)
stresses the importance of not idealizing transnational Hip Hop that disrupts convention as always
justice oriented. When addressing any dimension of Hip Hop, it is important to avoiding totalizing
statements, or generalizing assumptions.
Hip Hop has multiple components that are important to highlight, as often the genre is simplified
to rapping, and dance which can “exclude potential and actual sites of resistance within hip-hop
occurring outside rap” (Peoples 2008, p. 23). For the purposes of this paper, we consider the original
four elements under the umbrella of Hip Hop: “break-dancing, DJ-ing, graffiti art, and rapping”
(Peoples 2008, p. 23). The definition of Hip Hop is constantly evolving, and has more recently been
expanded to include: “(a) Breakin’, (b) Emceein’, (c) Graffiti Art, (d) Deejayin’, (e) Beatboxin’, (f) Street
Fashion, (g) Street Language, (h) Street Knowledge, and (i) Street Entrepreneurialism” (Bridges 2011,
p. 326). This understanding acknowledges that definitions of Hip Hop are fluid, non-homogenous,
and continually changing.

Defining Hip Hop Pedagogy

Hip Hop Pedagogy acknowledges the genre as an art form that may be more culturally relevant
to many students than a Eurocentric curriculum. Teaching a curriculum informed by Hip Hop might
help counter the problem Bridges (2011) describes as the ways traditional curriculum does not value
the unique lived experiences of students of color and perpetuates institutional oppression. One focus
of Hip Hop Pedagogy is cyphers, which Levy et al. (2017) describe as

highly codified yet unstructured practices where youth who identify with hip-hop culture
information exchange in the form of raps or dance. (Note: A cipher represents something
that is cyclical, such as in freestyle rapping where each participant in the circle takes turns
after the other). (p. 104)

Cyphers can function as a means for all youth to succeed in addressing their thoughts and feelings
(Levy et al. 2017). However, without ground rules that emphasize mutual respect and acceptance for
all members, cyphers can reproduce practices that exclude queer youth, young women, and young
men who do not identity as Black (Paris and Alim 2014). While cyphers are important, they represent
just one aspect of a Hip Hop Pedagogy.
Petchauer (2015) outlines the second wave of Hip Hop Pedagogy describing Hip Hop as an
aesthetic practice, and tool of research that might be used to study issues, such as urban education.
Alim (2011) describes this method as hiphopography, “ . . . an approach to the study of Hip Hop
culture that combines the methods of ethnography, biography, and social and oral history” (Alim 2011,
pp. 969–70). Hiphopography discourages distinctions of “researcher” and “researched” that might be
associated with ethnography (Alim 2011).
Hiphopography can be used as a framework, applying Hip Hop pedagogy to addresses specific
issues in an educational setting (Petchauer 2015). The outcomes could include using cyphers, elements
of activism, and promoting leadership skills that connect to social justice pedagogies (Petchauer 2015).
It is important to note that every student of color does not relate to Hip Hop, nor does it encompass
the entirety of young person’s experience (Jeffries 2014). Applying specific outcomes of educational
Arts 2018, 7, 97 4 of 11

practices informed by Hip Hop Pedagogy requires using multiple aspects of Hip Hop, and might give
students tools and a framework, applying this pedagogy to educational challenges (Petchauer 2015).
Teaching the history of Hip Hop, and creating spaces for youth of color to be counterstorytellers,
going beyond exclusively using cyphers in a Hip Hop based curriculum. An example of an
organization that more fully enacts aspects of Hip Hop is Project Hip Hop, a non-profit based in
Boston (Kuttner 2016). Teenage participants attend afterschool programs where they assume positions
as counterstoryteller (Kuttner 2016). A counterstoryteller is someone who creates narratives that “ . . .
challenge dominant conceptions about Youth of Color and their communities, uncover marginalized
stories of oppression and resistance, and offer transformative visions of change” (Kuttner 2016,
pp. 542–43). Project Hip Hop functions as a community center that provides space for young people to
amplify their artistic voices, earn stipends as organization leaders, and participate in programming,
such as theater, while receiving credit at a local community college (Kuttner 2016).

3. Outlining/Defining Culturally Sustainable Pedagogy

Paris (2012) is widely credited with developing the theory of CSP that is part of a tradition
of asset-based pedagogies (Kuttner 2016). Paris built upon the earlier groundbreaking work of
Ladson-Billings (1995) and her theory of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), which promotes that
teachers use the culture of students as a way to make learning relevant to them. Paris questioned if
Ladson-Billings’ ideas of relevance went far enough to honor the language, literacies, and cultural
practices of communities systematically oppressed. Paris writes, “Culturally sustaining pedagogy
seeks to perpetuate and foster—to sustain—linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of the
democratic project of schooling” (p. 93). Paris extended Ladson-Billings’ ideas and argues that teachers
need to go beyond making schooling relevant and also work to sustain students’ cultures, not merely
use them as a hook to build student interest. CSP also continues the tradition from CRP of viewing
students as having knowledge and recognizing their cultures and cultural identities as important,
meaningful, and worthy of study in classrooms. A pivotal part of both CRP and CSP is the shift away
from deficit-based thinking that emphasizes what is “wrong” with students and communities of color,
to an asset-based mindset that works to recognize, honor, and sustain the cultures of students is a
pivotal part of CSP. Paris (2012) also points out that a goal of deficit approaches was to, “eradicate
the linguistic, literate, and cultural practices many students of color brought from their homes and
communities and to replace them with what were viewed as superior practices” (p. 93).

3.1. Evolving CSP Practices

An important aspect of CSP that clearly relates to art education is the goal of centering education
outside of White middle class heterosexual male norms and values (Paris and Alim 2014). In an
art classroom, this would require teachers to carefully rethink the artists and artistic practices they
teach as well as their own pedagogical strategies. Teachers might make significant changes to the
artists they address, attending to equity and representation issues to ensure that all their students
see themselves represented in the curriculum. Further, CSP encourages teachers to recognize and
honor the validity, and increasingly important ability to speak outside of Dominant American English
(Paris and Alim 2014). From an artistic perspective, this might include moving beyond the traditional
language of elements and principles of art and adopting Gude (2007) principles of possibility and
going beyond these to develop locally-relevant principles within the classroom or community.
Another advocate of CSP, Paul Kuttner, adds to the arguments Paris advances and points out
that we need to think of CSP practices in relation to civic engagement and cultural practices as well.
Kuttner encourages analyzing detrimental practices within specific cultural contexts, as well as in the
dominant culture (Kuttner 2016). Within the arts, we might think of how women and people of color
were historically excluded from formal art training within the United States (Nochlin 1971). Now that
there are no systemic formal prohibitions, we might consider the financial prohibitions that many
people still face in accessing education. Further, we might investigate the work of the Guerilla Girls
Arts 2018, 7, 97 5 of 11

and how they document the difficulties that people of color and women face when seeking to exhibit
their work.

3.2. Hip Hop Pedagogy Informed by Art Education

When considering this call for papers, we noted the absence of women and felt the need to make
the point that as women are an important element of Hip Hop culture, they need to be represented in
Hip Hop Pedagogy. Because Hip Hop has traditionally been a male dominated, heterosexual space, it
has not always welcomed women, trans, femme, queer and gender minority Hip Hop artists who may
defy simplistic, hyper masculine, mainstream understandings of the genre (Chung 2007; Smith 2013).
Since the origins of Hip Hop, women and queer artists navigated a space that can, “often reiterate the
male privilege and assumed heterosexuality of everyday life in their music, leaving Hip-Hops’ women
and queer people marginalized in song as they are in reality” (Smith 2013, p. 326). Numerous scholars
advocate for feminism within Hip Hop (Brown and Kwakye 2012; Durham 2007), yet we were unable
to locate examples of what this might look like within art education.
Brown and Kwakye (2012) note that women have been a part of Hip Hop since its origins and
that their practices of playing games in public and creating dances for healing purposes like Urban
Bush Women need to be acknowledged. Further, they point out how the absence of women in many
histories of Hip Hop is not accidental, but the work of the “heteropatriarchy and the heteronormativity
that insidiously surround Hip Hop and structure our society” (p. 2). In explaining Hip Hop feminism,
Aisha Durham describes it as

a socio-cultural intellectual and political moment grounded in the situated knowledge of

women of color for the post-Civil Rights generation who recognize culture as a pivotal site
for political intervention to challenge, resist, and mobilize collectives to dismantle systems
of exploitation. (Durham 2007, p. 306)

Hip Hop feminism focuses on how to make Black women the subject of the movement, and move
away from only critiquing the misogyny of the genre (Peoples 2008). Further, Hip Hop feminists
believe the medium can be used as a platform to amplify the voices and provide space for young
women, trans, femme, and gender minority people of color that avoids a paternalistic, victim narrative
of saving young people (Peoples 2008). Some Hip Hop feminist scholars point out an emerging push
for LGBTQ+ acceptance in mainstream Hip Hop with singer/Hip Hop artists such as Frank Ocean,
and Syd the Kyd (formerly of Odd Future) (Smith 2013). At the same time, other authors believe
that Hip Hop promotes understanding and expressing complex identities that do not fit stereotypical,
damaging roles prescribed to women of color (Hay et al. 2018, p. 5).
To bring Hip Hop Pedagogies into classrooms, the framework of CSP may be one way to critically
engage with and question practices within Hip Hop that exclude others, or perpetuate discriminatory
stereotypes (Paris and Alim 2014). Specifically, we agree with Hay, Farrugia and Smith (Hay et al. 2018)
who believe that Hip Hop Pedagogy is a form of CSP applicable to lives of girls and women of
color. Brown (2009) states “ . . . hip hop feminism scholars advocate for ‘using elements of hip-hop
culture and feminist methodology for the purpose of transforming oppressive institutions, policies,
relationships, and beliefs” (p. 7). This is where we believe there is significant potential for Rozeal’s
work in art classrooms.

3.3. Teaching Rozeal’s Work as Hip Hop Artist

Rozeal is a contemporary Black female artist whose work addresses the representation of Black
people and Black Hip Hop culture, and the relationship of these cultures to Japanese pop culture. It is
important to note that the term ‘Black culture’ is a “shorthand for a complex range of practices, ideas,
and discourses, never meaning one thing” (Condry 2007, p. 639). Representation is not reality, but a
construct of history that passing through social, and ideological lenses (Desai 2000). Rozeal’s work
has evolved through the years, but her paintings from the early to mid 2000s depict figures inspired
Arts 2018, 7, 97 6 of 11

by ukiyo-e, woodblocks from Japan’s Tokugawa era (1603–1868) which depicted ‘the floating world,’
and contrasts them with contemporary Hip Hop styles, with figures often appearing in black face
(Abiko 2003; Condry 2007). Rozeal’s work examines racial stereotypes and how cultural identity
Arts 2018, 7, x FOR PEER REVIEW
is
6 of 11
always shifting in contemporary, global society (Powell 2012).
In 2001, after
aftervisiting
visitingJapan,
Japan,Rozeal
Rozeal began studying of burapan 1
In 2001, began studying thethe Japanese
Japanese youth
youth trends
trends of burapan 1, and,

and ganguro 2 (Rowell

ganguro 2 (Rowell 2015).2015). Thesetrends
These youth youthemulate
trends emulate
the style the style Hip
of Black of Black Hip Hop
Hop culture culture
(Anderson
(Anderson 2007). The crossover of Hip Hop in Japanese youth culture could be,
2007). The crossover of Hip Hop in Japanese youth culture could be, as Condry (2007) states, “...both as Condry (2007)
states, “ . . . for
as a space both as a space alternative
articulating for articulating alternative
visions visions
of Japanese of Japanese
identity and foridentity and for
providing providing a
a comparative
comparative context for thinking about hip-hop’s border crossings in the
context for thinking about hip-hop’s border crossings in the United States and elsewhere”United States and elsewhere”
(p. 640).
(p. 640). The Japanese presentation of Hip Hop that Rozeal experienced relies
The Japanese presentation of Hip Hop that Rozeal experienced relies on harmful racial stereotypes, on harmful racial
stereotypes,
rather than rather than exploring
exploring two intersecting
two intersecting cultures cultures
(Condry(Condry
2007). 2007). Rozeal’s
Rozeal’s workwork examines
examines the
the interconnectedness of our global society, the hybridization of different cultures,
interconnectedness of our global society, the hybridization of different cultures, and the resulting and the resulting
potential
potential forfor misrepresentation,
misrepresentation, and and fetishization (Powell 2012).
fetishization (Powell 2012). In
In an
an interview
interview with
with Rowell
Rowell (2015),
(2015),
Rozeal
Rozeal explains
explains what what she
she observed
observed inin Japan:
Japan:
From
From thethe ages
ages ofofsixteen
sixteento totwenty-four
twenty-fourtheytheycan
canplay . . . .Come
play.... Cometwenty-four
twenty-four oror twenty-six,
twenty-six,
whatever
whatever the age is, you have to get a job. So you stop going to the tanning salon and
the age is, you have to get a job. So you stop going to the tanning salon and you
you
stop getting that afro perm and you get yourself an office job . . . So what
stop getting that afro perm and you get yourself an office job… So what are we really talking are we really
talking aboutBecause
about here? here? Because to me
to me that that
is not is not blackness.
blackness. Blackness Blackness isn’t something
isn’t something you can you
just can
put
just put on. It just
on. It just is. (p. 809)is. (p. 809)
Rozeal’s work reflects
Rozeal’s work reflects Black
Black identity
identity asas aa signifier,
signifier, rather
rather than
than an
an identity
identity one
one can
can shed
shed (Rowell
(Rowell 2015).
2015).
Rozeal’s
Rozeal’s artwork explores cross cultural exchange, and the problems associated with mimicking other
artwork explores cross cultural exchange, and the problems associated with mimicking other
cultures
cultures without
without understanding
understanding or or appreciating
appreciating thethe condition
condition that
that comes
comes with
with them
them (Figure
(Figure 1).
1). She
She
addresses the history of influence between African American Hip Hop culture,
addresses the history of influence between African American Hip Hop culture, and Asian culturesand Asian cultures
(Williams
(Williams and
and Brown
Brown 2006). Condry (2007)
2006). Condry (2007) suggests
suggests that
that some
some of
of the
the Japanese perception of
Japanese perception of Black
Black
Americans
Americans came
camefrom
fromracist
racistportrayals,
portrayals,blackface
blackfaceentertainment, that
entertainment, were
that first
were imported
first to Japan
imported in the
to Japan in
late 1880’s after Japan opened to trade at the start of the Meiji Restoration in 1863 (Abiko 2003).
the late 1880’s after Japan opened to trade at the start of the Meiji Restoration in 1863 (Abiko 2003).

Figure 1. 1.
Figure Rozeal. You
Rozeal. opened
You my
opened eyes
my man,
eyes thought
man, I had
thought I hada aman,
man,but
buthow
howcould
couldI eye
I eyescan.
scan.2008.
2008.

Additionally, the term burapan stems from World War II, II, specific
specific to
to aa Japanese
Japanese sex worker that
would prostitute herself to Black men (Condry 2007). Having historical context might cast ganguro in
prostitute herself
a different light.
light. Rozeal
Rozealstates
statesthat
thatshe
shewas
was“initially
“initiallypleased
pleasedbyby the
the global
global influence
influence and
and reverence
reverence of
of hip-hop but ultimately troubled by the Japanese youth’s usually one-sided
hip-hop but ultimately troubled by the Japanese youth’s usually one-sided interpretation of it” interpretation of it”
(Dubois
(DuBois 2009,
2009, p.
p. 44). Rozeal views this imitation not as flattery,
flattery, but as a caricature
caricature based in historically
historically
damaging stereotypes (Rowell 2015). 2015).
Rozeal’s work pulls from the Ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro who created counter narratives
showing women of the Tokugawa era (1603–1863) in more detail, and with more respect to their
identities (Abiko 2003; Anderson 2007). Utamaro’s work differed from others of that time, featuring
women in active roles and having a level of agency (Anderson 2007). Some of Rozeal’s paintings
1mirror specific
A form paintings
of blackface Hip Hopby Utamaro,
(Rowell 2015). and like Utamaro, depict women as determiners of fashion,
2 A style related to burapan that has heavy use of self tanner,
engaged in personal activities (Anderson 2007).and a whitening
Rozeal around on
expands the eyes
the (Rowell
theme2015).
of women as
independent subjects of the art, rather than depicting women in service to men, showing female
subjects, often in quiet moments with other women (Figure 2).

1 A form of blackface Hip Hop (Rowell 2015).

Arts 2018, 7, 97 7 of 11

identities (Abiko 2003; Anderson 2007). Utamaro’s work differed from others of that time, featuring
women in active roles and having a level of agency (Anderson 2007). Some of Rozeal’s paintings mirror
specific paintings by Utamaro, and like Utamaro, depict women as determiners of fashion, engaged in
personal activities (Anderson 2007). Rozeal expands on the theme of women as independent subjects
of the art, rather than depicting women in service to men, showing female subjects, often in quiet
moments
Arts 2018, 7, with
x FORother women (Figure 2).
PEER REVIEW 7 of 11

Figure 2. Rozeal. Untitled. 2016.

Rozeal samples
samplesfrom Utamaro
from while while
Utamaro simultaneously showing showing
simultaneously how Japanese
howwomen participating
Japanese women
in ganguro appropriate African American culture through clothing and hairstyles.
participating in ganguro appropriate African American culture through clothing and hairstyles.

4. Translating
4. Translating Rozeal’s
Rozeal’s Work
Work with
withHip
HipHop
HopPedagogy
Pedagogyin
inMind
Mind
Through class
Through class discussions,
discussions, at at conferences,
conferences, andand in in casual
casual conversations,
conversations, the the main
main wayway that
that we
we
hear of art educators utilizing Hip Hop Pedagogy is by engaging children in rapping about various
hear of art educators utilizing Hip Hop Pedagogy is by engaging children in rapping about various
traditional topics
traditional topicsininart
arteducation—the
education—the color
color wheel
wheel or or
thethe elements
elements andand principles
principles ofWhile
of art. art. While
there
there may be good reasons to use rap in the classroom, we think that there
may be good reasons to use rap in the classroom, we think that there may be other ways to implement may be other ways to
implement
aspects of aspects
Hip Hop of Hip Hop Pedagogy
Pedagogy as well.asAwell.good A good starting
starting pointpoint is teaching
is teaching abouta arange
about range of of
contemporary artists who acknowledge the role of Hip Hop in their practice.
contemporary artists who acknowledge the role of Hip Hop in their practice. For instance, with For instance, with regard
to Rozeal’s
regard work, she
to Rozeal’s acknowledges
work, the importance
she acknowledges of Hip Hop
the importance of Hip inHop
her life andlife
in her weandcanwe seecan
the see
rolethe
of
streetoffashion
role as wellas
street fashion inwell
her images. She describes
in her images. herselfherself
She describes as a DJasina addition
DJ in additionto being a visual
to being artist
a visual
(Williams and Brown 2006).
artist (Williams and Brown 2006).
One way
One way an
an art
art educator
educator might
might teach
teach about
about herher isis to
to explore
explore issues
issues of of appropriation
appropriation versusversus
appreciation and the multiplicity of identity. Appropriation, in cultural terms,
appreciation and the multiplicity of identity. Appropriation, in cultural terms, is taking something from is taking something
from another
another culture,
culture, usuallyusually a minority
a minority culture,
culture, and having
and having someone someone
from the from the dominant
dominant cultureculture
use it
without showing a deep understanding of the item and why or how it was and is used byisothers.
use it without showing a deep understanding of the item and why or how it was and used byIn
others. In contrast, appreciation involves respectfully borrowing or using
contrast, appreciation involves respectfully borrowing or using cultural elements and acknowledging cultural elements and
acknowledging
one’s positionalityone’s positionality
as well as wellcomplexities
as the inherent as the inherent complexities
in using elementsinfrom usinga culture
elements fromthan
other a culture
one’s
other Appreciation
own. than one’s own. Appreciation
could also mean not could also mean
sourcing not sourcing
the imagery the imagery
from another from
culture, butanother culture,
examining the
but examining the underlying meaning behind a practice, and connecting that
underlying meaning behind a practice, and connecting that to practices and values in one’s own culture. to practices and values
in one’s
For own instead
instance, culture.of
For instance,
having instead of
all students having
draw all students
skeletons and skullsdrawforskeletons
the Dayand of theskulls
Dead,forathe Day
teacher
of the Dead,
might engageastudents
teacher might engage students
in an understanding andinappreciation
an understanding of theirand appreciation
ancestors and the ofstudents
their ancestors
would
and the students would have some choice in how
have some choice in how they would represent their ancestors. they would represent their ancestors.
Appropriating cultural
Appropriating cultural elements
elementswithout
withoutacknowledging
acknowledging their
their originorigin is harmful,
is harmful, racist,racist,
and
and continues systematic forms of oppression. A recent example
continues systematic forms of oppression. A recent example of this includes White Hip Hopof this includes White Hip Hop
musicians wearing cornrows while not acknowledging systemic racism and the fact that the musical
style and hairstyle originated with African Americans. Related to this, the musical idea of sampling,
taking a segment of a pre-existing song and using it within the context of a new song, is an element
of Hip Hop relevant to Rozeal’s work and postmodernism (Broome 2015). Additionally, she takes
styles and remixes elements of older and newer cultural traditions. This hybridity and fluidity of her
Arts 2018, 7, 97 8 of 11

musicians wearing cornrows while not acknowledging systemic racism and the fact that the musical
style and hairstyle originated with African Americans. Related to this, the musical idea of sampling,
taking a segment of a pre-existing song and using it within the context of a new song, is an element of
Hip Hop relevant to Rozeal’s work and postmodernism (Broome 2015). Additionally, she takes styles
and remixes elements of older and newer cultural traditions. This hybridity and fluidity of her work
combines such elements as a Burberry plaid with a person wearing cornrows in the style of Ukiyo-e
prints. This becomes especially important when working with issues of cross cultural exchange, and
the need to understand historical context.
Thus, we suggest that art teachers directly address appropriation and make the connection to
sampling within Hip Hop music. Through a discussion of Rozeal’s work and her commentary on
the appropriation of Black culture, teachers and students could engage in meaningful discussions
of what is a respectful use of another culture and how people choose to respond when they see a
disrespectful use of their culture, as Rozeal does. One idea would be for students to research their
cultural background and find media representations of it or students may use a site like Pinterest to
locate lesson plans that purport to teach about their culture. Then, the students and teacher would need
to take some time to study the representations that they find, deciding how they depict the culture.
After this process, students would make some type of derivative work that comments on how they see
their own culture represented in media images, if it leans more toward appropriation or appreciation.
These pieces could be displayed alongside the original source images with a description of how the
student analyzed the original work and how it relates to the students’ cultural backgrounds. This
engages students in the practices of being a counterstoryteller while acknowledging Hip Hop culture,
students’ own cultural practices, and engaging students in exploring how others have appropriated or
appreciated their culture.
In addition to Rozeal’s work, a teacher might also introduce other Black women artists
including Mickalene Thomas and Faith Ringgold who both sample from Western male works of
art. This sampling is incredibly purposeful as they comment on the lack of representation of women,
and specifically Black women within the history of art. Thus, their use of imagery from older paintings
is a political act, much like the political commentary that was an essential part of early Hip Hop.
Through replacing White male figures and a nude White female figure with clothed strong Black
women with natural hair, Thomas inserts Black women into the history of art in a powerful fashion
in her piece Le déjeuner sur l’herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires. (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/
arts-culture/mickalene-thomas-ushering-new-wave-contemporary-art-180967496/). Not only do the
Black women literally take the place of White men, they are also looking directly at the viewers of the
piece which is a sharp contrast to how women, and particularly women of color, are typically depicted
in 19th century paintings (Tiffany 2018).
In Ringgold’s The Sunflowers Quilting Bee, she samples a van Gogh sunflower image and
includes portraits of important African American women as a sign of female solidarity in contrast
to the traditional idea of the White male genius artist (Smith 1992). Further, in this piece Ringgold
positions these women, from different eras, engaging in a collective form of quilting (http://www.
faithringgold.com/ringgold/d15.htm). Because the focal point of the piece is the women and their
quilting, van Gogh, who is relegated to the side, almost becomes part of the background. The work of
Thomas and Ringgold relates to Rozeal’s work, but shows more connection to historical works of art
and questions the absence of women, particularly Black women, within art.
Engaging students with studying the works of Rozeal, Thomas, and Ringgold or other artists
(See Appendix A) requires that art teacher do more than ask students to swap out a figure and replace it
with another. Delving into the history of Hip Hop, the political commentary of music, and the historic
exclusion of Black women from visual arts would be necessary to help students build an understanding
of these artists’ work. Further, an art teacher would need to guide student through considering what
type of statement they wanted to make through creating a work with sampled imagery and help
students understand the differences between appropriation and appreciation. Teachers could facilitate
Arts 2018, 7, 97 9 of 11

discussions about what type of visual sampling would effectively communicate students’ messages.
In process critiques of student work would likely help students consider multiple perspectives on their
own work and the ways representation, or the lack of it, affect contemporary perspectives.

5. Conclusions
Like all cultural art forms, Hip Hop is complex, evolving, and part of lived reality for millions of
people. Due to its meaning within young people’s lives, art teachers should make space for Hip Hop
Pedagogy within their teaching practice. This requires that teachers adopt an asset-based approach
to all their students, learn about a wide variety of cultures, and question what knowledge looks like
and where and how it circulates. Further, teachers need to de-center themselves and their knowledge,
recognizing that the Hip Hop artists their students know about and like may be vastly different from
their own knowledge.
As we work to change practices within art education, we need to question some of our traditional
practices and projects that are based on cultural appropriation. Instead, we need to find alternatives
in how we work and in the projects we have students create. Educators need to consider ways of
working that relate to appreciation, not appropriation. Further, it is crucial for educators to address
the fact that the dominant (White) cultures in the United States have benefitted from appropriation in
myriad ways, often commodifying and commercializing other cultures. At the same time, the cultures
being appropriated (largely Black and Brown) do not receive benefits and are penalized for some of
the same actions. To help our field move in this direction, we need to consider our students’ cultures,
how Hip Hop may be a part of their cultures and work to sustain what they bring with them to the
classroom. We might work with our students to understand the core values of the artistic practices that
they value and use those as guiding principles within the classroom. Further, we may need to question
the existing values in visual art, largely based on early 20th century elements and principles of art
(Gude 2007), and rethink these in light of contemporary practices and values (Emdin 2016). Though
beyond the scope of this paper, art education could be informed by close study of Black feminism and
how it informs Hip Hop pedagogy. Developing curriculum related to Black feminism could be a step
toward changing the historical erasure of Black women from the field of art education (Acuff 2018).
Not all individual teachers have the power or ability to make radical changes on their own.
To make systemic changes within education, we believe that teacher preparation programs need to
radically shift to encompass a wider range of pedagogical approaches, including CSP and Hip Hop
pedagogy. When pre-service teachers learn about contemporary pedagogy and ways to use Hip
Hop artists and musicians that challenge “controlling images” and expand on nuanced, complex
narratives (Hay et al. 2018, p. 5) to better relate to the lives of youth. Because the teaching workforce is
overwhelmingly White, it is important that teachers recognize how systemic oppression and racism
operate in schools and work to dismantle that. Working to validate and sustain Hip Hop and the
cultures of our students is one way that White allies can assist in the dismantling of the current
inequitable system.

Author Contributions: Both authors contributed equally to writing and editing this paper.
Funding: This research received no funding.
Acknowledgments: We would like to thank Gloria Wilson for reading a draft of this manuscript and offering us
helpful feedback. We are grateful for her time and insights.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix A
Other contemporary visual artists whose work we believe would be appropriate to address
through the ideas of Hip Hop Pedagogy include:
Meriem Bennani
Melissa Falconer
Arts 2018, 7, 97 10 of 11

Faith Ringgold
El Seed
Amy Sherald
Roger Shimomura
Saba Taj
Mickalene Thomas
Izel Vargas
Kehinde Wiley

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