Rap as Antiracist Pedagogy

Rap as Antiracist Pedagogy represents an intervention into the field of music studies, examining how the research and teaching of rap music that appears on the surface to be equity-driven often ends up reinforcing the white power structures that the music historically has sought to dismantle. Analyzing how “rap” has been treated as a racial code word and commodity both inside and outside the academy, this book argues that there is an ethical imperative for scholars of rap music to adopt an explicitly antiracist approach to teaching and research, and offers potential pathways toward achieving that end.

Since rap music emerged as a field of study in university music departments in the 1990s, an increasing number of scholars have devoted their careers to researching and teaching this uniquely American art form. But in the context of music departments that are historically white, the ways that we study rap music often reinscribe whiteness. Offering practical connections to pedagogy alongside critical analysis of the racial dynamics surrounding rap music and its assimilation in the white mainstream, this book reflects on how and why we study hip hop, and how scholars can engage with the music while working to disrupt systems of oppression. It would be ideal for scholars in music studies who teach or research rap and hip hop, graduate and advanced undergraduate students in classes on rap/hip hop or music pedagogy, and administrators in music departments and schools of music.