Developing Civic Empowerment for Black Youth Through Student-Driven Hip-Hop Composition in the Music Classroom

n this study, I draw on ethnographic data (interviews and focus groups) to explore an in-school Hip-Hop Music Education pilot program within an urban school district to explore the link between occupational identity development and classroom outcomes. Results of this study indicate that the program participants felt the program provided them with culturally responsive pedagogy that also acted as an agent in developing occupational identities of the emerging media makers. A primary theme that emerged within the data was that the program legitimized Hip-Hop cultural capital as useful to finding a career pathway. These findings suggest that young people of color engaged in connected learning through Hip-Hop show an ability leveraging their music-oriented identity projects for their successful transition into adulthood. These findings also suggest that adolescence is an important time frame where children are developing Hip-Hop social identities, but in ways that are tied to realistic planning and skill development. To conclude, I suggest that urban schools can use Hip-Hop Music Education as a resource for helping students of color to connect academic engagement to their future career aspirations.