Hip hop collective: Building resilience in music education

Abstract

Hip hop music exists on the fringes of the music education profession in the United States, while the integration and implementation of hip hop pedagogies are more commonplace globally. Limited research exists on the experiences, processes, or approaches that inform the integration of hip hop into United States–based public-school K–12 education curricula. This investigation involved a community engagement partnership between a public university located in the southeastern United States and a local public charter school. The researchers chronicled the process of integrating a 6-week hip hop music education program into a university-based K–8 laboratory school, where predominantly Black seventh- and eighth-grade students created original hip hop music and graffiti. The program was one of the first to combine graffiti, musicology, and hip hop culture into a formal music classroom using informal and learner-centered approaches. As a qualitative investigation, the experiences of the teaching artists, students, and laboratory educators formed the foundation for identifying seven major themes: (1) Agency and Identity, (2) Creativity, (3) Resilience, (4) Connectedness, (5) Motivation, (6) Transformation, and (7) Challenges. Implications for the field of music education are discussed in the conclusion.

Keywords

hip hop culture hip hop music education popular music education popular music pedagogies resilience

Introduction

In recent years, music education scholars have elevated diversity, equity, inclusion, and access as a major topic of inquiry (e.g., Diaz, 2021; Talbot, 2018). Much of this research is based on the premise that music education in the United States heavily draws on Western European art music traditions and thereby disenfranchises many students (Salvador & Sierzega, 2023; Talbot, 2018; Williams, 2019). Some scholars have argued that the field of music education is rooted in racism and perpetuates institutionalized whiteness (Bradley, 2007; Hess, 2015, 2018). However, in various music education communities worldwide, efforts to expand music learning beyond Eurocentric models have aimed to diversify curricula and instruction while increasing access for a broader range of students (Butler et al., 2007; NAMM Foundation, 2025; Randles, 2022). These efforts include the integration of popular music pedagogies in PK–12 (pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, ages 4–18 years old) educational settings (Cremata, 2017). Popular music pedagogies may involve teaching, creating, and performing hip hop within the formal music classroom, which could incorporate hip hop–based pedagogies that emphasize resilience models for underserved youth (Kruse, 2016b; Shand & Bernard, 2024).

In their efforts to foster more diverse and equitable PK–12 music education, researchers and educators highlight hip hop as a means of linking students’ informal music experiences with formal instruction (Tobias, 2014). However, as Tobias (2014) noted, the “dominant focus on Western classical music throughout schools of music” (p. 5) presents challenges to this shift. At the same time, opportunities exist for music educators to meaningfully integrate hip hop into the classroom. Although literature exploring the critical understanding and teaching of hip hop exists (Gallo & Kruse, 2023), the present research aims to examine the perceptions, experiences, and outcomes of a 6-week hip hop curriculum implemented within a public charter K–8 laboratory school in the southeastern United States, embedded through a Community Resilience Model (CRM©).

Literature review: Hip hop integration into the music classroom

Hip hop’s integration into formal music education continues to draw attention from researchers in the field (Kruse, 2016a, 2016b, 2020a). Some researchers have proposed an approach called hip hop–based education (Evans, 2019), which focuses on the influence of rap music and hip hop culture, particularly upon underserved youth populations in the United States. These students often experience “intense negative emotions stemming from physical and/or emotional abuse, discrimination, poverty, neglect, and/or other relational and intergenerational trauma that can’t be accessed through typical Eurocentric music” (Evans, 2019, p. 21). Hip hop–based education encourages students to use their lived experiences to enrich and support their musical knowledge in the formal classroom while exploring informal and do-it-yourself approaches to music-making (Hill & Petchauer, 2013; Walzer, 2017).

Hip hop–based education disrupts traditional top-down, passive music education experiences and encourages students to play an active role in their own learning (Gage et al., 2020). Hill (2009) explored hip hop–based education and identified three classifications of hip hop pedagogies: (1) pedagogies with hip hop, (2) pedagogies about hip hop, and (3) pedagogies through hip hop. Although Hill’s work is significant for its contributions to our understanding of hip hop–based education in music teaching and learning, and its influences on music curricula across the United States are valuable, broader acceptance of hip hop–based education across the profession remains limited. As J. Lewis (2022) stated, “Many of the obstructions to hip hop’s inclusion in music education are the same as in other fields of education. One issue is the problem of a primarily White demographic in our music teacher-training programs” (p. 137). Researchers investigating curricular implications for hip hop–based education in music classrooms have found that diversifying the racial and ethnic representation of incoming music teachers remains a challenge (Talbot, 2018).

Several researchers have provided insights into teaching hip hop within formal music education in coordination with Musical Futures, an international organization that promotes student-centered, informal, and popular music-based learning for PK–12 schools. Gage et al. (2020) developed a hip hop program at an urban arts school in Canada that focused on “musical life skills through real-life music-making activities that resemble those employed by popular musicians” (p. 19). In this qualitative study, researchers described the music teacher and the processes involved in creating a hip hop curriculum in partnership with a local university. They noted that the teacher aimed to “promote a music education class responsive to pupils’ interests, influenced by the Musical Futures initiative and hip hop music pedagogy” (p. 28). The study also revealed a constant need to balance teacher-directed instruction with student autonomy: students were most engaged when instruction was tailored to their musical interests. This research highlighted the importance of involving professional hip hop musicians in the classroom, as well as the significant role lyric writing played in students’ identity development. Similarly, Evans (2019) conducted a qualitative case study in an elementary school where hip hop was integrated into the music classroom. Findings suggested that students built their identities within a community of music learners, with music serving as a meaningful pathway for personal expression. The curriculum also offered therapeutic outcomes by allowing students to express difficulties and challenges in their lives through lyric writing.

Outside the formal classroom, Söderman and Folkestad (2004) examined how two hip hop musicians learned and performed hip hop in Sweden. In a recording studio setting, qualitative data showed that hip hop musicians learned through a creative process that centered more on lyric writing than beat making. Based on these findings, Söderman and Folkestad (2004) suggested that supportive teaching artists—expert hip hop musicians—should be integrated into formal music classrooms when teaching hip hop. Similarly, Kruse investigated the experiences of students in a high school hip hop course in the United States. Interview data suggested that while students appreciated learning about hip hop, they recognized their White teacher’s lack of knowledge. Nevertheless, the course’s success depended on the teacher’s ability to decenter himself and build the class around students’ experiences. Importantly, Kruse argued that for hip hop to be appropriately represented in the formal classroom, broader systemic changes in the music education profession are necessary, including increasing diversity within music teacher education programs: “the profession must more robustly work toward increasing diversity within its ranks” (p. 510).

As the music education profession seeks to diversify course offerings through the inclusion of popular music pedagogies, a synthesis of current literature indicates that integrating hip hop–based music learning can yield significant positive impacts in classroom settings. The aforementioned research follows similar themes: (1) integrating hip hop into the music classroom provides opportunities for underserved or underrepresented students of color to gain musical knowledge through a learner-centered model; (2) many music teachers lack deep knowledge of hip hop, underscoring the need to diversify the music teaching profession; (3) real-life music-making that reflects students’ lives is critical to formalizing hip hop in the classroom; and (4) lyric writing supports students’ identity development. Further research is needed to explore hip hop’s potential in middle school classrooms, particularly when integrating resilience models for self-healing and self-care.

Method

In the present study, the researchers employed a qualitative case study design (Hammarberg et al., 2016; Stake, 2005). Classroom observations were documented in field notes for each seventh- and eighth-grade music class, providing direct, empirical data on student engagement and teaching strategies. In qualitative research, field notes “aid in constructing thick, rich descriptions of the study context, encounters, interviews, focus groups, and valuable contextual data” (Phillippi & Lauderdale, 2018, p. 381). Field notes were recorded by three researchers in a shared, password-protected Excel document and were subsequently analyzed separately for emerging themes, with common themes identified including “Agency and Identity,” “Motivation,” and “Resilience.”

Semi-structured focus group interviews with teachers, teaching artists, and the researchers were also conducted (Berg, 2004; Galletta & Cross, 2013), offering flexibility to study participants by allowing the conversation to evolve based on “other questions emerging from the dialogue between the interviewer and interviewees” (DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006, p. 315). These interviews provided deeper insights into participants’ feelings, experiences, and personal reflections on the project. Consistent with their established role in qualitative research, artifacts were also incorporated as part of the study’s data (Rowsell, 2011; Tracy, 2024). Artifacts offer insights into “material worlds as reflections of people’s real lives and real-world settings” (Rowsell, 2011, p. 334) and “objects [that] signal essential dimensions of lived realities—the properties of life and communities that ethnographers document when they become insiders to chronicle a culture and social process” (Tracy, 2024, p. 334). Given that qualitative data often rely on reflections of past events or recorded observations, this variety of data sources and researchers supported the triangulation of results (Eros, 2014; Roulston, 2014). Three researchers participated in the data collection process to provide a broader understanding of the classroom culture and student experiences from both etic and emic perspectives (Markee, 2013). To ensure inter-rater reliability, each researcher documented their observations independently, and the team verified consistency through regular meetings in which they compared entries, clarified ambiguities, and updated coding practices to maintain alignment (Saldaña, 2021). The etic perspective captured an outsider view of a culture or social phenomenon, focusing on objective, universal aspects, while the emic perspective focused upon an insider view, emphasizing subjective experiences and cultural meanings (Agar, 1996).

Ethical statement

This study was conducted under the oversight of the institutional review board of the researchers’ university, and all data collection and analysis procedures adhered to approved ethical guidelines to ensure the protection and anonymity of participants.

Research questions

Two main research questions guided this investigation: (1) What is the impact of implementing a hip hop curriculum on hip hop knowledge, interest, and resilience among middle school youth? (2) What is the acceptability and feasibility of piloting a hip hop curriculum with middle school youth?

Observation site

Data for this study were collected from a K–8 public charter school located in the southeastern United States, where students participated in a variety of art and music classes that met Monday through Thursday for approximately 45 min each. Total student enrollment during the investigation was approximately 208 students. The music curriculum included activities such as drumming circles, general music, and music technology. At the time of the research, approximately 93% of the student population came from low-income families with, 93.3% of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. 95% of the student population were Students of Color with the demographic breakdown as follows: 87% Black, 3.4% Hispanic/Latino, 4.3% two or more races, and 5.3% White. The research site was selected because it functioned as the lab school of the partnering university, where the researchers held faculty positions, and because the music teacher had maintained an established professional relationship with the researchers for 2 years prior to the study.

Participants

Pseudonyms are used in this article to protect the identities of all study participants.

Teaching artists

Two teaching artists participated in this research. MC and BB were local Black hip hop musicians, performers, and music producers in their mid-forties. MC held an associate’s degree in fine arts from the local community college and had extensive experience working with youth through nonprofit organizations. Their work often focused on topics such as social justice, racial injustice, and social neglect, which were central themes in their musical performances and speaking engagements. BB, a local radio DJ with an undergraduate degree in education, worked in the community helping students explore the significance and influence of hip hop on youth. While BB was also a rapper, emcee, and DJ, their primary role was as the program director of a local radio station and founder of an organization providing a platform for teens to voice their concerns and opinions to community leaders.

Music teachers

Two full-time teachers from the host school participated in this research. DD, a middle-aged White male, was the music teacher with 15 years of experience and a degree in music education. He was a drummer and percussionist with extensive performance experience in popular music, jazz, and classical ensembles. DD was open to teaching a diverse range of music in his classroom, including genres and styles outside the classical paradigm. SR, the art teacher, was in the early years of her teaching career at the time of the research. During the hip hop collective, both DD and SR played active roles in facilitating the classroom environment, keeping students on task, and supporting administrative or instructional needs. SR provided materials (paper, pencils, paint, and the art room) for the graffiti projects, while DD contributed his room, television, amplifiers, and additional equipment. Both teachers were also involved in classroom management, using their understanding of students’ social, emotional, and intellectual needs to provide support when appropriate.

Community resilience model trainer

JS, the director of the taskforce and lead CRM© (Trauma Resource Institute, n.d.) trainer for the county, worked with public schools, particularly those with student populations at risk of dropping out, struggling with mental health issues, or requiring additional support to ensure a more effective learning experience. JS had previously collaborated with the lab school and had established professional rapport with the school administration prior to the initiation of this study. As a person of color, JS had strong connections with youth, helping students develop the skills and resilience needed to stay in school and remain on the path toward graduation. This included providing mental health support, tutoring services, mentoring, and attendance monitoring.

Student participants

Table 1 displays the characteristics of the seventh- and eighth-grade students who engaged with the hip hop curriculum, including pseudonyms, gender, grade, and racial identity.

Table 1.

Student Participants in the Hip Hop Collective.

Name	Grade	Gender	Race/Ethnicity
Dhanea	7th	Female	Black
Sophia	7th	Female	Black
Isabella	7th	Female	Black
Susan	7th	Female	White
Carlyn	7th	Female	Black
Liam	7th	Male	Black
Noah	7th	Male	Black
James	8th	Male	Black
Shanikra	8th	Female	Black
Amelia	8th	Female	Black
Harper	8th	Female	Black
Ella	8th	Female	Black
Nora	8th	Female	Black
Amir	8th	Male	Black
Daniel	8th	Male	Black
Samuel	8th	Male	Black
Benjamin	8th	Male	Black
Alexander	8th	Male	Black

Note. N = 18.

The community resilience model

The CRM© is a somatic-based approach designed to help individuals manage the stressors of daily life, focusing on stabilizing and balancing the nervous system (Grabbe et al., 2023). The primary goal of CRM© is to assist individuals who have experienced trauma or chronic stress in developing tools to restore balance and promote healthy mental and physical well-being. The objectives of CRM© include (1) expanding an individual’s resilience zone to better handle stress or trauma, (2) providing skills to reset and calm the nervous system with an emphasis on balance, (3) promoting self-care and self-help strategies, and (4) integrating CRM© skills into daily life. These skills aim to widen the individual’s resilience zone within a larger community context, which includes immediate and extended family, teachers, and the broader environment. As individuals learn CRM© skills, they become better equipped to recognize their nervous system’s responses to external stimuli that elevate stress levels. This self-awareness is the first step toward stabilizing the nervous system. Traumatic or stressful events often push individuals out of their resilience zone, leading to hyperarousal (e.g., anxiety, hypervigilance, and agitation) or hypoarousal (e.g., extreme fatigue, depression, and emotional shutdown).

The curriculum

As a pilot program, the 6-week curriculum was divided into three units. The intent of the curriculum was to foster a student-centered learning environment in which students could engage in their own creative processes, developing agency, autonomy, and self-expression through activities such as lyric writing and beat making. Each unit lasted approximately 2 weeks. In Unit 1, students explored the history and development of hip hop in the United States by engaging with a wide range of YouTube videos, artist performances, and lyrics. Unit 2 focused on lyric writing, with students using journals to write inspirational and personal stories that were meaningful to them, either for their music or for graffiti projects. In Unit 3, the class was divided into two groups: one group created beats and music using iPads, while the other group worked on graffiti. Students selected the group they wished to join and remained in that group for the entire duration of Unit 3.

Findings

This section presents the themes identified through the analysis of observation, interview, and artifact analysis: Agency and Identity, Creativity, Race and social justice, Resilience, Connectedness, Motivation, Transformation and Challenges.

Agency and identity

Although the first 2 weeks of the curriculum were focused on the history, influences, and significance of hip hop across American culture, the researchers found that identity became a central aspect of participant experiences and supported student engagement. Students reflected on their lives, particularly how the project and teaching artists influenced their understanding that hip hop culture provides a means for promoting the Black American voice in a predominantly White controlled culture in the United States. Students used their music, lyrics, and graffiti as a mechanism for creatively expressing who they were, what issues they were wrestling with, and what life meant to them. The process of creating hip hop provided a platform for their voices to be heard. As students began to take their own initiative by writing poems or lyrics, they engaged simultaneously in the creation of music or graffiti. An openness about their identities became evident from the data and field notes, in particular. The lyrics of one student, who wrote about her personal experiences as a female, showcased this theme:

Wings with bright colors, they hide their pain.

Focus on the good and put your sorrows away.

A girl is a butterfly grows in matures but as boys fall behind.

After they grow, they’re too old for their age, but boys are praised when they finally turned the page.

Boys will be boys but what does that mean? It doesn’t mean they like me if they hit me.

A girl is a butterfly always changing as they grow. It’s not OK to be forced but you didn’t say no. Oh boys will be boys, but what does that mean? Don’t let them brainwash you about your body.

(Susan, “Butterfly”)

The process of creating a moniker, or performer name, enhanced students’ creativity and agency, offering them a voice through which to authentically reflect on their personal identities. This encouraged students to reflect on the meaning of their lives, struggles, and questions about who they were, what they lived for, or the challenges with being adolescents in contemporary culture. The following excerpt is from a student who wrote lyrics that showcased their inner wrestling with personal identity and development of agency:

Who is me? Who is me, when I’m in the zone and I’m confused?

I mean it’s achieving and succeeding. I mean, if I succeed, everybody succeeds, everybody wins. . .

But what is success? I’m just saying this because I just zoned out. This is my thoughts talking.

But am I who I’m supposed to be? But who is the person inside of me? The person outside of me? The person who is succeeding in achieving? But that’s not me, that’s just a thought and dream.

Who is me?

(Carlyn, “Who is Me?”)

Teaching artists also noted during focus group interviews that students “really seemed to find their voice and identity, as if a switch was flipped when finding a name to call themselves as they wrote or drew” (DD, participant). For example, one student arrived in class exhibiting a calm and regulated demeanor, along with a strong interest in learning. During the session, the teaching artist and music educator observed the student engage in a manner they had never seen before, producing creative work so original and emotionally powerful that both described experiencing “chills.” The teaching artists described the high level of positive engagement with school in a healthy and productive way. Students reported that they learned to be artists through this process, supporting their identity as creators, artists, activists, and musicians.

Creativity

Field note analysis suggested that each student engaged in their creative work independently, drawing on a particular interest or motivation to follow their own creative path while being mentored by teaching artists. They received positive affirmation to help motivate their creative process and art creation. Students were overheard to say, “this is so cool. We don’t ever get to do this kind of stuff.” For some students, expression through lyricism and wordplay supported their interest experimenting with rhyme, rhythm, and syllable structure. This creativity allowed participants to enter a milieu of individual expression and supported their ability to tell a personal story or express their emotions in a meaningful way. For example, Liam explained their process for creating a moniker, or artist name:

It’s funny, but its Suga’Cube. Cause, well, our uncle had died, and my dad had took us to go see the funeral and um, and that was the first time I had seen him crying on the way back, to home. Uh, it was silent in the car, and I told my brotha,’ I told everyone, I said I’m gonna’ be a rapper, cause I just wanted to see him smile again, So I made a joke and um, and I thought about ice cube at that time, I dunno why, and I wanted some sugar, cause I had some candy in the back seat, so I put it together and I had Suga’Cube.

This student’s ability to be creative in selecting their moniker showcased their freedom of expression with the teaching artists and a deeper level of connection with the creative process. Others showed a wide range of creativity in their graffiti art as a means for activism, Black pride, and race (see Figure 1). Field notes and artifacts also suggested that students were able to gain confidence and assert an identity through the creative process.

Figure 1.

An Eighth-Grade Student’s Graffiti Project From the Hip Hop Collective.

Race and social justice

The content of lyrics and poems were significant indicators that students wrestled with issues of social justice and race. Teaching artists spoke about the messages of police brutality from hip hop lyrics and how students connected to that, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement. Their freedom and ability to speak about such issues was important and significant. Teaching artists reported on the positive impact that hip hop had and how the music helped heal many youth who dealt with racism firsthand. This was reflected in student artwork (see Figure 2) and music artifacts.

Figure 2.

An In-Process Eighth-Grade Student’s Graffiti From the Hip Hop Collective.

The following lyrics from Sean’s song showcased the activism and expression against racism and the need for social justice:

I’m tired of the pipeline to prison; I said let’s work togetha’ to save our children.

I said let’s work togetha’ to save our children, I said let’s work togetha’ to save our children.

I’m tired of the pipeline to prison; I said let’s work togetha’ to save our children.

(Liam, “Let’s Work Togetha’”)

Some quotations from students’ artwork also aligned with this theme as these data were analyzed:

Shining through the clouds you don’t know what I’ve been through and I don’t know about you, I’m inspired and I am encouraged I am still in the process and masterpiece in the making.

(Dhanea, “Masterpiece”)

Resilience

Students were regularly observed as being “amped up” and “hyper-aroused” when entering the classroom. However, as they engaged with the CRM© activities at the beginning of class and throughout the music-making, lyric writing, and creation of music or art, they often left calm, focused, and regulated. We observed the immediacy of self-regulation once the music or graffiti making began. The following poem demonstrated how one student became grounded, focused, and calm when she wrote:

Her midnight skin glows as her brown eyes twinkle against her midnight sky; Black.

Her caramel is drizzled over any flavor of ice cream she likes; Black.

Her copper skin shines so magnificently bright so many shades of beautiful brown,

So why degrade our beauty and call ourselves black when there’s only one shade of Black.

(Shanikra, “Midnight Skin”)

Students reflected on their feelings during the creation process. Researcher observations found that teachers developed a sense of empathy as they witnessed students verbalize or draw their emotions during graffiti art making process. This also occurred in the lyric writing group. One student wrote:

Be proud. Black is more than just the skin on me, but I can’t always find the words.

Black is beauty, Black is in my hair, Black is in my skin, Black is in my style, Black is Black.

(Amir, “Black is Black”)

This supported resilience development, grounding, and self-regulation in a safe place where students spoke openly, honestly, and explored their art. For example, DD stated:

It made me more empathetic and gave me first-hand experience working with children who are navigating Black American oppression and being able to see first-hand what that oppression looks like for them. So it just alerted me to be more present with the students, no matter what happens, just be present.

Checking in with their students at the start of the day every day using CRM© language became part of the standard procedure of how they engaged with their students. DD confirmed this, noting, “As soon as they got the iPads and headphones, they just started making beats.” Integrating CRM© skills, students were given a sense of control.

Connectedness

The data suggested the significant impact of relationships between teaching artists and students. Although it teaching artists were intentionally hired because of their expertise and experience with hip hop, they were also teachers of color and representative of hip hop culture. Both teaching artists expressed many moments in which they recalled feelings of connection to students. Students verbalized that they did not think the CRM© skills they learnt were significant, but the educators and teaching artists noted times when students clearly connected to their bodies by closing their eyes, taking deep breaths, and shifting into a space to find the silence they needed as they created their music and art. MC specifically referenced the significance of the project on their personal lives, as “they make music every day, but to see students this young find such meaning and connection to who they are was powerful.”

Vulnerability for students and teaching artists was a sub-theme that contributed to a sense of connection between the participants. During field observations, students were pulled aside from the main group so that they had opportunities to share personal stories with each teaching artist. The creative art experience allowed students to have a sense of belonging where they were seen, heard, and connected. Students were vulnerable when connecting their music and lyrics writing with poetry. This helped them share their inner world and personal experiences. One student was initially reluctant to showcase her work, but by the end of the project, she was bold and happy to share her written word with the audience and allowing others to connect to her. Within the theme of connection, researchers observed trust and nurture as teaching artists recounted numerous instances of student engagement. Students entrusted them with their vulnerable lyrics, sharing personal experiences either with the class or individually with the teaching artist.

Motivation

Students regularly commented that the project motivated them to keep going, to continue working hard, and to contribute to a positive outcome for everyone. Teaching artists worked diligently to inspire students not to give up. For example, one student explained, “If you give up, you will never know that you could make music!” Students would smile and laugh during music-making, while they encouraged and motivated one another. One student even verbalized that the project helped her figure out how to stick up for herself, “if you find yourself a way to the top, you can push yourself to the top.” Teaching artists noted that even students who did not seem interested at first came to look forward to Mondays because they knew it was hip hop time. Field notes evidenced this higher motivation and engagement as students got further into creating their art form and needed less redirection. For example, BB stated “they would just pick up where they left off.” As teaching artists showcased their own art form, students were inspired to do the same; and as mentor–mentee engagement deepened, students felt themselves develop a sort of “street cred.”

Transformation

From field note observations and focus groups, it was evident that students had gone through a transformation both in their behavior and in their attitude toward the subject matter over the course of the investigation, especially as they found meaning and purpose through their expressive work. According to SJ, students’ “best selves showed up in the most unexpected way as they engaged in the project.” SJ noted a shift in students’ attitudes toward working hard on creating their art form and being proud of what they created. This was confirmed by MC, who spoke about a time when a student appreciated being seen in a way that made her say out loud, “there you are, I see you.”

Challenges

Student behavioral challenges are common in many United States–based inner-city schools, where students often come from chronically stressful home environments and lack basic needs such as food, sleep, and safety (K. M. Lewis et al., 2013). For instance, during the present project several students had to be escorted from the classroom by the school resource officer due to escalating aggression toward a teacher or another student, often following weekends.

However, researchers observed more dysregulated behavior in students at the start of the project and during early music classes, compared with observations toward the end of the investigation. In addition, researchers found that when teaching artists were well-prepared, the classroom was organized, and routines were followed, students could engage more quickly in the learning process. The lecture component and question and answer sessions were particularly challenging for students struggling with inattention and focus, which are common effects of trauma and adversity (Boodoo et al., 2022). Teaching artists noted that utilizing CRM© skills before entering the classroom was helpful in managing the initial chaos. As they interacted with each student, they found that patience and actively listening to students’ needs were crucial in de-escalating tensions and supporting self-regulation. An essential element of trauma-informed care and pedagogy is establishing a routine so that students know what to expect. Providing clear directions throughout the learning process is critical. In retrospect, both artists and educators acknowledged the importance of using CRM© skills throughout the project to navigate the challenges of classroom management with this group of young people.

Conclusions and implications

Several conclusions and implications emerge from this research, which can support the integration of hip hop into various music classrooms. Evans (2019) and Randles (2024) have emphasized the need for flexibility and adaptability in teaching, suggesting that teachers adjust their plans regularly to meet the needs of their students, thereby supporting student agency, autonomy, and creativity. Similarly, our findings highlight how a flexible curriculum was essential for successfully teaching hip hop in this context. Music educators often acknowledge the importance of flexibility and the need to continuously assess students’ understanding, knowledge, and skills (Fautley, 2009). However, in this setting, assessment also extended to understanding students’ moods, emotions, and mental states as they entered the classroom. The degree to which they self-regulated throughout each class became central to teaching hip hop in this population. This approach to assessment enabled us to explore hip hop as a tool for behavioral change. The need to adapt the curriculum in real time fostered a dynamic and reflective learning environment that better supported student needs. Implementing CRM©-related skills as foundational principles proved valuable and should be considered for all music education settings. Given that music-making is somatic in nature, introducing CRM© terminology may benefit future students. This aligns with the notion that reflection and emotional awareness are powerful tools when teaching hip hop (Carey et al., 2018).

Building trusting, open relationships between teaching artists and students was another key factor in the success of the program. These relationships encouraged students to share meaningful, personal reflections on their life experiences, with connectedness and identity emerging as central themes in the research. This finding is consistent with other studies showing that teaching hip hop can improve student–teacher relationships, particularly in urban schools (K. E. Campbell, 2005). We observed that each teaching artist—skilled in hip hop performance, DJing, and lyricism—used in-class performances to foster respect between students and teachers. These performances offered students opportunities to express their agency and voice while addressing issues such as race, identity, and marginalization. Therefore, we advocate for modeling hip hop as a powerful tool to promote student advocacy, agency, engagement, and authenticity.

In a society that often marginalizes students based on race and other factors, the findings from this study suggest that hip hop can be a particularly impactful a platform for amplifying student voices. Creating hip hop allowed students to express their emotions and experiences constructively, particularly through lyric writing (Dey et al., 2024; Kinney, 2012). Through this process, students affirmed and validated their ability to speak out against racism while embracing their creative freedom and Black pride, suggesting the positive impact of linguistic integration within students’ experiences. Consequently, student agency became a key factor in enhancing learning opportunities. Moreover, the implementation of CRM© skills played a crucial role in helping students navigate vulnerable emotional spaces, allowing them to manage and understand their feelings more effectively—especially when informed by trauma-sensitive practices and a focus on mental well-being (Grabbe et al., 2023).

This research highlights the significance of teaching artists in the success of the program. It suggests that representation and authenticity were critical because the teaching artists were Black and shared similar cultural experiences with the students. This finding supports Gosa and Fields (2012), who argue that hip hop should be taught by those who have “mastered one of the performative aesthetics of the culture” (p. 187). This aligns with the views of Söderman and Folkestad (2004), who contend that hiring teaching artists is one of the most effective ways to deliver hip hop–based content.

We acknowledge that standardizing an approach not originally intended for formal music classrooms can present challenges. Gosa and Fields (2012) caution that “formalizing hip hop–based education (HHBE) in the school context . . . involves the use of precompiled lesson plans and curriculum, relies heavily on empirical research, and situates hip hop within the philosophies and theories of teaching and learning” (p. 185). However, formalizing hip hop in the classroom raises concerns about relevance, culturally responsive teaching, and the risk of losing authenticity (Brown, 2005; Greenfield, 2007). Gosa and Fields (2012) also warn that “hip-hop educators may, at best, be disciplinarians trained in traditional academic departments” (p. 186), which can result in cultural misappropriation and misinterpretation. They caution that “schooling [becomes] synonymous with White schooling, [and] hip-hop interventions can get interpreted as ‘White people stealing Black culture’” (p. 186). Gallo and Kruse (2023) echo similar concerns within the field of music education.

Given these challenges, the researchers suggest that the intentionality and purpose behind the curriculum, along with CRM© skills, should be central to the integration of hip hop in formal educational settings. The positive outcomes from this study align with those found by P. S. Campbell and Clements (2006), who argue that hip hop offers meaning and importance for students and that music educators can integrate it in meaningful ways. Additional researchers report similar positive outcomes when integrating hip hop into the formal PK–12 landscape (Dando, 2017; SXSW EDU, 2025). We also emphasize the importance of authenticity when engaging with hip hop culture. As Fraley (2009) cautioned, “White involvement in hip hop is merely the most recent incarnation of a long history of White appropriation of Black culture” (p. 43), and “issues of authenticity coupled with hip hop’s ‘perceived Blackness’ have created a figure mimicking surface forms of hip hop and African American culture in their dress, speech, and body language” (p. 43).

Finally, we propose that hip hop offers a holistic approach to understanding the world in ways that support the learning environment and encourage students to take ownership of their education (Emdin, 2016). J. Lewis (2022) underscores the “overwhelming preference for, and sociocultural connection to, hip hop among Students of Color” (p. 137), advocating for a “robust integration of hip hop pedagogies into school learning” (p. 137).

Given the limitations of this research, we caution against generalizing these findings. The sample size was small, and further research is needed to explore the role of hip hop in fostering self-advocacy, resilience, and self-care among a larger population of youth in diverse contexts. Torres et al. (2012) also suggest that the research community should examine how Black, Brown, and low-income individuals experience daily microaggressions and identify the resources that help buffer negative impacts.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge J’Vanete Skiba for her collaborative effort on this community engaged project, as well as the teachers, staff, community artists, and students who we worked alongside during this memorable endeavor.

Author Contributions

Jonathan Kladder: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing.

Anka Roberto: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Validation; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing.

Josalin Hunter: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Methodology.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts under the direction of Fidias Reyes and Katie Crosby with the Office of the Arts at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

ORCID iDs

Jonathan Kladder

Anka Roberto

Author biographies

Jonathan Kladder is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr. Kladder’s elementary and secondary instrumental teaching experiences include a variety of band and chorus ensembles across private and public school settings. His groups actively performed in local competitions, parades, special community events, and outreach opportunities. Jonathan currently teaches music education, music technology, and popular music courses at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is the coordinator of the popular music program. He continues to pursue an active research agenda and is a frequent presenter at local, state, national, and international music education conferences.

Anka Roberto is a national board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) and certified Eye Movement Desensitization (EMDR) clinician and consultant, a licensed RN and APRN in the states of North Carolina and Connecticut. She is an Associate Professor of Nursing, the PMHNP Program Coordinator, and the faculty lead of the Well-Being & Resilience Collaborative at UNCW, an interdisciplinary team focusing on enhancing the well-being of campuses and communities in North Carolina and beyond. She has authored numerous book chapters and publications on trauma and resilience and is a sought-out scholar and expert in the field of trauma and resilience across disciplines. In addition to her academic appointment, she owns her own private practice, Holistic Healing, PLLC where she provides individual and group-based trauma focused treatment for clients across the lifespan. Her practice informs her teaching and scholarly work while affording her opportunities to work with various disciplines and professions.

Josalin Hunter is a social worker and public health professional practicing as a licensed clinical therapist and NC-registered clinical supervisor. She also serves as tenured part-time faculty at UNC-Wilmington. In her work as a therapist and educator, she has spent her career walking alongside individuals and families facing mental illness - to include anxiety and severe depression, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. She has herself been impacted by adverse events and has also supported loved ones dealing with mental health challenges, which has given her a deeply personal understanding of the courage, resilience, and support needed to thrive.

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