The role the musical stylings and culture of hip-hop have as a medium to encourage conversations on diversity at the University of Wisconsin was the topic of exploration at an event hosted Monday night.
As part of the free public lecture series “Get Real,” put on by the UW Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, speakers are invited to dive deep into examining new ideas surrounding art and diversity.
Christopher Emdin, director of secondary school initiatives at Columbia University Teachers College, spoke about hip-hop, sciences and the different ways these areas are influential in education.
Emdin reached into the divide that exists within populations in terms of age and race. He related hip-hop back to the classroom, saying rappers need to be good performers to have a successful career, just as teachers need to be good performers in order for their students to have a successful education.
He said there are four elements of hip-hop which can be related to the classroom: rap, b-boy, DJ and graffiti.
He compared b-boy, which Emdin said is all about movement, to a 40-minute lecture, a time he said does not allow students the chance to move around and interact.
“This is antithetical for anybody in this hip-hop generation to relate to,” Emdin said.
He said DJing provides the tools and the opportunity to play with the elements of music and education, as there is a freedom to express different sounds in music. Emdin said if one does not use the tool, one might as well not have it at all.
He also touched on the use of graffiti, which he argued is commonly viewed as a method to attain fame.
“In the classroom there is no space for the youth to be able to have validation for their work beyond the classroom,” Emdin said. “In the Bronx we have students’ work be put in the pizza shop, so they get the fame which surrounds their academic selves.”
Emdin used DJ Khaled’s song, “All I Do Is Win,” as an example of the art of performance, and compared it to the classroom. He said using hip-hop in science and mathematics is necessary to helping students to learn and engage.
He also described how teachers perceive their students as “anti-school.” He showed a clip of a young high school student who was explaining to his teacher if there is lack of respect towards him, he would not give them the respect they think they deserve.
Emdin said the best scientists have skills such as being observational, skeptical and having curiosity, and MCs are individuals who typically possess each of these characteristics.
UW student Zach Roth said he came to the event with an open mind and few firm expectations.
“I thought it was really cool. I [had] never heard of it before, but it’s definitely a good approach,” Roth said. “I’m not going into education, but I would tell people to look into it and hear what Dr. Emdin had to say.”
