A Midwest college has expanded their diploma program to include a degree in Hip Hop Studies, which is a first of its kind.
McNally Smith College of Music, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, added a three-semester program this year that allows students to not only learn about the art form through studying its history, but also through performance in emceeing, deejaying, and drumming.
While a supporter, College President Harry Chalmiers stated the move may worry some scholars. “There are people who might say, ‘If you have Hip Hop in a college, isn’t that almost a contradiction in terms?’” he told CNN.com.
However, seeing the potential of a music genre that includes different cultural aspects, Chalmiers continued, “When we look at Hip Hop closely, we see that we can study its impact on people’s lives, on society. Where does this music come from? When it’s angry, when it’s sometimes vicious, vile or rude, why is that? What are people trying to say? These are important questions to ask.”
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Faculty member Kevin Washington compared the possible backlash of Hip Hop being taught in schools to that of another musical genre. “Jazz started like Hip Hop — out of the urban neighborhoods, black neighborhoods. There was a language, there was clothing, there was a style that everybody started copying. So when they started putting jazz in schools, there was controversy at first…I felt that we [are] in the same situation with that.”
In other news, the Hip Hop Chess Federation has teamed up with Immortal Technique [click to read] to teach teenagers about the rising violence occurring in the San Francisco Mission District.
Along with the Brown Berets of Watsonville, Technique will speak to John O’Connell High School students this Friday concerning violence within the Latino community, and what actions they can take to prevent it from spreading.
“Immortal Technique is a Hip Hop artist who has a special place in the hearts of Latino youth. John O’Connell High Schools faculty and staff have always been proactive in their approach to keeping their students effectively informed. We’re honored to have Immortal Technique and the Brown Berets share their ideas on the best moves we can all make, to reach an authentic and enduring peace on these streets,” Adisa Banjoko, CEO of HHCF said in a press statement.
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Committed to community awareness, Immortal Technique explained, “I have had a long history of working with street organizations and with community leaders that come together to try and avert self destructive actions such as the ones we face here.”
Realizing the impact he can make through his words, Technique added, “I do not claim to have all the answers but I am more than willing to share my time and energy to try and look at the roots of this and other conflicts to find solutions rather than just continue a cycle of hatred and vengeance.”
