Does Hip-Hop Have a Place in Academia?

Have you found yourself roaming campus with the forceful beats of Brooklyn's The Arsonists still turning somersaults in your head? Have the politically charged rhymes of Florida-based Dead Prez left you pleading for more?

Last week's hip-hop conference, Six Million Ways to Speak, has left many students excited at the prospect of bigger and better conferences in the future and also hopeful about the introduction of the study of hip-hop music, culture and literature in Oberlin's classrooms.

"Hip-hop is a culture and a culture movement - it's a form of communication," said conference co-coordinator and junior Thomas Yagoda. Yagoda and his co-coordinator Mie Anton, a senior, hope the successes of the conference may influence professors from various academic departments to assume the serious study of hip-hop music, culture and literature.

Although Anton acknowledged that the effects of hip-hop culture and literature should be addressed in history, politics and sociology courses, she seemed especially focused on the Conservatory granting hip-hop respect and a label of legitimacy. "It deserves recognition. Especially since Oberlin is known for its Conservatory," she said. "Hip-hop is part of the culture and tradition of African-American music forms."

Yagoda echoed Anton's comments, saying, "People need to be asked why hip-hop isn't in the Con. Its tradition dates back forever."

Professor of African-American Studies and Theater Caroline Jackson-Smith noted that she has already begun to introduce the study of the cultural forms and effects of hip-hop into her classes, especially her Black Arts Workshop. "I've always taken hip-hop seriously in teaching about the transformation and evolution of African diasporic culture. Hip-hop is incredibly important to diasporic history." Jackson-Smith also acknowledged the influence hip-hop has exerted on African-American literary forms. "In African-American literature, hip-hop has a long tradition of poetry. It's certainly important and worthy of academic study."

Face Off: A connie and a hip-hop enthusiast size each other up. Hip Hop supporters want to see the culture represented in Oberlin academia. (photo by Lindsey Sharp)

Senior Jason Lachick, a Creative Writing major, while hopeful at the prospect of the critical study of hip-hop from a creative writing perspective, also noted the difficulties accompanying the possibility. "I don't think there's that much literature you could actually study," he said. "I don't think you could teach it if you haven't lived it."

Lachick asserted that if hip-hop were to be integrated into College and Conservatory curricula, it should not be limited to a select few departments. "If you want to make hip-hop academic, you have to do it on all fronts," he said, stating that graffiti art and break dancing constitute parts of hip-hop as important as the music itself. On the possibility of studying hip-hop in the CreativeWriting department, Lachick said, "It could be approached by a lot of listening. You could look at a rhyme like you do a poem - listen to its flow."

Jackson-Smith added that aside from the Conservatory, writing would be a natural vehicle for the study of hip-hop. "Writing would be the most logical place [for academic study], as the emphasis on the spoken word blurs the line between poetry and music."

Professor of Creative Writing Dan Chaon asserted that an interdisciplinary "performance literature" genre may provide a constructive solution to the question of how to study hip-hop in a college classroom. "If I were to put something together it would be multi-departmental, with elements of writing, theater and dance," he said.

Chaon cited hip-hop's cultural influence on today's modern slam poetry scene. "Hip-hop and performance poetry kind of fits into the same genre - there's a lot of intermixing of hip-hop elements in slam poetry." Chaon also said the Creative Writing department potentially could make for a more friendly environment for the study of hip-hop than departments which are highly canonized. "As a writer you have to pay attention to peers and contemporaries and the Creative Writing department would maybe be more friendly to experiments with pop culture phenomena like hip-hop."

Chair of the Department of English David Walker declined to comment.

Senior Jose Ballon, a turntablist, said he would support the introduction of hip-hop into the Conservatory. "I think it definitely deserves to be in the Con. It would be good for its legitimacy and would help for issues like funding." However, like Lachick, Ballon recognized the methodological difficulties of analyzing hip-hop within a specific academic field. "Things like slang are very regional in hip-hop and it would be a tough thing to standardize. Also, standardization could stifle its creative element."

Yagoda also recognized the institutional difficulties in introducing the academic study of hip-hop into Oberlin's classrooms. "It's going to take a lot of steps and we're concerned with cross disciplines in hip-hop." The task seems especially daunting considering the birth of a Jazz major in Oberlin in 1989, despite its influence on American culture as far back as Dixieland jazz from the 1930s. Chair of the Jazz Department Wendell Logan could not be reached for comment.

Anton noted that the participation from both the college and Conservatory in this year's conference failed to meet her standards. "When we started asking for support that's when we started noticing how little we had from the college and Con. [Dean of the Conservatory] Robert Dodson questioned us and didn't understand the connection."

Jackson-Smith said hip-hop still remains a relatively young musical form and that the attainment of institutional recognition usually requires a substantial amount of time. "Like with any popular form, [recognition] takes time and hip-hop is still evolving." Still, Jackson-Smith said that programs like the strong Jazz and African-American studies department provide a solid framework for the study of hip-hop to build on. "I would love to see the development on this campus where the close study of diasporic arts increases. I would also love to see the Jazz Department grow and for it to branch off into other forms."