1st Edition

Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop

Edited By Susan Hadley, George Yancy Copyright 2012
    427 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    432 Pages 13 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    In perceiving all rap and hip-hop music as violent, misogynistic, and sexually charged, are we denying the way in which it is attentive to the lived experiences, both positive and negative, of many therapy clients? This question is explored in great depth in this anthology, the first to examine the use of this musical genre in the therapeutic context. The contributors are all experienced therapists who examine the multiple ways that rap and hip-hop can be used in therapy by listening and discussing, performing, creating, or improvising.
    The text is divided into three sections that explore the historical and theoretical perspectives of rap and hip-hop in therapy, describe the first-hand experiences of using the music with at-risk youth, and discuss the ways in which contributors have used rap and hip-hop with clients with specific diagnoses, respectively.
    Within these sections, the contributors provide rationale for the use of rap and hip-hop in therapy and encourage therapists to validate the experiences for those for whom rap music is a significant mode of expression. Editors Susan Hadley and George Yancy go beyond promoting culturally competent therapy to creating a paradigm shift in the field, one that speaks to the problematic ways in which rap and hip-hop have been dismissed as expressive of meaningless violence and of little social value. More than providing tools to incorporate rap into therapy, this text enhances the therapist's cultural and professional repertoire.

    Chapter 1: RAP: Requisite, Ally, Protector and the Desperate Contemporary Adolescent, Hara: Provides a brief history of rap music and introduces its different types. Theoretical constructs regarding rap’s popularity, purpose, and function will be presented.
    Chapter 2: The Need and Challenges of Incorporating Rap Music into Psychotherapy, Elligan: Explores and discusses the challenges of incorporating rap music into psychotherapy, as well as how the language of high-hop culture can be used as a therapeutic tool with inner-city youth.
    Chapter 3: The Hero’s Journey in Hip-Hop and its Applications in Music Therapy, Viega: Describes the ways in which the Hero’s Journey myth and its associated Jungian archetypes have been used in therapy in general and in music therapy in particular.
    Chapter 4: “Must be the Ganja” (Eminem 2009): Rap Music in Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation, Baker & Dingle: Explores the value in using rap music to address the rehabilitation needs of people with drug abuse problems. Examples of its use are included in active (songwriting) and receptive (lyric analysis) methods.
    Chapter 5: Hip-Hop Healing: Applying Hip-Hop-Based Interventions in Grief Work with Youth, Tyson: Features a case example and application of principles and techniques associated with hip-hop interventions.
    Chapter 6: Creating Original Songs Using Rap Music with Women with Cancer, O’Brien: Presents two music therapy cases of using rap in songwriting sessions with people with cancer that highlight the surprising diversity of the medium across demographics of age and experiences.
    Chapter 7: “A Diva is a Female Version of a Hustler” (Beyonce, 2008): The Effects of Rap Music on Gender Roles in At-Risk Adolescents, Veltre: Examines how society-constructed ideals for femininity and masculinity have developed and how techniques in music therapy, particularly lyric analysis, can challenge those ideals.
    Chapter 8: Hear Our Voices: The Little Saints and the Use of Rap Music in a Community After School Songwriting Program, Viega & MacDonald: Examines the effect of using rap music in a group therapy setting for at-risk adolescents.
    Chapter 9: This is My World: Encouraging the Hip-Hop Artist in Youth At-Risk, McFerran: Examines how therapeutic perspectives may be blended in working with a group of youth who are disconnected from the school system and are at risk of criminal behavior. A community music therapy program will be used to examine the victories and challenges that occur in working with the active creation of hip-hop tracks.
    Chapter 10: Rap Lyric Discussion with At-Risk Adolescents, Donnenwerth: Details how rap music can be an effective, inspiring medium in lyric discussion sessions. Specific examples of songs, their themes, questions asked, and client reactions will be included.
    Chapter 11: Rap Composition and Improvisation in a Short-Term Juvenile Detention Facility, Ierardi & Jenkins: Provides a discussion of the effects of power dynamics within the therapeutic relationship and other cultural factors such as race, gender, and age. Research cited includes humanistic, supportive psychotherapy and psychodynamic theories, juvenile justice and mental health, cultural competencies in therapy, and technology during music therapy.
    Chapter 12: Rapping ‘round the System: The Journey of a Young Black Man through a High Security Hospital Treatment in the UK, Dickinson: A case examples that includes issues of attachment and loss, narcissistic recognition, and cultural sensitivity.
    Chapter 13: Naming My Story and Claiming My Self, Ahmadi & Oosthuizen: Draws on individual and group work where rap was sometimes the preferred mode of self-expression. A community clinic in Cape Town, South Africa is used as a clinical model.
    Chapter 14: The Fusion of Rap and Sudanese Music to Promote Enculturation and Identity Formation in Sudanese Adolescent Refugees, Hart & Baker: Focuses on the significance of rap music as a means of connecting Sudanese and Australian cultures, promoting assimilation and acculturation, addressing issues of self-concept and identity, and as a technique to promote English language learning.
    Chapter 15: Rap Music as a Source of Emotional and Social Identification for Minority Youth in Israel, Horesh & Ben-Ari: Aims at gaining insight into the way rap music, as a receptive pastime, is used as a means of identification, self-expression, and self-assertion among youth of three different ethnic minority groups in Israel.
    Chapter 16: You Are Not Alone: Recreating Rap Music with Medically Fragile Children, Gravish: Focuses on using rap music as a means of reclaiming a sense of belonging and normalcy with children with severe medical conditions.
    Chapter 17: Beat It: The Affects of Rap Music on Adolescents in the Pediatric Medial Setting, Steele: Explores the use of rap music and hip-hop culture in working with adolescents with varying medical diagnosis in a pediatric medical facility. Case examples include lyric discussion, rapping, drumming, song/rap recording, movement, and instrumental instruction.

    Biography

    Susan Hadley, PhD, MT-BC, is Professor of Music Therapy at Slippery Rock University. She is the editor of several influential books and has published numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. Her research focuses on feminism, race, disability, and psychotherapy.

    George Yancy, PhD, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Duquesne University.  He is the author of Black Bodies, White Gazes: The Continuing Significance of Race and Look, A White! Philosophical Essays on Whiteness. Yancy has also edited 12 influential books, three of which have received CHOICE Awards.

    "This is an informative book on rap and hip-hop history and culture that is now in the commercial domain of music. I was surprised by and admire the work these contributors have done and are doing with young people and adults around the world." –BACP Children and Young People

    "Hadley and Yancy's pioneering volume illuminates the value of rap music and Hip-Hop culture in psychotherapy, in group settings with at-risk youth, in juvenile detention, with cancer patients, in pediatric medical settings, and in grief therapy for those experiencing loss, and provides protocol for therapists who are unfamiliar with the genre." - James G. Spady, Author, Tha Global Cipha and Marcus Garvey, Jazz, Reggae, Hip Hop and The African Diaspora

    "[...]this book explores how the performance of Hip-Hop aesthetics and rap lyrics has potential as a culturally sensitive approach to therapy and critical commentary. [...]the authors demonstrate how young people who find themselves silenced and marginalized can use rap and Hip-Hop culture in ways that enable them to speak beyond internal and external barriers." - Brynjulf Stige, Professor of Music Therapy, The University of Bergen and GAMUT, Uni Health, Uni Research, Norway

    "[The authors] have put together an engrossing collection of essays regarding rap and hip-hop music as therapeutic tools for professionals in music therapy, psychology, social work, and public health in general. [This book] is a pioneering resource for those interested in popular-music studies as well as for therapy professionals. The book is not a how-to manual, but it is filled with inspirational and innovative ideas about how to utilize rap/hip-hop music to good effect in a therapeutic setting. Equally helpful for musicians interested in learning more about music therapy and for therapists looking for new ideas in their own practices." -- A. C. Shahriari, Kent State University

    "Susan Hadley and george Yancy have edited an interesting and compelling book that looks at the role and success of rap and hip-hop music in a therapeutic milieu. The volume would be interesting to music therapists and other individuals who are seeking creative ways of working with adolescents, especially those adolescents who are involved with the rap/hip-hop genre. The strength of the book is in the specific examples explaining how to do this type of therapy as well as the culturally diverse approaches that various authors report. Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip Hop makes a compelling and informative case for helping individuals in an strength-based, fluid modality that is fun and engaging." - Carol Drucker, PsycCRITIQUES