Between Hip Hop and Me: Podcast Process Texts as Tools of Cultural Brokerage for Community Cultural Wealth

Abstract

This research features a discourse analysis of two podcasts: the “Mobb Deep, Shook Ones, Pt. II” episode of Song Exploder and the “Rap on Trial” episode of Hidden Brain. We selected these podcasts through an abductive method of what we call “fortuitous listening” because of how they reveal community cultural wealth (CCW) through their descriptions of the creative process. Specifically, our study addressed two questions: (1) What does an examination of two Hip Hop podcast process texts reveal about CCW? (2) How could a discussion of the CCW that is revealed through descriptions of creative process inform literacy practices? Findings demonstrate how linguistic, familial, navigational, and aspirational capital exhibited in first-person descriptions of rap composition helped to showcase Hip Hop texts as what Bettina Love calls a “complex personhood” well-beyond simplified or stereotypical critiques. Because of how these process texts demonstrate the ways that Hip Hop feature Alim's ill-literacies criteria of being based on intimate, lived, and liberatory experiences, we posit them to be effective tools of cultural brokerage, particularly for educators wishing to enact Hip Hop-Based Education.

From Our Cell to Your Block: Hip Hop and Podcasting as a Youth Participatory Action Research Intervention

“…Given this experience, youth actively used their song and podcast episode to own their narrative, where their rhymes and interviews attempted to offer advice and share their story for those that needed it. Prior literature suggests that hip hop podcasts are “process texts” that allow artists to illustrate how their stories transcend entertainment and are intimately connected to their culture, identity, and community (Griffith, 2021; Griffith et al, 2022). Relatedly, various studies have explored the use of hip hop cultural processes like lyric writing, mixtape making, dancing, and studio construction as group work processes for students to explore their stories (Levy, 2019; Levy & Adjapong, 2020; Levy & Wong, 2022).…”

“…Considering the importance of leveraging youth culture in the elevation of practices (Rawls & Petchauer, 2023), podcasting has entered popular discourse over the last decade, by way of hip hop artists and journalists creating their own shows (Griffith et al, 2022). Podcasting has been successfully used in educational settings where students learn to improve their communication skills, collaborate with their peers, and gain confidence in their work (Besser et al, 2021).…”

“…Historically, hip hop shows like MTV News or Yo! MTV Raps helped to foster an “understanding of hip hop as more than just an entertainment genre but also as deeply embedded in, reflective of, and building with culture, community, and identity” (Griffith et al, 2022, p. 382). Today, podcasting holds a place within hip hop culture in the form of what Griffith (2021) named “process texts,” or opportunities for artists to share, dissect, or explain the larger meaning and context behind their creative process.…”

Pitfalls of hip hop pedagogy: Re-examining and questioning the definition

“…According to most, but not all, studies of hip-hop pedagogy ( Kruse, 2014 ; Buffington and Day, 2018 ; Adjapong, 2021 ; Brown, 2021 ; Wheatley, 2022 ), we found that the key element hip-hop is used to define hip-hop pedagogy ( Anyiwo et al, 2022 ; Griffith et al, 2022 ; Guanci, 2022 ; Uca et al, 2022 ) in the following ways:…”