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Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader is a comprehensive collection of the best work that has been published in this exciting and growing area of anthropology, and is organized to provide a guide to key issues in the study of language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice.

Revised and updated, this second edition contains eight new articles on key subjects, including speech communities, the power and performance of language, and narratives

Selections are both historically oriented and thematically coherent, and are accessibly grouped according to four major themes: speech community and communicative competence; the performance of language; language socialization and literacy practices; and the power of language

An extensive introduction provides an original perspective on the development of the field and highlights its most compelling issues

Each section includes a brief introductory statement, sets of guiding questions, and list of recommended readings on the main topics

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Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader is a comprehensive collection of the best work that has been published in this exciting and growing area of anthropology, and is organized to provide a guide to key issues in the study of language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice.

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Jeff Duncan-Andrade - Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete

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This article addresses two long-standing tensions in the education of linguistically marginalized youth: (a) the cultural tension, or cultural combat, that such students engage in as they form their linguistic identities, and (b) the tensions between the development of critical language pedagogies and the lack of their broader implementation due to disinterested and discriminatory teachers. This article presents critical Hip-hop language pedagogies (CHHLPs) as a holistic approach aimed at both students and teachers, incorporating theory and practice, so that innovative approaches might be implemented. After situating CHHLPs within critical language studies, the article argues that educators are obligated to present the current sociolinguistic reality to students who are subjugated in mainstream institutions. To this end, several pedagogical approaches are presented and discussed. The article concludes with a vision for critical, reflexive pedagogies and a call to mobilize the full body of language, social, and cultural theory to produce consciousness-raising pedagogies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The research for this article was supported in part by a research grant from the Spencer Foundation, without which I would not have been able to complete it. I'd like to acknowledge the support, encouragement, and critical feedback of my coeditor, Alastair Pennycook, and the rest of the AILA 2005 Cipha. This article has also benefited from comments by Kris Gutierrez, David Kirkland, Ernest Morrell, Geneva Smitherman, and the two anonymous reviewers of this journal, all of whom made excellent suggestions. Conversations with Candy Goodwin and Paul Kroskrity have also greatly enhanced this article. Last but not least, shout out to all the Sunnysidaz doin tha damn thang! It's your world ...

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Critical Hip-Hop Language Pedagogies: Combat, Consciousness, and the Cultural Politics of Communication

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This article addresses two long-standing tensions in the education of linguistically marginalized youth: (a) the cultural tension, or cultural combat, that such students engage in as they form their linguistic identities, and (b) the tensions between the development of critical language pedagogies and the lack of their broader implementation due to disinterested and discriminatory teachers.

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If Black English isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

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People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.

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Common -  I Used to Love H. E. R.  (Lyrics on Screen)

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J. Cole Talks "Born Sinner" Writing Process

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Kendrick Lamar talking about his Writing Process | Interview with Rick Rubin | 2020

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For over a decade, educators have looked to capitalize on the appeal of hip-hop culture, sampling its language, techniques, and styles as a way of reaching out to students. But beyond a fashionable hipness, what does hip-hop have to offer our schools? In this revelatory new book, Marc Lamont Hill shows how a serious engagement with hip-hop culture can affect classroom life in extraordinary ways. Based on his experience teaching a hip-hop-centered English literature course in a Philadelphia high school, and drawing from a range of theories on youth culture, identity, and educational processes, Hill offers a compelling case for the power of hip-hop in the classroom. In addition to driving up attendance and test performance, Hill shows how hip-hop-based educational settings enable students and teachers to renegotiate their classroom identities in complex, contradictory, and often unpredictable ways.

"One of the most profound, searching, and insightful studies of what happens to the identities and worldviews of high school students who are exposed to a hip-hop curriculum."
-Michael Eric Dyson, author, Can You Hear Me Now?

"Hill's book is a beautifully written reminder that the achievement gaps that students experience may be more accurately characterized as cultural gaps-between them and their teachers (and the larger society). This is a book that helps us see the power and potential of pedagogy."
-From the Foreword by Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life offers a vibrant, rigorous, and comprehensive analysis of hip-hop culture as an effective pedagogy, cultural politics, and a mobilizing popular form. This book is invaluable for anyone interested in hip-hop culture, identity, education, and youth."
-Henry Giroux, McMaster University

"This book marks the time where our modern literature changes from entertainment to education. A study guide for our next generation using the modern day struggle into manhood and beyond."
-M-1 from dead prez

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For over a decade, educators have looked to capitalize on the appeal of hip-hop culture, sampling its language, techniques, and styles as a way of reaching out to students. But beyond a fashionable hipness, what does hip-hop have to offer our schools?

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Marc Lamont Hill is an associate professor of English education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the author of the award-winning Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life. Emery Petchauer is an assistant professor of urban education in the Teacher Development and Educational Studies department at Oakland University, and the author of Hip-Hop Culture in College Students' Lives.

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Marc Lamont Hill is an associate professor of English education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the author of the award-winning Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life. Emery Petchauer is an assistant professor of urban education in the Teacher Development and Educational Studies department at Oakland University, and the author of Hip-Hop Culture in College Students' Lives.

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Abstract

Hip-hop-based education (HHBE) research analyzes how hip-hop culture is used to produce favorable educational outcomes. Despite its richness, the work reveals little about how to prepare practicing K-12 teachers to use HHBE toward the critical ends reflected in extant HHBE literature. In this article, we challenge many tacit assumptions of HHBE research by examining the curricular and pedagogical wants and needs of in-service teachers who are interested in HHBE but who are not familiar with hip-hop's unique history and culture. Through a collaborative self-study with a teacher-educator, we, as Black male hip-hop insiders, reflect on the promises and pitfalls of preparing predominantly White teachers to incorporate hip-hop into their teaching and learning repertoire.

Keywords

Multicultural teacher educuation; culturally responsive teaching; critical pedagogy; hip-hop; urban teaching and learning

Copyright (c)

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multicultural teacher educuation; culturally responsive teaching; critical pedagogy; hip-hop; urban teaching and learning

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Schooling Teachers, Schooling Ourselves: Insights and Reflections from Teaching K-12 Teachers How to Use Hip-hop to Educate Students | Irby | International Journal of Multicultural Education

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Abstract Hip-hop-based education (HHBE) research analyzes how hip-hop culture is used to produce favorable educational outcomes. Despite its richness, the work reveals little about how to prepare practicing K-12 teachers to use HHBE toward the critical ends reflected in extant HHBE literature.

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The English Journal is a journal of ideas for English language arts teachers in junior and senior high schools and middle schools. EJ presents information on the teaching of writing and reading, literature, and language. Each issue examines the relationship of theory and research to classroom practice, and reviews current materials of interest to English teachers, including books and electronic media. The journal is published bimonthly in September, November, January, March, May, and July.

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), a not-for-profit professional association of educators, is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum for the profession, an array of opportunities for teachers to continue their professional growth throughout their careers, and a framework for cooperation to deal with issues that affect the teaching of English. For more information, please visit www.ncte.org.

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Promoting Academic Literacy with Urban Youth through Engaging Hip-Hop Culture on JSTOR

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The English Journal is a journal of ideas for English language arts teachers in junior and senior high schools and middle schools. EJ presents information on the teaching of writing and reading, literature, and language. Each issue examines the relationship of theory and research to classroom practice, and reviews current materials of interest to English teachers, including books and electronic media.

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Hiphop Literacies is an exploration of the rhetorical, language and literacy practices of African Americans, with a focus on the Hiphop generation. Richardson analyses the lyrics and discourse of Hiphop, explodes myths and stereotypes about Black culture and language and shows how Hiphop language is a global ambassador of the English language and American culture.

Richardson examines African American Hiphop in secondary oral contexts such as rap music, song lyrics, electronic and digital media, oral performances and cinema and brings together issues and concepts that are explored in the disciplines of folklore, ethnomusicology, sociolinguistics, discourse studies and New Literacies Studies.

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Hiphop Literacies is an exploration of the rhetorical, language and literacy practices of African Americans, with a focus on the Hiphop generation. Richardson analyses the lyrics and discourse of Hiphop, explodes myths and stereotypes about Black culture and language and shows how Hiphop language is a global ambassador of the English language and American culture.

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"For a lucid and thorough 'real-world' analysis of the movement from the ground-up--including its history, aesthetics, and culture, there is surely no better place to start than Somers-Willett's trailblazing book."
--- Jerome Sala, Pleiades

"Finally, a clear, accurate, and thoroughly researched examination of slam poetry, a movement begun in 1984 by a mixed bag of nobody poets in Chicago. At conception, slam poetry espoused universal humanistic ideals and a broad spectrum of participants, and especially welcome is the book's analysis of how commercial marketing forces succeeded in narrowing public perception of slam to the factionalized politics of race and identity. The author's knowledge of American slam at the national level is solid and more authentic than many of the slammers who claim to be."
---Marc Kelly Smith, founder/creator of the International Poetry Slam movement

The cultural phenomenon known as slam poetry was born some twenty years ago in white working-class Chicago barrooms. Since then, the raucous competitions have spread internationally, launching a number of annual tournaments, inspiring a generation of young poets, and spawning a commercial empire in which poetry and hip-hop merge.

The Cultural Politics of Slam Poetry is the first critical book to take an in-depth look at slam, shedding light on the relationships that slam poets build with their audiences through race and identity performance and revealing how poets come to celebrate (and at times exploit) the politics of difference in American culture.

With a special focus on African American poets, Susan B. A. Somers-Willett explores the pros and cons of identity representation in the commercial arena of spoken word poetry and, in doing so, situates slam within a history of verse performance, from blackface minstrelsy to Def Poetry. What's revealed is a race-based dynamic of authenticity lying at the heart of American culture. Rather than being mere reflections of culture, Somers-Willett argues, slams are culture---sites where identities and political values get publicly refigured and exchanged between poets and audiences.

Susan B. A. Somers-Willett is a decade-long veteran of slam and teaches creative writing and poetics as an Assistant Professor of English at Montclair State University. She is the author of two books of poetry, Quiver and Roam. Visit the author's website at: http://www.susansw.com/.

Photo by Jennifer Lacy.

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"For a lucid and thorough 'real-world' analysis of the movement from the ground-up--including its history, aesthetics, and culture, there is surely no better place to start than Somers-Willett's trailblazing book." --- Jerome Sala, Pleiades "Finally, a clear, accurate, and thoroughly researched examination of slam poetry, a movement begun in 1984 by a mixed bag of nobody poets in Chicago.

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FIVE ARTISTS WHO CHANGED THE WAY WE USE LYRICS IN HIP HOP

Nowadays Hip Hop involves many forms and creative outings. However, when you'd ask a random somebody on the streets, most would probably associate the current state of Hip Hop with club bangers and rhymes about excessive wealth, narcotics and seductive w. The evolution of Hip Hop into mainstream music - matter of fact, Hip Hop today is the most listened to genre in the world - has naturally caused for a regression of its song complexity (and some may argue quality) to adapt to the more general preferences of hundreds of millions of listeners. But we cannot forget that it was in fact lyricism that paved the way for the genre to become more accepted in the first place and eventually evolve to its current state, as a form of art. So let's take a look at the 5 most lyrically influential MC's of all time and how their work changed the Hip Hop game.

5. Jay-Z

He's not just a businessman, he's a business, man. Apart from being probably the most successful Hip Hop artist of all time (in terms of wealth accumulation it's either him, Dre or Diddy), Jay-Z has published a great array of critically acclaimed lyrical masterpieces, that definitely changed the game for every rapper that co-existed in Jay's prime or came 'after' (cause despite turning 50 this year, Hov is still dropping new hits on the regular).

Jay-Z might not be the best or most respected lyricist of all time, but he was the first to capitalize on that fine line between producing almost pop-like club anthems and still paying his lyrical dues to the street. This allowed him to earn millions of dollars off of his many mainstream hits, whilst still largely retaining the respect of real Hip Hop heads. Jay's debut album Reasonable Doubt alone is by many considered a timeless lyrical masterpiece. And from there on, iconic tracks like 'Dead Presidents" and 'The Takeover' (Jay's attack on Nas in what would become one of the biggest beefs in Hip Hop history) all the way to recent bangers such as 'Empire State of Mind' and 'The Story of OJ' have all carried that distinct lyrical trademark that allowed Jay-Z to put himself in the sweet spot right between commercial appeal and keeping it real.

Despite his own work, Jay-Z has indirectly (insert list of new school rappers that mention Hov as their greatest inspiration here) as well as directly (Still D.R.E., anyone?) influenced the lyrics of many great Hip Hop songs we love and listen to today.

4. Kendrick Lamar

Alright, you probably think that Kung-fu Kenny's body of work thus far is definitely dope, but way too light to be mentioned in the same list as some of the all-time lyrical greats. And for a kid that realistically just started out 8 years ago, I feel you. But ask yourself what would've happened to today's mainstream lyrical rap, if Kendrick wouldn't have had stepped up at a time where Lil Wayne was swinging the scepter? Kendrick Lamar made lyrically meaningful Hip Hop hot again, at a time where it could've very possibly died a silent dead in the midst of mumble rap. And that alone is why he should be on this list.

An extremely humble and likable guy, Kendrick - within the timespan of a few years - has built a fan base of many millions through his lyrically thoughtful and mellow, yet politically controversial music releases. Since then, he has used his rapidly built platform not only to inspire new-wave rappers to pay more attention to the complexity of their writing but also to give due respect to the West Coast Hip Hop legends and Hip Hop culture in general.

Lamar's debut album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, rides on g-funk beats as Kenny graphically describes growing up in the very same Compton where OG groups such as NWA find their roots. It features tracks with actual West Coast hard hitters to the likes of MC Eiht and Dr. Dre. But perhaps the moment everything really came together was when Kendrick Lamar got involved with the production of 'Straight Outta Compton', the motion picture narrating the lives of the former NWA members who Kenny, being some twenty years their minor, all together (R.I.P. Eazy-E) extensively interviewed about the evolution of West Coast Hip Hop as seen in the movie. While doing so he looked as humble as any young Hip Hop head who gets to meet his biggest idols for the first time would.

Apart from raising awareness for todays youth to relive the golden age of West Coast lyrical rap, Kendrick Lamar's own lyrical work speaks for itself. His 12 minute 'Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst' paints a beautifully complex emotional letter to himself. Critically acclaimed sophomore album To Pimp A Butterfly as a whole is an awe-inspiring, self-conscious lyrical oath against racism, instead promoting self-love no matter what you look like. And Kenny might have even invented a whole new sub-genre of lyrical Hip Hop himself; a critical yet hilariously light-hearted style of rap that mocks everything wrong with modern American society, often accompanied by a banging beat, such is the case with a song like ' HUMBLE '.

3. The Notorious B.I.G.

This one was a tough choice. When we think of the '90s most extravagant Hip Hop artists, it's always the same two names that pop up, namely those of Biggie and Pac. Both to this day have an immense fan base within the Hip Hop community, and both their styles are as different from each other as the East is from the West. But when asked who of the two had the better lyrics and flow, there's probably always gonna be a (very) small majority vote in favor of the King of Brooklyn.

The consensus on Biggie's impact on today's Hip Hop is a very mixed and interesting one. Some say that Christopher Wallace was perhaps the best lyricist to ever touch the mic (especially flow-wise) and would turn around in his grave, when hearing the quality of today's commercial rap lyrics. But others argue that it was actually Biggie himself who started a chain of effects that led to the state of a big part of today's mainstream Hip Hop.

Before Biggie's debut album Ready To Die dropped in 1994, the main picture East Coast MC's were trying to portray in their lyrics, was that of the struggle to survive in some of the toughest neighborhoods in America. This style of mainly politically expressive rap had just started developing in the early '90s and was very raw in its nature. When Biggie dropped Ready To Die in '94, he took that same rawness, but left out the political topics and replaced that instead with the graphic presentation of a life filled with crime and riches. It left the whole Hip Hop genre in shock and would change the rules of the game forever. Ready To Die would become a major commercial success unprecedented to anything the genre had produced before that and Biggie launched himself into absolute superstar status, something that, for a rapper, was just as unusual at the time.

The Notorious B.I.G. was the first rapper to include sex, drugs and guns in his songs so prominently. In fact, he and P. Diddy built their whole brand around those lyrics. And when other artists found out that this formula proved to sell very successfully, they started to adopt it as well. Funny side fact to this is that the lifestyle Biggie portrayed in his lyrics, was probably for a good part made up. In what's perhaps his most famous release 'Juicy', Big raps about living in a 'one-room shack with no food on the table' and having 'no heat'. Christopher Wallace own mother however, dismissed these comments and mentioned how she raised her son in a regular brownstone home in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, where there was always food on the table. She also mentioned that Big actually went to a private middle school and was a straight-A student.

This too relates back to a lot of today's rappers that portray very extravagant lifestyles in their lyrics, that are not necessarily true to reality. The persona, however, helps to sell music and express one better artistically, and Biggie was the first to prove that. Things done changed, or did they?

2. Rakim

Most rappers on this list influenced Hip Hop by changing the topic of their lyrics. But one artist changed the very structure of rap lyricism itself. By the end of the 1980s, Rakim and his DJ Eric B. dropped their album Paid In Full that reinvigorated the Hip Hop genre almost completely. Eric B introduced revolutionary sampled beats that would set the standard for all future producers to come, but most attention has to be paid (in full) to Rakim himself, who on tracks such as ' I Ain't No Joke' showcased wordplay in a way that - up until the album's release in 1987 - had never been done before. Rakim introduced internal rhyming schemes as opposed to the, at the time, industry-standard end rhymes, and thus changed the lyrical foundation of Hip Hop forever.

When Paid In Full initially dropped, critic's reviews were mixed to say the best. Interestingly enough, some blamed the duo's new style for lacking in energy and sounding bland when compared to the up until that point usually more fast and energetic vibes of other Hip Hop tracks. Since then opinions have definitely turned around and many critics will now argue that the album was in fact so far ahead of its time, that at its release critics couldn't comprehend its value quite yet - as is usually the case with revolutionary works of art.

By the mid-nineties however, Paid In Full finally went platinum and it's biggest critical recognition would come some years later in 2003, when the album was incorporated on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 best albums of all time, coming in at number 228.

Rakim's groundbreaking style of lyricism would influence literally every other noteworthy rapper's style of wordplay who came after his entrance on the Hip Hop scene in '87. That includes any artist on your top 5 dead or alive lists and - indirectly - any new wave rapper you have ever heard of. It's obviously no coincidence that almost any real Hip Hop head will tell you that Rakim should in fact be on those DOA lists and might even make a solid argument to be mentioned as the best rapper of all time. His body of work on the revolutionary Paid In Ful l speaks for itself, but also on later releases such as the masterfully lyrically crafted 'When I Be On The Mic' and 'Guess Who's Back' Rakim has time and time again set higher bars for the genre to live up to, thus inspiring others to continue to develop their lyrics as well.

1. Nas

We like discussing the variety of rap vocabulary used by Hip Hop artists and the importance of the message that they send out. But when did we really start paying attention to rap lyricism, recognizing its potential to be an influential form of poetic art? Enter 1994, when Nas showed us the way by dropping his first album: .

Illmatic as a whole is as illustrious as Nas is himself within the lyrical Hip Hop community. In the immensely complex discussion as to which Hip Hop album deserves to be called 'best of all time', Illmatic's name is probably mentioned most often. The work kicked off an unreal career that took a seemingly ordinary 18-year-old kid from Queensbridge, New York, to go head to head with legends such as 2pac and Biggie, surviving the aftermath by emerging as the King of New York, after beating East Coast rival Jay-Z to the crown, all while continuing to develop an unmatched repertoire of lyrical Hip Hop art that captured the undisputed respect of the streets, brought him worldwide fame with fans in the genre and even garnished official recognition by institutions such as Harvard University.

But what is it exactly that made Nas' delivery with Illmatic so special? Is it the harrowingly harsh reality of early 90's project-life that Nas' portrays with such clinical precision on 'NY State Of Mind'? Could it be the all-capturing nostalgic throwbacks on 'Memory Lane' or the strongly poetic inspired letter to his prison homies in 'One Love'? Maybe that's the thing: that to this date even the most hardcore Nas fans can't agree on which track or even tracks are the greatest on the album, since all of them are so deeply lyrically rooted and complex, that each on their own can be interpreted on many different levels.

There's a ton of opinions on what made Illmatic, well... Illmatic. And that is exactly what brings us to the answer: it's the fact that with Illmatic, Nas' - for the first time in the history of the genre - created a work of true lyrical art that ignited debate and gave birth to different interpretations, just like real art does. By painting a masterfully detailed and diverse picture with his rhyming, As managed to give outsiders who had never even been to New York, an audible taste of what life in Queensbridge was like. And for each listener, that experience could be catered to their personal likings.

After his debut album - which many will agree on was, interestingly enough, also his best album - Nas went on to become the most successful lyrical rapper of all time. He built his career almost solely on the foundation of his lyrics. We can especially see that in the progression of his career: whenever the quality of his raps declined or simplified, his popularity went down the drain as well. Take Nas' poetic talents away, and there is not much commercially appealing of his persona left. It makes it all the more impressive that the self-proclaimed 'thug poet' built an empire for himself by using just a pen and paper.

J. Cole in a tribute to the Queensbridge rapper put it like this: if Pac was like Jesus, Nas wrote the bible. Without Nas, we wouldn't have thought about the possibilities of lyrical art within Hip Hop, at least not in the same way. It could very well be that, had it not been for Illmatic, we might have never even taken the effort to pay attention to the art behind rap lyrics in the first place. By rapping street poetry on Hip Hop beats, Nas first introduced and then endlessly expanded the possibilities of lyrical art creation in the genre for any artist to this date. And that, in the end, has allowed Hip Hop to grow into the infinitely diverse form of art it is today.

Honorable mentions

2pac

Of course, we can't leave out the biggest and most controversial figure Hip Hop has ever known. But when we look at what made Pac so special and influenced many after him to come, it will always be his wildly extravagant persona over his lyrics. Nonetheless, he spread numerous important and revolutionary messages through his music. The question remains though if those lyrics would have meant as much if they weren't driven by the bombastic energy that made Tupac so unique.

Big L

Sadly enough, we'll never know what could've become of this legend. L was an absolute lyrical monster. In fact, listening back to his genius punchlines and insanely fast flow, he might've had the potential to become the meanest with words that Hip Hop would've ever known. But unfortunately, Big L died a way too premature death and got murdered over being mistaken for looking like his targeted brother. In contrast to Biggie or Pac, who most will agree died after already reaching their absolute prime, Big L had just started building his status in Hip Hop, still becoming more ferocious lyrically by the day. To know where his immense potential would've capped, that will forever remain a mystery. But his unfollowable street rhymes ultimately could've very well changed the entire nature of lyrical Hip Hop as we know it today.

Public Enemy

There's no denying that Public Enemy's introduction of heavy politically inspired rap initially shook up the genre just as much as did Biggie rapping about guns and women. In fact, it did change the genre as we know it today, cause new age rappers such as Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole do cover a wide range of politically sensitive topics. However, the real hardcore political topics that Public Enemy rapped about, went underground quickly after their golden age in the early nineties ended and are, sadly enough, practically non-existent in modern commercial rap.

Eminem

Self-ridiculing and light-hearted rap are as old as the Hip Hop genre itself. But it wasn't until Eminem started making noise, that things became really crazy. Em introduced a wide range of highly controversial, disgusting and just plain out absurd topics in his lyrics. That did give birth to the success of modern-day rappers such as Lil Yachty and Hopsin - who both are major fans by the way. But all in all nobody after Marshal Matters could really pull the crazy trick off, without being labeled as corny, and even Em himself turned kind off serious, a few albums into his legendary career.

Wu-Tang Clan

Of course, the Wu makes a valid bid to be considered perhaps the most influential rap group of all time. But although their Kung-Fu inspired lyrics definitely left the Hip Hop world in absolute surprise when first released, all in all it was style over lyrical substance that would define Wu-Tang's ongoing span of success. The Clan from the start paid a substantial amount of attention to their unique brand image, which was what really separated them from any other group at the time and influenced modern-day equivalents such as Odd Future or A$AP the most.

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The 5 Most Influential Lyrical Rappers Of All Time - Hip Hop Golden Age

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FIVE ARTISTS WHO CHANGED THE WAY WE USE LYRICS IN HIP HOP Nowadays Hip Hop involves many forms and creative outings. However, when you'd ask a random somebody on the streets, most would probably associate the current state of Hip Hop with club bangers and rhymes about excessive wealth, narcotics and seductive w.

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Rappers are great writers in the booth and for some MCs, the talent bleeds over into literature skills. Over time, rappers have gifted the culture some amazing books like 50 Cent's 50th Law and more recent written works like J. Cole's foreword in Angie Martinez' My Voice: A Memoir. A few rappers have even appeared on The New York Times' Best Sellers List.

In 2009, 50 Cent landed atop of The New York Times' Best Sellers List upon the release The 50th Law, his book written with 48 Laws of Power author Robert Greene. The book reached the No. 5 spot on The New York Times' "Advice, how-to and miscellaneous" bestsellers list. The 304-page book was an instant hit. Common's autobiography One Day, It'll All Make Sense made an appearance on the coveted list in 2011.

J. Cole also claimed a spot with Angie Martinez' My Voice: A Memoir in May of 2016. The radio icon recalls interviews with Tupac and Barack Obama in her 288-page hardcover. "Writing this memoir has been one of the most challenging and rewarding tasks I've ever taken on," said Martinez. "I've seen a lot and learned a lot, and I'm proud that I've been true to myself the whole way."

In the gallery above look over some of hip-hop's best books including authors like Scarface and Jay Z.

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Rappers are great writers in the booth and for some MCs, the talent bleeds over into literature skills. Over time, rappers have gifted the culture some amazing books like 50 Cent's 50th Law and more recent written works like J. Cole's foreword in Angie Martinez' My Voice: A Memoir.

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To be a rapper or a respected one, you have to write your own lyrics, even when you're not writing lyrics when you freestyle you still in a way, write a song. Rappers are slowly starting to become authors, especially 50 Cent. If you're looking for book recommendations, here is a list of 12 of the best books written by rappers that you might enjoy, a lot of New York Times best sellers in this list.

Before we get started, special mention to our Rap Dictionary book of Hip-Hop definitions, if you are looking for a fun read or something for your bookshelf or coffee table, we definitely recommend grabbing a copy below or by visiting the link in this paragraph.

12 Rappers who have written books, their books and where to buy them.

1. Gucci Mane - 'The Autobiography of Gucci Mane'

The Autobiography of Gucci Mane
by Gucci Mane & Neil Martinez-Belkin

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Released: September 4, 2018

'The Autobiography of Gucci Mane' is Gucci Mane's first book published and his first New York Times best seller. He started writing his memoir and autobiography while he was in prison. The book tells Gucci Mane's story, how he grew up hustling in Atlanta, and how his life shaped his career. The same editor who edited this book, Neil Martinez-Belkin also edited Rick Ross' book Hurricanes, which is No. 8 on our list. The Autobiography of Gucci Mane is also available in a hardcover.

2. DMX - 'E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX'
E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Released: November 1, 2002

E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX is the first book written by DMX, the book is titled after his real name Earl Simmons. DMX grew up with a very busy and abusive mother and no father, his grandmother took care of him but his mom didn't allow him to see her often, so he eventually turned to his dog for love. DMX details and reveals his trials and tribulations on his journey from growing up in the projects of Yonkers to who he is today and how rap/hip-hop saved his life. The book is 346 pages long and hardcover is also available on Amazon.

3. Logic - 'Supermarket'

Logic working on his novel 'Supermarkert'

Supermarket
by Logic

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Released: March 26, 2019

Supermarket is Logic's' first novel published and his first New York Times best seller. Logic released his debut book Supermarket under his name Bobby Hall, the thriller is based on a depressed character named Flynn who begins a job at a supermarket and his life begins to take a turn as he battles with anxiety and depression. The book also involves other mental health issues like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

4. Jay-Z - 'Decoded'
Decoded
Publisher: Random House

Released: November 16, 2010

Jay-Z was initially going to write and release a more personal memoir with the help of Dream Hampton but that project didn't come to life and years later they partnered on a more broad autobiography and memoir. The book features and explains a collection of Jay-Z's best lyrics at the time relating to his life. The cover art was done by Rodrigo Corral and initially the book was only released as a hardcover and the paper back was released about a year after on November 1, 2011. The book is filled with lot of photos and art, very pleasing visually.

Jay-Z has a couple books written about him, one relevant being 2015's unauthorized ' Empire State of Mind: How Jay Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office ' by Zack O'Malley Greenburg.

5. DJ Khaled - 'They Don't Want You to Read This Book'
The Keys: They Don't Want You to Read This Book
by DJ Khaled

Publisher: Crown Archetype

Released: November 22, 2016

Around the time of his snapchat sensation phase, DJ Khaled released his debut book titled 'The Keys: They Don't Want You to Read This Book', DJ Khaled's first N ew York Times best seller. The book is a memoir while still fitting the motivating self-help/personal growth genre. DJ Khaled is giving his life tips also known as "The Keys" like; "Stay away from they" - they being your doubters and those who don't want you to succeed, "Secure the bag", his most famous one "Don't ever play yourself" and plenty more.

6. Lil wayne - 'Gone 'Til November: A Journal of Rikers'
Gone 'Til November: A Journal of Rikers
by Lil Wayne

Publisher: Plume Books

Released: October 11, 2016

While Lil Wayne was behind bars at Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York for eight months in 2010, he kept a diary. Five years after his freedom, he released a memoir describing his experience at the prison, what he learned during his time, and visits from Drake, Kanye West, & Diddy. This would be Lil Wayne's first published book. Rolling Stone named 'Gone 'Til November' a 2016 "must read". Keeping a diary in jail was a really good and profitable use of Lil Wayne's time.

Read: Lil Wayne worked as a suicide prevention aid for 50 cents an hour, 10pm-6am everyday, during his time at Rikers

7. Eminem - 'The Way I Am'
The Way I Am
Publisher: Dutton

Released: October 21, 2008

The Way I Am is Eminem's second book and his debut autobiography. In the New York Times best seller book, Eminem shares the depression he went through went Proof died, some of his life stories including family and friends, lyrics, illustrations and never seen before photos he had at the time. The book was in collaboration and edited by Sacha Jenkins. Before The Way I Am, Eminem released a non-fiction book titled Angry Blonde in 2000 which became a national bestseller. Eminem previously revealed the first book he read in full was LL Cool J's I Make My Own Rules which is No. 10 on our list.

8. Rick Ross - 'Hurricanes'
Hurricanes: A Memoir
Publisher: Hanover Square Press

Released: September 4, 2018

Hurricanes is Rick Ross' first book published and his first New York Times best seller. The book details his childhood story, his upbringing and come up in Carol City, Miami, his past life as a drug dealer and correctional officer, and the health scares he's had. The same editor who edited this book, Neil Martinez-Belkin also edited Gucci Mane's book ' The Autobiography of Gucci Mane ', which is No. 1 on the list.

9. RZA - 'The Tao of Wu'
The Tao of Wu
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Released: October 15, 2009

The Tao of Wu is the sequel to The Wu-Tang Manual and the second book written by RZA, the founder of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA uses rap lyrics to explain and detail his path from the hoods of New York City (Staten Island projects) to who he is today, his spirituality and enlightenment by learning about religion. He reveals a lot of personal information including that he lost his virginity at 11 years old to an older woman who also taught him how to play chess and interesting things fans wouldn't know about the Wu-Tang Clan. The Tao of Wu is 243 pages long and available in hardcover on Amazon.

10. LL Cool J - 'I Make My Own Rules'
I Make My Own Rules
Publisher: Macmillan

Released: September 15, 1998

I Make My Own Rules is the first book written by LL Cool J, This book is a National Bestseller and one of the oldest rap/hip-hop autobiographies (at least on this list). In 'I Make My Own Rules', LL Cool J details his wild story, his childhood; his abusive stepfather who shot his mother and grandfather. According to Eminem this is the first book he's read in full. A few years later in 2000, LL Cool J released a children's book titled ' And the Winner Is... ', he also did the illustrations. At the time of this books release LL Cool J was the No. 1 selling rap artist of all time.

11. 50 Cent - 'From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens'
From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens
Publisher: MTV Books

Released: August 15, 2006

From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens is the first book written by 50 Cent and his first New York Times best seller. In the 240 page book, 50 Cent details his complicated life hustling, growing up after his mother was murdered when he was 12 years old, and his journey to entrepreneurial success. 50 Cent has written over 5 books since the release of From Pieces to Weight; and his latest book is 2020's Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter.

12. Russ - 'IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD'

IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD
by Russ

Publisher: Harper Design & Schuster

Released: November 12, 2019

'IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD' is Russ' first book published and his first Wall Street Journal best seller. It's All In Your Head is a motivational self-help book, in which Russ relates to his self-made career and how he got to where he is today. On the yellow book cover is "get out of your own way" which the book deals a whole lot about. Russ is persuading and inspiring readers to realize that success starts with you believing in yourself and not being in your own way.

These are 12 good books written by rappers. If you're a fan of rap/hip-hop and want to learn more about the culture, picking up one of these books is a great start.

Read: 6 of the Best Books Written by 50 Cent

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12 Of The Best Books Written By Rappers | DailyRapFacts

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To be a rapper or a respected one, you have to write your own lyrics, even when you're not writing lyrics when you freestyle you still in a way, write a song. Rappers are slowly starting to become authors, especially 50 Cent.

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Hip Hop Education has become an ever-growing popular movement today, especially due to its cultural relevance and its tendency to promote-through its connection with students-an increased social and political awareness in an academic setting.

Simply put, hip hop in the classroom is the use of hip hop culture, especially rap songs and lyrics, as classroom content-both in the creation of material to learn and in the delivery of existing material.

#HipHopEd even thrives on Twitter weekly, with the movement inspiring teachers and students alike.
Looking for more ways to engage your students? Try Classcraft today!
1. You'll speak students' language

From the 1970s to today, there is no denying the pervasiveness of hip hop in today's youth culture. While it has been present and even popular for decades, with hip hop figures represented among different generations, hip hop culture has always-even as it has aged and matured-had an association with the youth of today. This in itself is an anomaly; how can something be about and in response to historical events, political climates, and even living conditions without dating itself?

The answer lies in hip hop music's close connection to hip hop culture and in its ability to maintain a strong connection with its practitioners and fan base despite any shifts in technique, medium, or content. At the center of hip hop culture is something universal and integral to human nature: oral tradition. It's a medium of catharsis and expression coming together and being spat out in the exact way it is meant, there to be admired for what makes it art-and especially for what makes it "ugly" to some listeners.

This steady relation to youth is a no-brainer as a way to connect with young students. It's important not only to art but also history and even contemporary life. Most importantly, hip hop in education is a powerful way to teach students the skills they need to help themselves, at school and at home.

2. You'll foster mutual respect

The academic world tends to recoil in response to any connection to hip hop culture. It's uneducated, one might think; it's not socially appropriate and promotes destructive behavior. In an essay accusing hip hop of destroying the "potential of black youth," Jeffrey Hicks states that "hip-hop culture deadens the drive toward civility and legitimizes backwardness." However, using hip hop in the classroom doesn't mean I am turning a blind eye to all of the things that can make its presence in the classroom uncomfortable (although I do disagree with this "evil" portrayal). In fact, you should use hip hop especially if you're not comfortable with it!

First of all, actions speak louder than words. Using hip hop in the classroom is an action that has a huge effect on what students receive from you. They see you reaching into a world that they are familiar with instead of pulling them into your world. They see you playing and engaging with them instead of retreating in fear. Not only may you accidentally show them another thing to value about your curriculum, but even the mere attempt to connect is so visible that it can't be ignored. Whether you mean it to or not, you are showing respect for something that is theirs in your classroom.

Every teacher knows and acknowledges that there are actions, items, and concepts that are inappropriate for a classroom setting. What this can sometimes manifest as, however, is an environment in firm denial of the existence of anything "inappropriate." The class becomes a "safe space" but then morphs into a bubble of disrespect, teaching students to look down on any other environment not mirroring the same ideals. If you instead show them the relevance of what they're learning in the context of the culture they themselves appropriate, you are doing something incredibly important by example.

Hip hop forces discussion about race, poverty, identity, family, hate, and the Man-all of which are things students worry about daily when they're supposed to be thinking about your step-by-step tutorial on Shakespearean sonnets. You have an opportunity with hip hop to acknowledge pain, hate, anger, and injustice instead of denying it and further losing respect from students, who go home to these real issues and face them instead of your homework. You can show them through hip hop staples (rhyme, repetition, storytelling, catharsis, reflection) how to handle these issues and even use them to navigate another discomfort: your academic world.

Another thing that lends hip hop culture well to a classroom atmosphere is its intolerance for silence. Hip hop is about taking life's problems and putting them "on blast," whether it's coming up with solutions or even just spreading awareness of the issue. Subscribers to hip hop may profess that "snitches get stitches," but the truth is that hip hop culture is about snitching on life and the world.

3. You'll model positive behavior and attitudes

By reflecting this "take the good, eschew the bad" ideology with your handling of hip hop, you are modeling how to take what life gives, incorporate what is useful, and filter the rest. You are showing students that the proper response to adversity is not flight, despair, or dismissal-it is action, discussion, and collaboration, all ideals heavily promoted in hip hop culture and in academia alike.

You aren't encouraging mindless adoption of hip hop ideals, as Hicks suggests, resulting in young people "applying for a job with unsightly cornrows, baggy clothing, and using less-than-acceptable English." Discussion of hip hop culture as a connection or even a medium for learning is not the same as adoption of hip hop culture.

So teach a verse that helps them remember the quadratic formula, but also includes how much you hate remembering it. Have them make a diss track against whoever they think is responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Anger is healthy but should never be coupled with indifference; this distinction is important in discouraging destructive action versus angry expression.

In 2016, I created a unit that focused on the human reaction to times of trauma, something that a depressingly high number of students are familiar with. Framing an examination of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, students had to compare the way O'Brien and his self-named character within the story dealt with trauma, both in the depiction of himself and in the actual creation of the stories. By the end of the semester, students were examining methods of catharsis for their own lives.

Through workshops on rap, spoken word, music, and poetry, my students began addressing the ugly parts of their own lives that they were otherwise afraid to handle. The final project culminated in the performance of a finished project and a rationale that served as an explanation for their cathartic piece (and, for some, a safeguard there to assure me that my students weren't in current danger; after all, one is bound to hear some alarming things with a project like this).

After that final project, I had students reflecting on assignments who, instead of responding with the first semester's "I learned how to read and write better," now wrote things like, "I learned how poetry could help me cope with my sister's death." I was emotionally drained, but one thing was for sure: There were some students that had needed the hip hop presence in my class to know that they could answer problems themselves.

For all of its ugliness, I felt I had brought them something through hip hop that they hadn't gotten before and might not have had the chance to learn otherwise. I realized I had given them something integral to living and coping with life-all this through an English class.

4. You'll teach them to overcome fear

If you are worried that the chance to express oneself will result in a wild classroom of students, then don't you have a responsibility to go through the process of expression with them, offering constructive guidance so they don't unleash that energy recklessly?

In other words: If you don't teach them how to handle their own lives and cultures despite their fear, then you end up passing on something to be fearful of. What does it say if a student can handle school but not life? Why do we not want to show students where their own cultural identity fits into all this?

Hip Hop Education is a chance to engage students not only with your classwork, but with their own lives. My students had a reason to study metaphors, and they had reasons to look at how Tim O'Brien dealt with the death of his friend Kiowa-because through hip hop, these elements of English curriculum were now yielding secrets that provided clues to their own problems.

I found that hip hop didn't just make my students care about the content; it gave me new reasons to care about it, too.

Photo credit: DAVIDTB / Shutterstock.com

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4 reasons to use Hip Hop Education in the classroom - Classcraft Blog

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Hip Hop Education has become an ever-growing popular movement today, especially due to its cultural relevance and its tendency to promote-through its connection with students-an increased social and political awareness in an academic setting.

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Using hip hop/ rap in classic literature (Andrew)

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Using hip hop/ rap in classic literature (Andrew)

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Assistant Professor of Classics Brandon Bourgeois brings a new twist to an ancient favorite, putting a beat to the works of Homer. (USC Photo/Mike Glier)

A room of classics students is about to get a lesson in ancient literature via a very unexpected method: Instructor Brandon Bourgeois - clad in black, a gold medallion depicting the face of Medusa slung around his neck - is ready to rap.
3,000 years ago, a Greek poet whose name was Homer composed a flow for his feta, he was a real rov-uh. He spun and spread a tale of lust, war, rage and revenge. A tapestry, a masterpiece, words stitched together without a pen. A story - rather gory in detail: 10 years of bloody battle waged by Greeks over a female - hell, you heard-uh Helen. She sailed to Asia with a prince named Paris already married to a Spartan king named Menelaus. Ran to his brother - the great king Agamemnon: "What happened to my queen?!" The brotha told him to stay strong: "We out for blood! "Grab your weapons, spread the message to all the kings in Greece. We'll have your Helen home in no time, a matter of weeks."
The lyrics are his hip-hop adaptation of the prologue to The Iliad, delivered as a rap lecture in staccato bursts to music Bourgeois composed using Apple's GarageBand app. It's his way of making the classic poem - one of the foundational texts of Western civilization - relevant to a modern audience. But it's also more than that.

Ancient literature and the spoken word

For centuries, The Iliad passed from generation to generation by spoken word. Homer lived in the eighth century B.C. and told a story that dated from the 12th century B.C., Bourgeois said. It wasn't until the third or fourth century B.C. that scholars in Alexandria committed the sprawling epic to the page.

Bourgeois believes that the oral tradition that kept Th e Iliad alive bears remarkable similarities to modern rap. Both tell tales of everyday life, hardship, violence, love lost and gained. Both are histories.

[Homer] happens to do things with the stories that no one else has done before.

Brandon Bourgeois

"Homer is at the end of a long line of bards just like him," Bourgeois noted. "And he happens to be the best at it. He happens to do things with the stories that no one else has done before. It's like having Jay-Z. Jay-Z's not the first rapper ever, but he's in the tradition."

Bourgeois arrived this summer at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences as a freshly minted assistant professor of classics. His primary area of research focuses on Roman political tradition.

Bourgeois acknowledges that the classics have long been considered the domain of white scholars. The glory of Greece and Rome have even been invoked by white supremacists to allege their superiority. But he notes that the classics have also been used as a tool for emancipation.

Frederick Douglass was inspired and informed by a primer on classical oratory that he spirited from the room of his owner's son. Enslaved Africans across America in the 18th century absorbed the classics to promote insurgency.

And it didn't end there. Bourgeois added that Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton reportedly taught himself to read by reading Plato's The Republic; Newton's autobiography, Revolutionary Suicide, is actually modeled on Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

The Hype 4 Homer project: rapping the entire Iliad

It's hard to imagine that Bourgeois would end up as a classics professor, much less an accomplished rapper, based on his early academic aspirations. The son of a nurse and a pharmaceutical executive, Bourgeois headed to the University of Chicago as an economics major.

"I wanted to be filthy rich," he said. "I wanted to be one of those guys that you would see in a limo or something, and people would shout down the street, 'Die, you capitalist pig.' I wanted to be that rich."

There was only one problem: He hated economics.

The project is not just a marriage between hip hop and ancient Greek poetry, but a marriage between Homer and I.

Bourgeois

His path began to change thanks to a fraternity friend who spoke 16 languages and dabbled in classics. That led Bourgeois to courses in the subject and, ultimately, a PhD from Ohio State University.

Bourgeois' ability to translate The Iliad into rap lyrics comes from more than his knowledge of ancient tomes. He was an avid actor in high school, even becoming the national president of the Junior Thespian Society. He also plays guitar and plinks the piano when he visits his parents.

Those diverse talents and interests have coalesced into his performance project, which he calls Hype 4 Homer. His ultimate goal is to render the entire Iliad in rap - what he calls "The Trilliad" ("Trill" is hip-hop slang for true).

"The project is not just a marriage between hip hop and ancient Greek poetry," he said, "but a marriage between Homer and I."
Watch Brandon Bourgeois perform "The Trilliad":
More stories about: Literature, Students

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By rapping The Iliad, classics professor makes ancient literature relevant again

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A room of classics students is about to get a lesson in ancient literature via a very unexpected method: Instructor Brandon Bourgeois - clad in black, a gold medallion depicting the face of Medusa slung around his neck - is ready to rap.

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Culturally Responsive Teaching

Educators are finding creative, culturally responsive ways to use rap and hip-hop music to teach history, poetry and writing.

Hip-hop music is "the language of global youth culture," says author and educator Carole Boston Weatherford, and has increased in popularity over the last few decades, with a recent spike prompted by the popularity of the musical Hamilton. "In the past, that often meant a well-meaning teacher putting on a gold chain and imitating something you might have seen on Yo! MTV Raps in the late '80s" Hinton writes. "But today, many educators are being more thoughtful about how best to incorporate hip-hop into their lessons."

Hinton describes how Andy Spinks, a library media specialist at Campbell High School in Smyrna, Georgia, created a popular recording studio in the library for students to create music, learn about digital recording, and-most importantly-collaborate."The reason they're drawn to it is because they have things they want to say, they have a way that they want to say them, and they're given a lot of license to do that there," Spinks says.

As educators begin to see hip-hop as poetry, it can open doors for writing instruction: Rap songwriting can spark engagement in students who may be less interested in traditional writing. Spinks' student sophomore Jarrett Modica, for example, found his voice by writing and producing lyrics in the recording studio. "It's a place where you can just be yourself," Modica said.

Some educators hesitate to use hip-hop music because of the profanity, violence, or explicit language featured in some of the songs. Set boundaries and expectations for lyrics, Spinks advises. He tells students to avoid any lyrics that promote bullying and forbids lyrics that are negative about another member of the school community. "You can do a dis track about Drake if you want to, but don't do one about somebody in this school," Spinks said. Give parents advance notice of controversial material, and explain how and why the content will be used.

At West Boca Raton High School, librarian Kristine Cannon has developed a reading curriculum around the book Let Me Hear a Rhyme; the class is reserved for students who failed the state's standardized English tests. "We just thought that the element of the music, the hip-hop, and even the time period would really grab the students," Cannon told Hinton. "We thought that it would give us a lot to discuss with them."

Because it is a topic students are interested in, it can be used as the subject matter for less interesting lessons, too, Hinton writes. Libby Gorman, library media specialist at Edgewood Middle School in Maryland, uses hip-hop examples to teach citation, a subject she concedes is mostly "boring." Using examples such as Will Smith's "Friend Like Me" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," Gorman engages students. She incentivizes proper citation: "The rule was they had to cite it before they could play it, but once they cited it, they could play the music," Gorman said.

But hip-hop can be deeply integrated into the curriculum as well. Librarian Joquetta Johnson uses hip-hop as the culturally responsive foundation for cross-curricular studies that involve creative writing, reading, and even math. In one lesson, "students had to solve a scenario-based math problem about Kendrick Lamar." They identified patterns in his Twitter feed and determined the growth of his fan base. Johnson also uses hip-hop to teach students about digital citizenship, copyright and intellectual property.

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The Power of Rap and Hip-Hop in the Classroom

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Educators are finding creative, culturally responsive ways to use rap and hip-hop music to teach history, poetry and writing.

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In my preschool classroom, I heard children singing and humming popular hip-hop songs during pretend play. To honor their interests, support their learning, and connect with their culture, I decided to incorporate aspects of hip-hop culture into the curriculum. When teachers learn about and connect with children's cultures they show they value the whole child. Culture opens a door to many possibilities.

What is hip-hop culture?

Hip-hop culture is an artistic, musical, physical, and visual mode of communication that people use to express their experiences, beliefs, and emotions. Rap music (spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics performed in time to a beat) is one of the four key stylistic elements of hip-hop culture, in addition to deejaying/scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing (word art).

Instead of the commercialized rap commonly heard on the radio, instructional/educational rap-or inspirational rap-is more appropriate for young children and offers multiple opportunities for teaching and learning. Through music and language, movement, and the visual arts, rap and other elements of hip-hop culture can support preschoolers' learning and development in all domains.

Forms of expression

Children share their experiences, ideas, and feelings in diverse ways. Hip-hop culture offers children many opportunities for self-expression while having fun and honing their communication skills.

Rapping/emceeing-Creating and speaking raps, chants, or class poetry to a musical beat to share ideas and emotions. After reading aloud a book about being loving, such as One Love, by Cedella Marley, invite the children's reactions, then compose and perform a brief rap together.

Deejaying-Playing music for an audience by using audio equipment (CD player, MP3 player, turntable). Instead of the usual circle and song time, try throwing a mini dance party, with a deejay hosting. Taking the role of class deejay, a child can select an educational hip-hop CD and operate the CD player for the class.

Breaking-Dancing using creative, expressive, and complex movements. Children can take turns performing their favorite break dance moves for their classmates, including crisscrossing their legs or moving their arms across their midlines to the beat of a hip-hop tune. (Crossing the midline, a child spontaneously moves a hand or foot to the other side of the body-movement that connects the brain with the body-bilateral integration.)

Word art-Creating visual representations of ideas, beliefs, and emotions using words, symbols, and colors. Children can use blank index cards, dry-erase boards, or pieces of paper to draw their names. Using paint on bulletin board paper, children can create a graffiti mural about their neighborhood, their family, or a topic the class has been studying. After talking with children individually about their contribution, the teacher can help them label their art, then display the mural on a wall.

Beatboxing-Creating beats and rhythm using the mouth as an instrument.

Incorporating social justice themes-Raising social awareness by composing and reciting rhythmic verse about an important social topic, like keeping the planet clean. Children and teacher can create brief lyrics based on children's thoughts and experiences, and the class can perform them together.

Benefits of hip-hop in the classroom

Elements of hip-hop culture can support children's learning and development in all domains: social and emotional, language and literacy, cognitive, and physical.

Social and emotional: Express yourself!

Hip-hop encourages children to share their thoughts and feelings in creative ways. It supports children's experimentation while building their self-esteem.

To make hip-hop part of the curriculum:

Introduce children to different hip-hop experiences or elements, such as rap, break dancing, and word art. Ask them how the music, beat, art, or dance makes them feel.

Talk together about a particular classroom activity, such as the emergence of a butterfly from its chrysalis or a chick from its egg. Support children in sharing their ideas and feelings by offering social and emotional vocabulary (excited, exhausted, surprising) for them to use in a rap, a break dance, or word art to describe their response to the activity.

Provide children with opportunities to discuss emotions. After listening to a rap, ask them how they think the author/rapper felt, or invite them to listen again and then create word art based on the rap.

Language and literacy development: Just say it!

Many preschoolers enjoy experimenting with and exploring early literacy components-letters, words, sounds in words. Music is an effective way to engage children, and supports both phonemic awareness and language development. Use hip-hop elements to foster language and literacy development:

Record children rapping. Combine the "tracks" to create a classroom rap album. Create accompanying lyric booklets for children and families, so they can follow along or perform them at home.

Create raps for each letter of the alphabet: "C is for cat / She sleeps on the hat." Encourage children to explore the rhymes and rhythms in raps: "Sat, bat, hat, cat, I like to dance on my mat."

Find or create a simple poem-or use a poem the children are already familiar with-and read it aloud. Pronounce words slowly and clearly to allow the children to feel the words and sounds. Invite children to recite the poem to the rhythm of different beats.

Cognitive development: Think about it!

Preschoolers are naturally curious about the world around them. The following approaches can help you learn more about the children in your program, using hip-hop to support you in differentiating instruction.

Have children create and recite simple rhymes or raps about topics they are studying. Ask open-ended questions about the poems or raps.

Encourage children to ask each other questions about their raps, word art, or break dance moves. They will gain new perspectives about their classmates and friends.

Provide opportunities for children to compare and contrast their hip-hop projects. Children learn how their ideas are similar and different while also appreciating their own work and the work of others.

Physical development: Move with it!

Children and teachers build a sense of community by learning from and supporting each other's creative movements. Children move for fun-but they also express themselves through their bodies.

Provide instrumental hip-hop music or classroom-created rap music so children can act as class deejay by choosing music for the class to dance to.

Have children create dance moves alone, with partners, and as a whole class.

Create a class music video of the children performing their rap and dance moves. The video can serve as documentation of children's physical development.

Try hip-hop in your classroom

Hip-hop has been inspirational for the children in my classroom. With hip-hop activities, they are more engaged and creative because hip-hop is familiar, meaningful, and relevant to them. My hope is that other teachers will use these concepts and approaches to foster fuller participation and engaged learning through an exploration of hip-hop.

Mr. B's Class Creates a Recycling Rap

After outdoor play one day, Mr. B's preschoolers were upset about all the trash on the playground. Talking with the class about the problem, Mr. B asked, "What happens if we pollute the Earth?" The children responded with thoughts like, "The water will be nasty" and "We will breathe dirty air." Mr. B helped the children craft a rap about recycling.

RECYCLE RAP

Helping our planet begins with you!

Polluting our Earth is the wrong thing to do!

Helping hands is what you should give!

Many things will happen to the place that we live!

Animals don't eat plastic for food!

So we have to stay in the recycling mood!

We can't breathe dirty air!

Recycle! Recycle to show that you care!

Classroom Playlist

Artist: Anthony Broughton

Songs: "Clean up as a Team," "Good-Day," "Months of
the Year," "Patterns," "The B-Glide," "Counting to 100"

www.misterbinspires.com

CD: In the B-Hive With MISTER B

Artist: Kobie Wilkerson

Song: "Getting Ready" (single)

www.lkobiedawiz.com/category/music

Artist: Eddie Peeples

Song: "EP Shuffle"

CD: Sing a Song

Artist: Aaron Nigel Smith

Song: "One Love"

families.naeyc.org/song/one-love

For more information on using hip-hop and rap with preschoolers, see " Rap and Young Children: Encouraging Emergent Literacy" in Young Children, July 2014.

Photos © iStock Images and courtesy of the author

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Teaching and Learning With Hip-Hop Culture

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In my preschool classroom, I heard children singing and humming popular hip-hop songs during pretend play. To honor their interests, support their learning, and connect with their culture, I decided to incorporate aspects of hip-hop culture into the curriculum. When teachers learn about and connect with children's cultures they show they value the whole child.

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Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time

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Understanding Literature through Hip Hop: Sage Salvo at TEDxMidAtlantic 2012

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(ps. Get this project as a poster on Pop Chart Lab! It includes 40 more rappers in the analysis, including Childish Gambino, 2 Chainz, Immortal Technique, and Kendrick Lamar.)
35,000 words covers 3-5 studio albums and EPs. I included mixtapes if the artist was just short of the 35,000 words. Quite a few rappers don't have enough official material to be included (e.g., Biggie, Kendrick Lamar). As a benchmark, I included data points for Shakespeare and Herman Melville, using the same approach (35,000 words across several plays for Shakespeare, first 35,000 of Moby Dick).

I used a research methodology called token analysis to determine each artist's vocabulary. Each word is counted once, so pimps, pimp, pimping, and pimpin are four unique words. To avoid issues with apostrophes (e.g., pimpin' vs. pimpin), they're removed from the dataset. It still isn't perfect. Hip hop is full of slang that is hard to transcribe (e.g., shorty vs. shawty), compound words (e.g., king shit), featured vocalists, and repetitive choruses.

It's still directionally interesting. Of the 85 artists in the dataset, let's take a look at who is on top.

When I first published this analysis, I excluded Aesop Rock, figuring he was too obscure. The Reddit hip hop community was in uproar, claiming Aesop would absolutely be #1. Sure enough, Aesop Rock is well-above every artist in my dataset and I was obliged to add him to the chart. In fact, his datapoint is so far to the right that he should be off the chart (I'm lazy and didn't adjust the scale).

Wu-Tang Clan at #6 is fucking impressive given that 10 members, with vastly different styles, are equally contributing lyrics. Add the fact that GZA, Ghostface, Raekwon, and Method Man's solo works are also in the top 20 - notably, GZA at #2. Perhaps their countless hours of studio time together (and RZA's mentorship) exposed each rapper's vocabulary to one another.

Let's take a deeper look at Wu-Tang five studio albums to better understand each member's contribution. Here's a breakdown of the number and percent of words used by each member.

To understand each rapper's vocabulary (# of unique words) in Wu-Tang's first five albums, I chose a 3,500 word threshold so that each person was on an equal footing. That way, we could include GZA, but unfortunately had to exclude Ol' Dirty Bastard, Cappadonna, and Masta Killa, who have too few verses across Wu-Tang's corpus.

U-God and GZA clearly bolster the group's average. Raekwon and Method Man's contributions have a lower average compared to other members, but recognize that their data points would exceed most artists in hip hop.

Moving past Wu-Tang's dominance, the next three artists are relatively not as well-known. Of the three, Kool Keith has the most diverse vocabulary. For a taste of his work, check out his album with the largest vocab: Dr. Octagonecologyst. #2 and #3 are two relatively underground (yet accomplished) acts: Jamaican-born rapper Canibus and southern-based group CunninLyguists.

Of course E-40 is in the top 20; he's considered to be the inventor of much slang. Just a few that he's been responsible for: all good, pop ya collar, shizzle, and you feel me.

At #15, Outkast's deep vocabulary is definitely a function of their style: frequent use of portmanteau (e.g., ATLiens, Stankonia), southern drawl (e.g., nahmsayin, ery'day), and made-up slang (e.g., flawsky-wawsky).

As expected, other southern-based acts aren't in Outkast's league. Take a look at the regional break-out below:

The south has the lowest average (4,268) and the east-coast the highest (4,804). In fact, only 4 of the 17 southern-based artists in the dataset are above average. My guess is that this is a function of crunk music's call-and-response style, resulting in more repetition of words.

Since both rappers are known for their speed, it's nice to see that their verses are just as lyrically diverse as their peers.

Some of the biggest names in hip hop were in the bottom 20%. Let's take another look at the data:

While Lil Wayne has never been celebrated for the complexity of his word choices, I expected 2pac, Snoop, and Kanye to be well above average.

It's also worth noting that Drake, one of the most popular artists of late, is #83 on this list.

At #85 and in last place: DMX. But this shouldn't undermine an artist whose raw energy and honesty were the most memorable qualities of his music.

So what's all this mean?

io9 writer Robert Gonzalez blew my mind with this point, "On The Black Album track 'Moment of Clarity,' Jay-Z contrasts his lyricism with that of Common and Talib Kweli (both of whom "rank" higher than him, when it comes to the diversity of their vocabulary):

I dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars

They criticized me for it, yet they all yell "holla"

If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be

Lyrically Talib Kweli

Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense

But I did 5 mil - I ain't been rhyming like Common since

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Rappers, sorted by the size of their vocabulary

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Literary elites love to rep Shakespeare's vocabulary: across his entire corpus, he uses 28,829 words, suggesting he knew over 100,000 words and arguably had the largest vocabulary, ever. I decided to compare this data point against the most famous artists in hip hop. I used each artist's first 35,000 lyrics.

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The poetry of hip hop: A playlist for your classroom

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Expand literacy through rap music with a 1-hour hip-hop playlist that’s squeaky clean for classroom listening.

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A master of what many would deem "poetic lyrics", Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for literature in October 2016, reigniting the long-running debate over whether song lyrics should be considered poetry. For many, the fact that the success of a song lyric tends to hinge upon on its accompanying music, the voices that sing it and the performance itself means that it cannot be considered poetry. Yet before the written word, poetry was performed and passed on through song. The thing that sets poetry apart from prose is that its impact depends on a musicality in language and rhythm, much like a song lyric. However you see it, there are many musicians who are poets in their fans' eyes, and their song lyrics are taken seriously today - studied in classrooms and published as annotated, hardback collections.

Here, then, is our pick of 11 of lyricists that many would consider poets.

John Lennon

These days it's difficult to imagine a member of the biggest band on the planet releasing a couple of volumes of absurdist poetry a few years into their career. But with the publication of In His Own Write and A Spaniard In The Works, in 1964 and '65, respectively, that's exactly what John Lennon did. His poetry, much like his lyrics, demonstrated his idiosyncratic worldview, delighting in wordplay and surrealist visions, and often drawing upon deeply personal and traumatic events. Take, for example, 'Our Dad', which begins "It wasn't long before old dad/Was cumbersome - a drag/He seemed to get the message and/Began to pack his bag". It's no stretch at all to compare this poem about his father's abandonment of his family with similarly soul-baring later song lyrics like 'Mother' and 'Julia'.

Lennon's lyrics matured quickly as The Beatles soared to success. While the plea of 'Please Please Me' was as straightforward as they came, before long Lennon's work was ambiguous and seemingly full of several meanings at once ('A Day In The Life', 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun', 'I Am The Walrus'), while his solo work found him capable of great vulnerability ('Jealous Guy'), vitriol ('Give Me Some Truth') and mass communication through universal messages ('').

Paul McCartney

John Lennon's songwriting partner was no lyrical slouch, either. Over the course of a remarkable career, Paul McCartney at his best has proven himself an astute chronicler of the world around him and of the human condition - a poet, in other words. Plenty of his lyrics ('Penny Lane', 'Eleanor Rigby') came from places in his past; his gift has been to find stories in them and to make them universal. We all understand the tug of nostalgia that comes from the lyrics of 'Penny Lane', despite never having been there.

Equally, McCartney was capable of eloquently talking about topical concerns, from the generation gap opening in the 60s ('She's Leaving Home') to civil rights in the US ('Blackbird'). Later albums like Chaos And Creation In The Backyard showed a mature poet of rare sensitivity still making sense of the world around him. The publication of Blackbird Singing: Poems And Lyrics 1965-1999, in 2001, meanwhile, saw previously unseen poems nestle among famous lyrics, suggesting that McCartney had privately been writing poetry for some time.

Bob Dylan

When Playboy had the gall to ask Bob Dylan what his songs were about in a 1966 interview, his answer was typically offbeat and elusive: "Oh, some are about four minutes; some are about five; and some, believe it or not, are about 11."

In roughly four years he'd turned the idea of what a song lyric could do on its head and had already become weary of the world attempting to catch up with him. He'd outgrown his extraordinary ability (especially considering his tender age and comfortable background) to write empathetic and universal protest songs ('Blowin' In The Wind', 'The Times They Are A-Changin'', 'With God On Our Side') and turned his hand to surrealist masterpieces ('Mr Tambourine Man', 'Visions Of Johanna', 'Desolation Row'). He also showed a true poet's romantic streak with a knack for documenting tangled matters of the heart ('Don't Think Twice, It's All Right', 'To Ramona', 'Just Like A Woman').

In the decades since his initial run of mould-breaking lyrics, Dylan has demonstrated his versatility as a poet with everything from space- and time-shifting narratives ('Tangled Up In Blue', 'Brownsville Girl') to ruminations on mortality and morality ('Not Dark Yet', 'Man In The Long Black Coat'), and that's just scratching the surface. And in his championing of poets, from Rimbaud to the Beats to Robert Burns, there's every chance that Dylan may have done more than anyone to further the profile of poetry since the 60s.

Jim Morrison

Even within the context of the 60s, The Doors' musical mix of jazz, blues and lysergic rock, sitting beneath Jim Morrison's visionary lyrics, was decidedly avant-garde. "You could call us erotic politicians," Morrison once said. Regardless of whether that's your thing or not, the late Doors frontman was most certainly a poet. From the experimental musical and lyrical interplay of 'Horse Latitudes' to subversive hits 'Light My Fire' and epic statements such as 'The End' and 'When The Music's Over', Morrison brought a poet's abandonment of the senses to his lyric-writing. He also published a collection of verse during his lifetime, The Lords And The New Creatures, and made a number of spoken-word recordings before his death. Elements of these were revisited by the surviving Doors in 1978 and released posthumously as An American Prayer.

Joni Mitchell

While pop-song lyrics had been traditionally preoccupied with affairs of the heart, the way Joni Mitchell approached such things was different. Her songs analyse people's behaviours with the perception and incisiveness of the best poetry ('Coyote', 'Court And Spark', 'Cactus Tree') and, when turning the spotlight on herself, she revealed a poet's flair for open-hearted vulnerability and self-examination ('Blue', 'Song For Sharon', 'Little Green'). Whether discussing ecological issues ('Big Yellow Taxi'), artistic integrity ('For Free', 'The Boho Dance', 'You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio'), or the historical suffering of women ('Sex Kills', 'The Magdalene Laundries'), Mitchell's lyrics are uncompromising but never hectoring. Further proof of her lyrics as poems: due to be published in October 2019 is Morning Glory On The Vine, a reproduction of a collection of handwritten lyrics and paintings that was originally created as a Christmas present for Mitchell's friends and family in 1971.

Leonard Cohen

When discussing his admiration for Federico García Lorca's poetry, Leonard Cohen managed to hit upon the crux of his own appeal: "I think that's what you look for when you read poetry; you look for someone to illuminate a landscape that you thought you alone walked on." With his writing, Cohen did exactly that - his gift of insight lit up the lives of readers and listeners, and continues to do so after his passing. The publication of his final volume of poetry, The Flame, in 2018 proved that until the end he was as concerned as ever with heavenly virtues, deadly sins and a good helping of dry humour - often in the same poem.

Betraying his dour reputation, Cohen's songs and poetry were wryly humorous; his propensity for self-examination was always served with a knowing wink. Thanks to the seeming solemnity of his delivery, however, especially in those image-shaping early albums, his humour may have been missed by the casual listener. It's no wonder he was misunderstood by many. Before him, pop singers were not expected to deal in brooding contemplation. In later work, Cohen discussed politics, love and - increasingly - mortality with similar levels of nuance and grace, his words as at home on the page as they were accompanying his melodies.

Tupac Shakur

Though Tupac Shakur died at the tender age of 25, he left behind a body of work that changed hip-hop and continues to inspire rappers to this day. 2Pac brought a progressive sensibility to his lyrics, discussing social issues with a sensitivity far removed from the gangsta rap of the day. And he began by dabbling in verse, as he explained in 1995: "I started off with poetry. With writing poetry, in junior high and high school. And poets, I saw, were looked on as wimps. So, I started turning [my] poetry into songs, and that got more attention... It is my opinion that I started to rap when I was writing poetry... Rap is poetry, to me."

Whether discussing the difficulties facing single mothers ('Keep Ya Head Up', 'Brenda's Got A Baby'), issues around gang culture ('Changes', 'Trapped'), or celebrating women ('Dear Mama'), Tupac's socially conscious lyrics have the deftness of touch and sensitivity of poetry.

Patti Smith

Famously considering herself a "poet sidetracked by music", Patti Smith's first performance wasn't in CBGB but at St Mark's Church In-The-Bowery, New York, opening for the poet Gerard Malanga on 10 February 1971. That evening, Smith (mentored by Allen Ginsberg) performed her poetry punctuated by blasts from Lenny Kaye's electric guitar, sowing the seeds for her groundbreaking and inestimably influential 1975 debut album, Horses. Smith would publish four collections of poetry before the release of that album, and her parallel careers as poet and recording artist have co-existed happily since, with lyrics that blur the boundaries between the two.

Despite her music laying the foundations for punk, Smith's writing couldn't be further from the thoughtless nihilism (not much poetry there) adopted by her less-talented followers. Smith's poetry has an unquenchable love for life which can take the form of principled rhetoric, ecstatic reveries on love and spirituality, and confrontational truths. A hard-fought, unfailing optimism is present throughout her work, singing from the page as strongly as it does from her songs. There's poetry in every corner of Smith's discography, from 'The Coral Sea' (about the late Robert Mapplethorpe, set to Kevin Shields' guitar) to Easter 's 'Babelogue' and even in her version of 's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', complete with spoken-word breakdown.

Lou Reed

The 2018 publication of Do Angels Need Haircuts?: Early Poems By Lou Reed shed light on a period in Lou Reed's life in which the ex-Velvet Underground lynchpin had put rock'n'roll aside in favour of verse. The work collected came from a period between summer 1970 and spring 1971, during which the chronicler of New York's seedy yet glamorous underbelly had moved back into his parents' Long Island home and concentrated his efforts on poetry. Much of it was later published in Rolling Stone along with a succession of poetry periodicals.

Of course, Reed had a change of heart and embarked upon a hugely successful solo career, but his writing retained a unique sensibility that marked his work out as poetry to be reckoned with. As a songwriter he was fascinated with society's fringes ('Walk On The Wild Side', 'Street Hassle', 'Dirty Blvd'); had an often-disarming ability to speak plaintively of love ('I'll Be Your Mirror', 'Pale Blue Eyes', 'Satellite Of Love'); was unflinching in his depictions of drug use ('Heroin', 'Waves Of Fear'); and revelled in charged melodrama (all of the Berlin album). Had he pursued a life away from music in favour of poetry, his writing, you feel, wouldn't have been much different.

Kendrick Lamar

On awarding the Pulitzer prize for music to Kendrick Lamar's 2017 third album proper, DAMN., the committee described it as a "virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life". They're right, Lamar's work is fearless, multi-faceted, perceptive, boundary-smashing and philosophical. Sounds like poetry to us.

Within two years of its release, Lamar's essential 2012 album, , was the subject of an English composition course at Georgia Regents University. From there, his work has reached new heights of excellence with the staggering (its themes including the historical and contemporary treatment of African-Americans in the US, issues of faith, his conflicted relationship with hip-hop culture and fame) and DAMN. (an album deeply concerned with morality and temptation).

Gil Scott-Heron

A poet who inspired generations of artists by giving a voice to black protest in the 70s, Gil Scott-Heron was another artist who drifted into music from a background in literature. By the time of his debut album, Small Talk At 125th And Lenox, Heron had already published a similarly-named collection of poetry, plus a debut novel, The Vulture. In that first album's sleevenotes, Heron succinctly summed up himself as "A Black man dedicated to expression; expression of the joy and pride of Blackness". This was a mission statement of sorts and one that he'd never stray from over his next four decades of writing.

Heron could be relied upon to speak eloquently and fearlessly about the realities of African-American life; the injustices caused by deep-rooted problems in society, and to call out the failing of the political system in representing black Americans. If that sounds heavy-going, all this was frequently conveyed with a lightness of touch, compassion and an extraordinary rhythmic flow - qualities that continue to earn him respect as a poet first and foremost.

Kate Bush

With the recent publication of How To Be Invisible, herself took on the task of curating her work. The lyrics chosen for the collection were "reviewed as works of verse without their music and so in some places are more detailed than how they originally appeared on their album". She carefully grouped them to suggest thematic threads that have been present in the work of the enigmatic singer-songwriter since she emerged as a 19-year-old prodigy in 1978 with the none-more-literary hit single, 'Wuthering Heights'.

Lyrically as much as musically, Bush's work has long been synonymous with uninhibited creative expression; setting the words apart from the music allows for extraordinary turns of phrase that may have been overshadowed by musical flourishes to stand on their own. In his introduction to How To Be Invisible the novelist David Mitchell makes a perfect case for Bush's lyrics to be taken seriously as poetry: "These fiercely singular pieces, which nobody else could have authored, are also maps of the heart, the psyche, the imagination. In other words, art."

Looking for more? Discover the singer-songwriters who should be awarded the Nobel Prize.

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Musicians Who Are Poets: 12 Game-Changing Lyrical Masters | uDiscover

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A master of what many would deem "poetic lyrics", Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for literature in October 2016, reigniting the long-running debate over whether song lyrics should be considered poetry. For many, the fact that the success of a song lyric tends to hinge upon on its accompanying music, the voices that sing it and the performance itself means that it cannot be considered poetry.

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Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Live on SNL)

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You are appreciated And who'd think in elementary, heyI'd see the penitentiary one day?And runnin' from the police, that's rightMama catch me, put a whoopin' to my backsideAnd even as a crack fiend, MamaYou always was a black queen, MamaI finally understandFor a woman it ain't easy tryin' to raise a man You always was committedA poor single mother on welfare, tell me how you did itThere's no way I can pay you backBut the plan is to show you that I understandYou are appreciated Lady, don't you know we love you?

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When people say they miss the "old Kanye," they're talking about the man who rolled around in a pink polo with a backpack in the mid-2000s. Kanye West's style has changed a lot since he burst onto the scene as one of the most promising producers in the game. As a legendary rapper now, Ye appears to be aligning himself with the new school in an attempt to discover rising talent. He's worked with Lil Pump, 6ix9ine, YNW Melly, and more this year alone. One of his most iconic eras was when he released Late Registration, one of the best works in his entire discography. The 2005 album featured many high points but "Gold Digger" became a favorite, quickly toppling other Ye moments as one of the best tracks he's ever made. While it's a wonder how it hasn't yet gone Diamond, "Gold Digger" has just been certified 7x platinum.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Jamie Foxx-featured song has officially moved 7 million units as it remains a karaoke bop. To this day, it receives radio airplay, which means a lot since it came out thirteen years ago. The news was delivered by Chart Data, a reliable source when it comes to music sales.

If you're as confused as me as to how this isn't Diamond yet, let's all do Kanye a favor and stream "Gold Digger" a few times tonight.

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kanye west's "gold digger" officially certified 7x platinum

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Kanye West's "Gold Digger" Officially Certified 7x Platinum

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How has this not gone Diamond yet? When people say they miss the 'old Kanye,' they're talking about the man who rolled around in a pink polo with a backpack in the mid-2000s. Kanye West's style has changed a lot since he burst onto the scene as one of the most promising producers in the game.

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Mental health struggles have increased among adults and even in young people over the past years. A new study showed that many artists have actually included mental health metaphors into their lyrics, which could help shape conversations about this issue among young listeners who are at risk of experiencing mental health issues.

A study titled "A Content Analysis of Mental Health Discourse in Popular Rap Music" published in JAMA Pediatrics revealed that the most popular rap songs in the United States have increased their reference to suicide and depression, including other struggles with mental health.

Adult depression: Body image during teenage years can result in depression later on

Alex Kresovich, lead study author and a doctoral student at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, said that rap artists are thought of as "cool" people on earth. He said that the fact they are discussing mental health and are infusing them into their songs will have a big impact on how young people would perceive mental health.

The study found that in two decades from 1998 to 2018, the proportion of rap songs that made references to mental health struggles has more than doubled. It is also the time that the genre has become the best selling genre of all, outpacing country music.

The researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that the increase in mental health metaphors included in rap songs could shape conversations on the topic among young listeners. This could greatly impact those who are already at risk of experiencing mental health issues. Between the ages of 18 to 25, there has been a sharp increase in psychological stress. There has also been an increase in suicide rates among Black teens, who also comprise a larger portion of the audience of rap music.

The researchers looked into lyric sheets from the 25 hit rap songs in the U.S. in the years 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018. Many of the artists were black men and almost one-third of the songs have made references to anxiety. Around 22 percent referenced depression while six percent gave reference to suicide.

Among the songs that they analysed, they also found that the most common mental health stressors were environmental issues and love. Despite this identification, they could not determine whether the listeners receive the message as negative or something positive. The metaphors that are used by rap artists in their songs like "fighting my demons" or "pushed to the edge," could suggest anxiety without explicitly noting it.

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Mental health and rap music: More rap songs including mental health metaphors in their lyrics

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Mental health struggles have increased among adults and even in young people over the past years. A new study showed that many artists have actually included mental health metaphors into their lyrics, which could help shape conversations about this issue among young listeners who are at risk of experiencing mental health issues.