Grades 5-8 and 9-12
Now what you hear is not a test! This program is designed to explore the revolutionary birth of hip-hop. Students will discover where hip-hop began, how it served as a voice for social justice, and how it continues to push boundaries to this day. Through discussion of hip-hop’s sound, technology, and lyrical content, students will get a glimpse of why hip-hop has been one of rock & roll’s most successful styles for over fifty years. Grades 5-8 will think critically about hip-hop’s cultural origins and the unique sound it created using turntables, drum machines, and rapping. Grades 9-12 will examine the technology and sound innovation of the early years and compare how technological innovation have allowed artists to create new sounds.
After participating in this program, students should be able to:
- Express how the social and cultural climate of The Bronx in the 1970s contributed to the birth of hip-hop.
- Examine music technology, such as turntables and drum machines, that fostered innovation in the hip-hop sound.
- Discuss how lyrics became a part of hip-hop and would develop into a vessel for getting a message across to listeners.