Critical Hip Hop Scholars in Action

When I first signed up for this class, I didn't expect much. I was mostly just going in to try and finish my requirements for graduation. as the semester progressed I found myself a little intrigued with the concept and history of Hip hop. I don't really listen to hip hop too much but even so, just knowing a little more about its history and how the industry worked was a pretty enlightening experience. I was Mostly intrigued with te issue of Mainstream Hip Hop vs. Underground Hip Hop, and how Hip Hop has Changed over the years. Some for the better, and some...Not so much. The highlight of my semester was the group work we did for the showcase. It gave me a chance to show others my talent in Art while also collaborating with everyone in the group (Bulga, Jessica and myself shown above.) Above are a few pictures Of the Flyer we did for the showcase. It shows representations of the fundamentals of Hip Hop (DJ, MC, and Break dancing.) I was original going to have a big r...

In this class, I was able to write exclusively about strong WOC hip-hop artists. Not only that, I wrote entire essays of how they use their artistry as activism. This class helped me stay focused and grounded. It was a reminder of the importance and urgency  of this work. Service learning courses and the Student Engagement Cohort are not only a reminder of how far Laney has come despite all odds, it is affirmation seeing professor like Adrienne Oliver, Alicia Caballero, and Roger Chung and others, in the trenches keeping the spirit of our revolt alive.

Through the progress of organizing a service team, the learning experience was an awesome exercise because it applies a better method of developing new social skill, organization, disciplined, and some critical thinking. In this English class, it made me more open minded person and something I regret not getting involved in a clubs. Also, this class was a major part of being informed about the hip hop culture,influences, especially as a person that don't listen to hip hip much. This was the first time I was part of an event, I would rather do this than writing an essay. I think you develop skills more by having a service team project because you could explore social justice practice, intercultural involvement, problem-solving and it encouraged to be heard by other. It great some student are inspired to make a difference, which effects positive change in the community. I think team building conducts critical thinking compare to writing because you are living the whole experience by...

Here's a flyer one of our classmates created especially for the showcase.                                     Before I attended this class I assumed it was going to be any other English class, that we would be assigned homework every week based on weekly reading but I came to realize that this particular class was more interesting than I thought and it was certainly a fun experience. For this class, the professor used service learning to provide a better learning environment for the students. Service learning is a process of having students do community service that is combined with facilitated means for applying that experience to their own academic and personal skills and development.  It is a form of education aimed at enhancing and enriching student learning in the course material to provide a good learning experience and giving them proper motivation to complete their assignments. ...

The topic of my English 1A class was Hip-Hop. When I heard the instructor mention Hip-Hop for Change, I was happy because I had learned about them before, but I wanted to learn more. Hip-Hop looked like an interesting topic, and I was even more excited when the instructor mentioned that we had to do a service learning project. The main event of the service learning project would be a Hip-Hop showcase, and the underground artists of Hip Hop for Change would be the performers. Since the beginning of the class, I was waiting for the showcase day because it was going to be the day to see Hip-Hop for Change in action. The big day of the showcase came. It was very inspiring to interact so closely with people that are making a real action in society. Those talented artists are warriors against mainstream companies that control mainstream Hip Hop artists that have a real negative impact on society. Mainstream artists divert people of what  really matters while underground rappers...

The following is from my written reflection of my English course. " In my eyes, this service learning component implemented within this English has given me something memorable to remember this English course by." I believe that service-learning components can greatly add to a student's education throughout a course. More often than not, the ideas and concepts that are learned throughout a course is left within the classroom and they never seem applicable. With the service-learning, students are then able to work with one another to provide and give back to the community. Especially for an English class, it is truly refreshing to be able to do more than just analyze and write essays. I came away from the service-learning project with more knowledge of how our community at Laney is connected to hip-hop culture. Throughout my experience with the service-learning project, I was able to develop skills such as time management and problem-solving in order to fulfill...

The content below is a fraction of my written reflection: "I think Service-Learning can help students gain a better understanding of course content by putting it into practice first-hand. Service-Learning can engages students in real life settings, working on community issues in order to connect classroom learning with societal issues. An effective Service-Learning project involves students in a meaningful community project combined with reflection to process the learning gained from field experience. So in my case, we just held the showcase named " hip-hop change'. It is very interesting to know and do all the preparation with my teammate. I have become more confident and goal-oriented. My organizational skills have improved greatly. And it also let me know what is happening around the society around me. Knowing the society gives me different perspectives to my future writing. It also offers me the opportunity to work with people who is in love with hip-hop and t...

The following is an excerpt from my written reflection: I think it exemplifies what i have taken away from this course. I also included a picture of me, our classmate Fernando, and Khafre Jay, a rapper and the founder of Hip Hop For Change, at the showcase we put on.  "These discussions about hip-hop that I had with fellow students were definitely illuminating to me in terms of writing the various essays I had throughout the semester. The more I actually discussed and theorized and debated the values of activist hip-hop versus the main stream, or how we can relate hip-hop to the context of rhetoric, the better my writing on the subject became. Ultimately, I came away from the service learning project, and the course in general, with significantly more knowledge of the hip-hop community, and how it plays into our daily cultural lives. In the future, although I imagine a small part of me may still be tempted to, I aim to avoid that original, passive style of...