Rap, Racism, and Punk Pedagogy
As Educational sociologist Bettina Love has noted, racism is, ‘in many ways, what makes America, America.’ This talk explores how three rappers and a rap group tackle racism head-on in their lyrics. Drawing on Kahn-Egan’s (1998) five tenets of punk pedagogy, Smith characterizes these rappers’ musical praxis as powerfully, pedagogically punk.
Dr Gareth Dylan Smith is Assistant Professor of Music at Boston University and a drummer. His research interests include drum kit studies, sociology of music education and meaningfulness in music-making. His most recent book is A Philosophy of Playing Drum Kit: Magical Nexus. See also garethdylansmith.com.