Hip-Hop Life Lessons, Part 1: “When the music is right, people forget about their differences.”

When we speak of the educational value of hip-hop, we often focus on how hip-hop can be used to support conventional educational aims, like teaching math skills or reading comprehension. 

But hip-hop culture also has many valuable lessons of its own to teach. This month, I asked Next Level artists what life lessons they had learned from hip-hop culture. 

 “You know how they talk about the school of life?” asks Team Senegal’s Toni Blackman. “Well, hip hop is such a huge part of my life many of my basic lessons as a human were learned within the context of hip hop.”

“I mean, I learned how to assert myself as a dancer when I was a kid, and as an MC on the mic as a young adult,” she continues. “I learned how to organize artists and had some of my most painful life lessons learning how to lead. But, looking back, it all made me the person I am today. I learned patience, because you know 9 out of 10 hip hop shows start late! I learned how to navigate this world as a woman. Critics often talk about "the male dominated world of rap" but look at the world we live in -- it's male dominated everywhere!”

Team Australia’s Chazmere gained similar practical skills. “It takes a wide array of skills to be an independent hip hop artist, producer etc...” he points out.  “I’ve learned how to navigate contracts and agreements, team building, scheduling and manageable goals/growth to name a few. Essentially how to start and grow a business.”

Many Next Level alumni discussed this process specifically in terms of the phrase “show and prove”, a term drawn the vocabulary of the Nation of Gods and Earths (often known as the Five Percenters), a group whose ideology was very influential on hip-hop culture during the eighties and early nineties, especially in New York City.

“While I was raised on this concept and the older Gods instilled this into me early in my teenage years, the concept of "Showing and Proving" was very important to my hip-hop experience,” writes Team El Salvador’s Danny Rodriguez.  “Being a b-boy, I had to consistently, up until this day, prove my worth. In Hip Hop Culture, you have to put in the work and you can't just make a claim.”

“As I grew older, I ran into many people in the activist community who claimed several titles but never had the work that proved it. I judged people this way and it has helped me out when putting a team together, hiring someone, or looking for a contract. The proof is in the work that one does. Even if a b-boy battles and loses, he is still respected because he refused to back down and always stepped up when challenged.”

Team Turkey’s Melanie Aguirre also cites the concept as one that holds important lessons, “I’ve learned you have to “show and prove”. A great lesson on how to compete with yourself so your always creating.”

Once one adopts this approach, any hip-hop practice can become a tool for education and empowerment, both personally and collectively. Chazmere writes, “Hip hop culture is a path of obtaining knowledge of self and is a key part of American history. It has changed the world. Hip hop like Public Enemy introduced me to revolutionaries, past atrocities and triumphs of our people.”

As Toni Blackman notes, this knowledge can also be a powerful tool of community building. “There are many communities that I feel tied to - I am a woman, I am a person of African descent, I am an artist and I am Hip Hop. Being Hip Hop is right up there next to who I am as a human being. Meeting people from other places who are also Hip Hop heads helped me see that I'm not the only one who sees herself this way. It gives me a home no matter where I am.”

“When the music is right, people forget about their differences.”

Be sure to check for part 2, later this month!