Hip-Hop Life Lessons, Part 2: “Growth is a process, hip hop is a healing art”
Last month, we asked Next Level alumni about the lessons that they have learned from their practice of hip-hop. In part one, we focused on the ways that hip-hop can help people develop a sense of self. In part two, we discuss how hip-hop can facilitate healing, on both an individual and collective level.
Team Myanmar and Autralia’s Big Piph has found that freestyling opened doors to community. “I would participate in cyphers with any crowd of emcees if they were open to it and although we wouldn't always know each other before, there was not only a respect but access to familiarity upon leaving. The mutual enjoyment of freestyling provided relatability, which opened doors and provided a catalyst for relationship building. It's a lesson I learned and continued to apply both in and out of Hip-Hop. Freestyling just happened to be my first permit for access.”
Team Mongolia’s DJ Excess also learned important lessons about community building from hip-hop. “The thing I learned the most throughout my years in Hip-Hop, and even Next Level, is to continue building community. Building community has been important in my years as an instructor/mentor to students where I teach as well as being a part of the Scratch DJ community. If participants in the Hip-Hop art forms aren’t willing to build the community, the art forms will never reach newer generations and grow. Since leaving Mongolia, the local partner and his crew have been running DJ classes and practice sessions to continue growth in their community. It’s been a great thing to see and I’m hoping to visit Mongolia soon to teach again and see their progress as a Hip-Hop community.”
As Team Morocco’s B-Boy House notes, one of the most powerful aspects of hip-hop is that self-realization and community building are not at odds with each other – the two goals are actual deeply intertwined. He remembers a specific experience that made this lesson clear: “It was an early B-Boy Summit at Balboa Park, the line was stacked, the energy was raw before you stepped into the building. Everybody was there, the ones you might have seen on a VHS tape, or the names you only hear in stories. I already knew from past experience that if U walked in, looked around, checked who’s, who in the cypher, I was going to talk myself out of it. I was rocking a true blue fit and was feeling fresh. I walked in through the doors, the building packed, walked directly with intention to the first cypher in front of me and just stepping in with no hesitation! It was a weight lifted, confidence and props from your peers earned, and it created a perspective for the rest of the weekend, which will always hold strong.”
“That single moment taught me that if I believe in myself and allow myself to shine in those moments without doubt, I am also contributing to the cypher, adding value to all involved.”
The resources that hip-hop can help to develop – knowledge of self, assertiveness, community – aren’t just important for their own sake. They can also serve as important tools to address political challenges, social problems and even personal trauma. As Team Cambodia’s SANOizm reflects, “When I was fifteen, I lost my parents to domestic violence. Hip hop, especially graffiti writing/aerosol art, gave me focus and would help me survive this traumatic experience. The consciousness in the music kept me away from drugs and gangs. The activity of building a crew of artists as well as exploring my city by foot/bike tagging, getting my name up, collecting supplies, planning bigger pieces, staying off the radar, while hearing my name bubble in the community, taught me a lot about the world and my place in it.”
“My interest in letters would expose me to the history of writing and communication arts, and help me decolonize my thinking from years of religious indoctrination,” he continues. “Teaching younger heads in my crew would help me innerstand my own influence on young creative thinkers, sharpening them to sharpen myself. Hip hop taught me about commerce, from customizing clothing in high school, or designing a rap magazine, building a clothing brand, to producing spray paint... it is DIY art applied to science. I had lost everything, but I’ve gained so many new bonds and experiences by keeping my physical health and mental clarity. Hip hop is a mix of music and styles, I dug deeper and mixed philosophies form chess, martial arts, great thinkers and moments in time.”
“Growth is a process, hip hop is a healing art.”
In the end, these lessons aren’t just byproducts of hip-hop; they are arguably its essence. As Team El Salvador’s Daniel Zarazua reflects, “I can unequivocally say that hip hop is in my life every moment. It’s the reason I don’t take things at face value. It’s why I respect history and tradition, yet think of ways that they can be applied to today. It’s why I value creativity and originality and question the status quo. It’s why I have learned to be flexible and spontaneous and embrace difference.”
“One of the biggest gifts that hip hop gave me was to move beyond it. Not to abandon it, but to not get stuck in nostalgia or oversimplifications of what hip-hop means. For me, one of the best ways I can honor the culture is to keep pushing boundaries and expectations in all facets of life.”
---
For further reading: B-boy Chase Evered sent along this post from his School of Breaking website, which touches on similar themes.