What is Hip-Hop?
You cannot discuss Hip-Hop Therapy without first getting a grasp on what is
Hip-Hop. Russell Simmons best described Hip-Hop in his book "Life and Def:
Sex, Drugs, Money + GOD. He states:
"Hip-Hop is a modern mainstream young urban American
culture. I know there are a lot of ideas there, but Hip-
Hop's impact is as broad as that description suggests.
Like rock and roll, blues, and jazz, Hip-Hop is primarily
a musical form. But unlike those forms of Black music,
Hip-Hop is more expansive in the ways it manifests
itself, [and] as a result its impact is wider…. Hip-Hop
communicates aspiration and frustration, community and
aggression, creativity and street reality, style and
substance. It is not rigid, nor is it easy to sum up in a
sentence or even a book. Simply put, when you are in a
Hip-Hop environment, you know it. It has a feel that is
tangible and cannot be mistaken for anything else."
With great respect for Russell Simmons definition of Hip-Hop, the history of
Hip-Hop, its foundation, the four tiers, and its evolution - I must expound off of
that to include that Hip-Hop is an expression of , globally, one's viewpoint,
lifestyle, creativity, spirituality, joy, pain, struggle, and their own life story
while moving to the beat of the drum of life and living the urban experience.
Hip-Hop adds a face and a voice to those who might not have otherwise been
seen or heard from in any other medium. Whether right or wrong; ethical or
unethical; moral or amoral; approving or disapproving; Hip-Hop gives
credence to those who have been historically shunned, disregarded, left out,
oppressed, marginalized, disenfranchised, and invalidated. Hip-Hop is a way of
life, relative movement, and culture that only a few can relate to and partake in
because in the backdrop is "hood reality" and the ideal "keeping it real". Hip-
Hop is an evolving life force within the person that lives it, breathes it, and
moves around in it. Hip-Hop is more than what you hear on the radio, read in
the magazines, or what you watch on TV. Hip-Hop is you. Hip-Hop is ME!"
The Hip-Hop Therapist ™
What is Hip-Hop Therapy®?
Taking into context the definition of Hip-Hip, along with the founder's,
Nakeyshaey M. Tillie Allen, personal and professional experiences,
knowledge, skill, practice, and research in both Hip-Hop and therapeutic
concepts, she defines Hip-Hop Therapy as the following:
Hip-Hop Therapy (HHT)® is a innovative and culturally sensitive approach
that incorporates traditional therapies, such as music therapy, cognitive and
behavioral therapy, relational therapy, solution focused therapy, and narrative
therapy fostered around the inclusion of Hip-Hop music and culture.
The approach can be used in an individual or group therapy environment, as
well as in community development work. While utilizing the formats of the
traditional approaches, Hip-Hop Therapy introduces and analyzes Hip-Hop
music, its lyrics, and culture as it relates to the person in therapy or community
development. Analyzing Hip-Hop music, lyrics, and culture engages
participants, creates discussion, and critically analyzes life issues and
struggles, while exploring and testing their own reality, self concept, decision
making skills, attitude and behavior, and emotional states before the onset of a
crisis or problematic situation.
For more information about this approach, please call us at 1-866-501-HIPP.
Why Hip-Hop Therapy®?
Industry Ears, a new generation think tank that promotes justice in the
media, reports the following:
The Violence Prevention Institute, a organization designed to reduce the
incidence of youth violence, reports the following stats:
Why are the statistics important?
The stats are important because they reflect some of the value of Hip-Hop and
its connection to youth and young adults. The stats only reflect one side of the
story of Hip-Hop. The media representation of Hip-Hop is only one aspect of
the culture. By using the mediarized Hip-Hop to connect with the youth and
young adult population, one could gain a better understanding of what Hip-Hop
is to the person who embraces, embodies, enjoys, and is most affected by it.
It is an opportunity for helping professionals to see and connect with the youth
and young adults in way that they might not be able to at any other time.
Particularly in the case of youth and young adults who come to them by way of
the Child Welfare, Foster Care, or Criminal Justice Systems. Often these
individuals are described as high-risk and referred to therapy or a social
program involuntarily - by way of a court mandate, probation officer, case
manager, etc. And since they do not initiate the therapy process, they may be
apprehensive participating in a therapeutic relationship or social program.
Furthermore, Hip-Hop Therapy is the response to those traditional approaches
to therapy that are often utilized with high-risk populations and/or persons of
color, but are often not effective because they were not designed to address
the unique issues that the aforementioned populations encounter in their
everyday environments, as well as in their assimilated social and cultural
development.
Hip-Hop Therapy is unique because it takes on a Person in Environment (PIE)
approach, meeting people where they are at cognitively and socially, while
exploring their social, cultural, ecological and environmental context and
orientation. Moreover, it is an ideal and practical tool to help build " youth
centered" capacity in communities that have been traditionally disenfranchised
and left out of the mainstream social, political, and economic systems.
Hip-Hop Therapy is best utilized as an engagement tool in a therapeutic or
educational setting that services populations who are most affected by, enjoy,
or embody Hip-Hop music and culture. The intervention is also diverse enough
to be utilized with any racial or ethnic group.
The intervention is best described as:
For more information about Hip-Hop Therapy, please call us at 1-866-501-
HIPP (4477).
You cannot discuss Hip-Hop Therapy without first getting a grasp on what is
Hip-Hop. Russell Simmons best described Hip-Hop in his book "Life and Def:
Sex, Drugs, Money + GOD. He states:
"Hip-Hop is a modern mainstream young urban American
culture. I know there are a lot of ideas there, but Hip-
Hop's impact is as broad as that description suggests.
Like rock and roll, blues, and jazz, Hip-Hop is primarily
a musical form. But unlike those forms of Black music,
Hip-Hop is more expansive in the ways it manifests
itself, [and] as a result its impact is wider…. Hip-Hop
communicates aspiration and frustration, community and
aggression, creativity and street reality, style and
substance. It is not rigid, nor is it easy to sum up in a
sentence or even a book. Simply put, when you are in a
Hip-Hop environment, you know it. It has a feel that is
tangible and cannot be mistaken for anything else."
With great respect for Russell Simmons definition of Hip-Hop, the history of
Hip-Hop, its foundation, the four tiers, and its evolution - I must expound off of
that to include that Hip-Hop is an expression of , globally, one's viewpoint,
lifestyle, creativity, spirituality, joy, pain, struggle, and their own life story
while moving to the beat of the drum of life and living the urban experience.
Hip-Hop adds a face and a voice to those who might not have otherwise been
seen or heard from in any other medium. Whether right or wrong; ethical or
unethical; moral or amoral; approving or disapproving; Hip-Hop gives
credence to those who have been historically shunned, disregarded, left out,
oppressed, marginalized, disenfranchised, and invalidated. Hip-Hop is a way of
life, relative movement, and culture that only a few can relate to and partake in
because in the backdrop is "hood reality" and the ideal "keeping it real". Hip-
Hop is an evolving life force within the person that lives it, breathes it, and
moves around in it. Hip-Hop is more than what you hear on the radio, read in
the magazines, or what you watch on TV. Hip-Hop is you. Hip-Hop is ME!"
The Hip-Hop Therapist ™
What is Hip-Hop Therapy®?
Taking into context the definition of Hip-Hip, along with the founder's,
Nakeyshaey M. Tillie Allen, personal and professional experiences,
knowledge, skill, practice, and research in both Hip-Hop and therapeutic
concepts, she defines Hip-Hop Therapy as the following:
Hip-Hop Therapy (HHT)® is a innovative and culturally sensitive approach
that incorporates traditional therapies, such as music therapy, cognitive and
behavioral therapy, relational therapy, solution focused therapy, and narrative
therapy fostered around the inclusion of Hip-Hop music and culture.
The approach can be used in an individual or group therapy environment, as
well as in community development work. While utilizing the formats of the
traditional approaches, Hip-Hop Therapy introduces and analyzes Hip-Hop
music, its lyrics, and culture as it relates to the person in therapy or community
development. Analyzing Hip-Hop music, lyrics, and culture engages
participants, creates discussion, and critically analyzes life issues and
struggles, while exploring and testing their own reality, self concept, decision
making skills, attitude and behavior, and emotional states before the onset of a
crisis or problematic situation.
For more information about this approach, please call us at 1-866-501-HIPP.
Why Hip-Hop Therapy®?
Industry Ears, a new generation think tank that promotes justice in the
media, reports the following:
- A $10 billion dollar a year Hip-Hop industry that claims to reflect black
life and culture; but 80% of it is consumed by whites. - Over 90% of radio stations, record labels, magazines, TV stations, and
retailers that disseminate hip-hop and associated products including
music, clothes, movies, and games -- are white-owned. - African-American teens ages 12-17 listen to more than 18 hours of radio
per week on average, compared to 13.5 hours for all teens (Radio
Advertising Bureau, 2002) . - Thirty percent of African-American teens are among the most frequent
TV viewers (the top TV-viewing quintile) versus 21.1% of non-African-
American teens (Simmons Market Research Bureau Adult Fall 2002 and
Teen 2002 National Consumer Surveys).
The Violence Prevention Institute, a organization designed to reduce the
incidence of youth violence, reports the following stats:
- Most Americans have already witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on
television by the age of 16. (Source: Time Magazine) - Most perpetrators and victims know each other, is unplanned, and starts
as an argument over something “small.” (Source: Prevention Institute) - For women, the chances of going to prison were 6 times greater in 2001
(1.8%) than in 1974 (0.3%). (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics) - The leading cause of death in African Americans between the ages of 10
and 24 is homicide. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention) - The average cost of emergency treatment and inpatient hospitalization
for critically injured gunshot victims is $322,000.(Source: The Brady
Campaign) - About 1 in 3 black males, 1 in 6 Hispanic males, and 1 in 17 white males
are expected to go to prison during their lifetime, if current incarceration
rates remain unchanged. (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Why are the statistics important?
The stats are important because they reflect some of the value of Hip-Hop and
its connection to youth and young adults. The stats only reflect one side of the
story of Hip-Hop. The media representation of Hip-Hop is only one aspect of
the culture. By using the mediarized Hip-Hop to connect with the youth and
young adult population, one could gain a better understanding of what Hip-Hop
is to the person who embraces, embodies, enjoys, and is most affected by it.
It is an opportunity for helping professionals to see and connect with the youth
and young adults in way that they might not be able to at any other time.
Particularly in the case of youth and young adults who come to them by way of
the Child Welfare, Foster Care, or Criminal Justice Systems. Often these
individuals are described as high-risk and referred to therapy or a social
program involuntarily - by way of a court mandate, probation officer, case
manager, etc. And since they do not initiate the therapy process, they may be
apprehensive participating in a therapeutic relationship or social program.
Furthermore, Hip-Hop Therapy is the response to those traditional approaches
to therapy that are often utilized with high-risk populations and/or persons of
color, but are often not effective because they were not designed to address
the unique issues that the aforementioned populations encounter in their
everyday environments, as well as in their assimilated social and cultural
development.
Hip-Hop Therapy is unique because it takes on a Person in Environment (PIE)
approach, meeting people where they are at cognitively and socially, while
exploring their social, cultural, ecological and environmental context and
orientation. Moreover, it is an ideal and practical tool to help build " youth
centered" capacity in communities that have been traditionally disenfranchised
and left out of the mainstream social, political, and economic systems.
Hip-Hop Therapy is best utilized as an engagement tool in a therapeutic or
educational setting that services populations who are most affected by, enjoy,
or embody Hip-Hop music and culture. The intervention is also diverse enough
to be utilized with any racial or ethnic group.
The intervention is best described as:
- Creative
- Fun
- Culturally Sensitive
- Client-Centered
- Engaging
- Empowering
For more information about Hip-Hop Therapy, please call us at 1-866-501-
HIPP (4477).
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Copyright ©
The Hip-Hop Therapy Foundation. All Rights Reserved. The terms Hip-Hop Therapy® and Hip-Hop Therapist™ are registered trademarks and copyrights with the United States. Please RESPECT our work and obtain our permission to duplicate information from this site!