ABSTRACT
The year 2014 marked the tenth anniversary of the Hip Hop Theatre Initiative (HHTI). HHTI also brought over thirty artists and leaders in the field to work with the students. Many of the alums also work on New York and regional stages and appear in film and television where they use their Hip Hop and acting skills to create positive representations of Hip Hop generation youth. This Hip Hop has its roots in peace-building activities in the economically devastated but culturally rich south and west Bronx in the early-to-mid 1970s. In this chapter, the author shares the origins of HHTI, how its methodology developed, and some of its workshop process. He also discusses the experience of taking this work to Ghana and South Africa and insights about Hip Hop and Hip Hop Theatre’s inherent African retentions that were reinforced and disrupted during this time.
