ABSTRACT
Popular music pedagogies have traditionally focused on the musical goals of the learner, therefore the music preferences and aspirations of students should be prioritized in a school popular music program. Although many popular music education movements in the UK and the United States initially began with teaching and learning rock, popular music is certainly not synonymous with rock music and is ever-changing, varying widely by geographic location, student population, and place in time. Cultural appropriation is the act of a person or group from one culture adopting a tradition or expression from another culture as their own. Hip hop is a culture and art/music movement that came out of the South Bronx in the late 1970s. In reference to music, the term “hip hop music” is sometimes used interchangeably with “rap music,” although hip hop is inclusive of more than just rapping. Students can learn to write their own original lyrics in an activity called Hip Hop Hamburger.
