Critical Multimodal Hip Hop Production: A Social Justice Approach to African American Language and Literacy Practices

Abstract

This article features key findings from a study that highlights the transformative impact of a pedagogical approach that employs Critical Multimodal Hip Hop Production (CMHHP). The study took place in an extended day program in a northern California public middle school among a group of 30, urban, African American, Chicano/a/Latino/a, and Asian youth. The authors utilize a theoretical lens informed by research on African American Language (AAL) and literacy practices, critical media literacy, social justice education, critical pedagogy, and critical race theory to contextualize the outcomes of using such a pedagogical approach. Through interviews, description of key critical pedagogical strategies, and an analysis of the lyrical content of two students' multimodal hip hop productions, the authors demonstrate how CMHHP was used to engage youth in (1) facilitating a participatory action research project; (2) synthesizing data from the research project and theorizing about the data in relationship to their lives, their school, and community; and (3) creating a dialectical space for them to integrate their new understanding of social justice issues with their hip hop production.