One way to build a comprehensive, inclusive, and equitable music education is through the inclusion of popular music in curricula. However, it can be challenging for teachers to bring popular music into the classroom for many reasons. We suggest that since many teachers are educated in the Orff Schulwerk approach, this can be one way to teach…

In this article, Christopher Emdin articulates what he considers a necessary stance on the education of urban youth of color who are deeply embedded in hip-hop. He brings singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder and Maxine Greene into the discussion to highlight the ways that these youth can be imagined differently and taught to their strengths and gifts,…

Alex U. Inn is the co-founder and one of the two MCs of the hip-hop drag king group, Momma's Boyz. Momma's Boyz celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2014. Carmen Morrison is the offstage name of Alex U. Inn, though "Carmen" now goes by Alex offstage, as well. Within this interview, the names "Carmen" and "Alex" are…

Black and brown people are being murdered by police officers at an alarming rate, and nothing is being done about it.

Descriptions of the urban contemporary format remain strongly grounded on the assumption that it is based on musical styles associated with African Americans, such as R&B, soul, hip hop, rap, and reggae. Even for the most progressive educators, to speak of urban music is to refer to a narrow set of musical genres associated with the umbrella term…

There is no doubt that mediation has become a central issue outside formal music education. An outstanding example of this is digital music and its dependence on the new technologies of production, dissemination, and consuming. In this paper, the author argues that (1) mediation is one of the most important aspects of digital artistry and that (2)…

During the late twentieth century, Kanaka Maoli have struggled to push back against these representations, offering a rewriting of Hawaiian history, quite literally. Infused by Hawaiian nationalism and a growing library of works that investigate the naturalization of American colonialism in Hawai'i, innovative Kanaka Maoli representations in the…

Lucy Green's (2008) "Music, Informal Learning, and the School: A New Classroom Pedagogy" gives rise to an interesting corollary. Does the manner of music's transmission inform one's understanding of a musical category? While categories of music can be difficult to define according to strict musical characteristics, a better understanding of…

When Candi Carter, a producer at "The Oprah Winfrey Show", learned that her son, Emerson, was born with chromosome 8p, which causes heart defects, mental retardation, severe speech delay, and other issues, she was immediately thrust into the world of special needs parenting. Like many in her position, she learned quickly that her child's…

Although hip hop culture has been one of the most significant urban youth movements over the last three decades, it has only recently gained attention within the educational literature as a force to be reckoned with. And even then, much of the literature seeks to understand how hip hop can be used to engage students in the official school…

This article builds upon the concept of hybridity to affirm the relevance of poetry, music, and other forms of popular culture in the lives of urban youth. Its focus examines the blending of seemingly disparate forms to understand how young people, in particular young people of color, negotiate their multilayered social worlds. One of these worlds…

This essay emphasizes ways to raise the student interests and help students develop skills for analyzing music and music performances through the television program "American Idol." As music classrooms experience an increase in the number of students from a variety of cultures, valuing the music of all cultures becomes increasingly important.…

During the 1960s, protest music was expressed primarily through the folk tradition; it was the most important medium of the counter culture. The folk music tradition of the 1960s found its roots in the music of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. In their music, commercial success and professional standards were militantly opposed. Folk music raised…

Discusses the communicative uses of music by young people and how music plays a major role in adolescent socialization. (PD)

Explains the structure of pop music in Hungary, focusing on political and cultural influences. (PD)