A social literacies perspective is used to analyze a rap written by a high school student. The article begins with an examination of the student's uses of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and standard English. The student writing sample and the researcher's analysis are subjected to review by two other African American teenagers, and these students' insights are used to interrogate the assumptions of analysis and research into language use. The article ends by claiming that teachers and researchers must engage students' literacy practices in order to enrich classroom life and conduct meaningful and socially just research. The study reinforces the need to continue the scholarly debate about the wisdom and efficacy of trying to impose standard English on all speakers and writers and argues that new ways to validate alternative literacies should be found that can be used as a means of helping students to become proficient users of dominant literacies. Twenty-four references are included. (KFT)