Hip-hop culture's force as part of globalization in the fields of economics, popular aesthetics, and identity politics has been well documented. However, its articulation to educational practices has received less attention. This article draws upon fieldwork conducted in 1999 and 2002 in a youth correctional facility to analyze how state institutional practices mediate hip-hop's educational project in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This analysis historicizes culture and education as they pertain to popular culture and the state in urban Brazil, and evaluates hip-hop's pedagogical force in the local workshop setting.