6 Podcast Assignment: 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop culture
Crystal Endsley Taylor
This student assignment is intricately linked with the John Jay College Social Justice eReader chapter: “50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Culture.”
Instructor-facing Notes for Assignment
Overview:
Students will create and record a 3-5-minute podcast that reviews any Hip-Hop artifact (any album or film) related to a social justice issue that was released BEFORE 2013. Do not research any outside reviews of the artifact—this is to be completed based entirely on your own perspective and analysis. Do not choose any of the materials covered in class.
Podcasts will be shared, discussed, and peer-reviewed in class.
Purpose:
This assignment provides an opportunity to link social justice issues they care about with music they enjoy. The format of the assignment is creative and should be scheduled early in the semester to allow students to engage with the material and one another in a low-stakes but interesting way. Recording a podcast as an album or film review invites a connection to real life and popular culture and also creates a different type of interaction between classmates who will listen to and review their recorded podcasts. Setting the tone for thoughtful reviews also presents students with a chance to apply analysis and scaffolds their application and the belief they can conduct analysis into more traditional assignments later in the semester.
Course Outcomes:
This assignment incorporates the following 300-level Justice Core LOs: Awareness of Disciplinary Conventions, Audience, and Genre; Acknowledging and Citing Sources to Build Authorial Credibility; Claims, Evidence, and Warrants.
Materials:
All materials can be found online or in the John Jay College library.
Additional media sources can be found below:
Lu Olivero, “Graffiti is a Public Good, Even as it Challenges the Law,” New York Times (2014)
Heather Mac Donald, “Graffiti is Always Vandalism,” New York Times (2014)
Donovan X. Ramsey, “How Dr. Dre and Hip Hop Helped End the Crack Era,” GQ.com (2023)
“Vladimir Putin Says He’s Fearful of Rap Music, and That It Should Be Controlled,” Newsweek, December 15, 2018.
Marc Tracy, “A ‘Virtual Rapper’ Was Fired. Questions About Art and Tech Remain,” New York Times (2023)
Spotify Playlist (including songs referenced in the chapter)
Public Enemy, “Fight the Power”
Queen Latifah & Monie Love, “Ladies First”
Jungle Brothers, “Black is Black”
Stop the Violence Movement, “Self-Destruction”
2 Live Crew, “Banned in the USA”
NWA “F*** the Police”
Jay-Z “99 Problems”
J Cole “Neighbors”
Assessment:
The goal of this assignment is for students to exercise their writing, analysis, and critique skills. There is a rubric below, but faculty should tailor it to suit the content they are specifically seeking for their students.
Student-facing Notes for Assignment
Overview
Students will create and record a 3–5-minute podcast that reviews any Hip-Hop artifact (album or film) related to a social justice issue that was released BEFORE 2013. Do not research any outside reviews of the artifact—this is to be completed based entirely on your own perspective and analysis. Do not choose any of the materials covered in class.
Podcasts will be shared, discussed, and peer-reviewed in class.
Instructions
Choose one album or film (some suggestions are listed below, but you have many options). Record a 3-5 minute audio and/or video podcast. You can use any video recording software that you are comfortable with. Post your recording either as an attachment on a post in the Keyword Podcast discussion board or create a YouTube video and post the link. Your podcast should use your own recorded video or still images to define, describe, and provide context for the keyword you select. Be as CREATIVE and as clear as possible in your representations. Each artifact in the list below provides critical context for understanding Hip Hop culture and its impact.
Questions to Address in Your Review:
- What do other critics say about this album/film and how do they rate it?
- Try to find interviews with the artists and discuss their thoughts on the album/film.
- Read the liner notes: What other songs did producers and artists sample? OR What other films/roles did the actors and director reference?
- Context: How does this album/film compare to the rest of the artist’s/group’s catalog?
- What year did this album/film come out? Did it have any impact on the genre and culture? Did it influence other artists or films?
- Does the album/film speak to any particular issues of the time?
Suggested Artifact List: select ONE album or film to explore for your recording
- Missy Elliott, Supa Dupa Fly
- Jay Z, American Gangster
- De La Soul, 3 Feet and Rising
- Belly (1998)
- Poetic Justice (1993)
- Menace II Society (1993)
- Set It Off (1996)
