Academic Community-Engaged Learning

The link between hip-hop and community engagement might not seem obvious to everyone, but community is at the heart of hip-hop's past, present, and future.

“People think of hip-hop as just rap music and cool beats,” Cristian Lambaren Sanchez, Academic Specialist in Experiential Learning at the College of Social Science, said. “The culture of hip-hop was created for the community. It was a way to be able to support each other and to be able to move in a way that was going to be energetic and loving.”

Lambaren Sanchez's class, SSC 399: History and Relationship between Hip-Hop and Community Engagement, challenges students to think critically about all the various aspects of hip-hop—including MCing, DJing, breaking, and writing/graffiti—and their relation to community engagement. Students see examples of hip-hop helping to build and nourish communities and put that knowledge into action by working on projects with All of the Above Hip-Hop Academy (AOTA) in Lansing.

In 2022, projects with SSC 399 and AOTA included “Spread the Word,” an online address book of sorts with the aim of increasing awareness of AOTA and building partnerships; a grant research project; and grant writing for the non-profit as well.

“One of the biggest things for me is that they have to learn from the experience,” Lambaren Sanchez said. “You're not going to learn as much if you just read about it. You have to actually do the work.”

Lambaren Sanchez first began collaborating with AOTA in Spring 2021 when the course was first offered. Now he serves on the AOTA Board of Directors.

“At the end of the semester, students always walk away thinking 'My understanding of hip-hop has changed. My understanding of how to engage with the community and work within an organization has changed',” Lambaren Sanchez said. “Being in community, that's what hip-hop was about since the beginning.”