Rapping Up the Semester
Professor bridges culture gap / Links poetry to rap

By Amanda Thorogood

As a child, some may have tried to convince their parents that ice cream could be a nutritious breakfast or that a Halloween costume was the perfect everyday outfit. But studying hip-hop for homework?

Turns out, that may not be too far -fetched.

Thanks to Dr. Mickey Hess, professor of the English Department, Rider students can now experience a little pop culture in their composition and creative writing classes, where rap lyrics are often studied as forms of poetry. Although this is Hess’s first semester here at Rider, a definite buzz has been created by both students and faculty about this unique approach to incorporating students’ interests into the classroom.

“I have been bringing hip-hop into my classes bit by bit over the past four or five years,” said Hess. “I am doing it a little more now, a little bit more every year.”

Examples of Hess’ recent poetry lessons include fan favorites such as Ghost Face Killer and The Wu-Tang Clan in order to focus on imagery. Students hear each song in its entirety and then are supplied with print versions of the songs in order to further study the colors and texture that the rappers have used in order to “paint a picture in the listener’s mind,” said Hess.

Each rap song that Hess presents to his class is analyzed using the same sincerity and techniques one would use after reading more traditional works from poets such as Emily Dickinson or Jonathan Swift.

Hess says it is not just the concept itself but more the familiarity with the subject that attracts so many students.

“I think a lot of students have grown up hearing hip-hop and it is a new way to think about poetry because it is one of those things that is always there,” he said. “A lot of people have written it off almost as being not serious enough to study just because you hear it on the TV and radio so much, so I am always looking for ways to make connections between popular culture and anything I teach.”

While he encourages his students to find relations between their everyday interests and writing, he has chosen hip-hop more specifically because of the important messages that rap artists relay to their fans.

“The lyrics and the delivery are so much a focus of hip hop in a way they aren’t quite so much in country or rock right now,” Hess added.

Outside of the classroom, Hess is adjusting to life in New Jersey, having taught previously at both the University of Louisville and Indiana University Southeast. He has also just edited a book for Greenwood Press, Icons of Hip Hop, which includes biographical essays on artists such as Lil’ Kim, Dr. Dre, and Nas.

Hess is impressed by other educators’ responses to the topic and how quickly some people have taken a liking to integrating hip-hop into their own classes.

“There have been a lot of professors looking at hip-hop, Hess said. “I have met someone from psychology, someone from English, someone from comparative literature and communication. It has been really interesting to see so many different perspectives from professors all over the country and even Canada.”

Students who are interested in registering for one of Hess’ classes should keep an eye out starting next fall. He is slated to teach a hip-hop course for American studies and a gender studies course focusing on gender and homophobia in hip-hop.”

“You can study things that aren’t dead yet,” Hess said. “I think that is a good message to get out there.