Hip Hop Can Save America

LeBrandon Smith is the Manager, Social Impact Programs for Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute which serves more than 800,000 young people, families, students, community members, aspiring artists, and educators in New York City, across the United States, and around the globe each season. He’e been with the venerable institution since 2017, helping curate programs, events, and initiatives that benefit a wide range of NYC youth and artists.

We spoke on the verge of the second iteration of School of Thought, the second series of free workshops for rising and professional MCs led by the inimitable Black Thought, of the mighty Roots crew -- and the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

This masterclass is going on from April 4-7 and culminates in a public showcase at the Hall, followed the next day by Black Thought in conversation with young artists and fans. is just one of the many ways that Smith and the Weill Institute are emphatically, respectfully, and authentically incorporating Hip Hop into the programming at Carnegie Hall.

Now, before we get into it, more content like this is yours -- for free -- simply by signing up to my free Substack newsletter. Curated links to stories like these, innovative and inspiring examples of how Hip Hop culture can improve society, smart editorials, updates about my speaking calendar and more. Please sign up for the ‘Words I Mannyfest’ newsletter on substack, at mannyfaces.substack.com. Again, it’s free, but if you do choose to support my independent, high-level Hip-Hop related journalism, you have that option there as well.

Now, let’s get into it. Here’s my talk with LeBrandon Smith from Carnegie Hall.

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Visit https://mannyfaces.substack.com for more smart, innovative, insightful and inspirational Hip-Hop related content.

On this inaugural episode, host Manny Faces is joined by Dr. Bettina Love, an award-winning author and Associate Professor of Educational Theory & Practice at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on the ways in which urban youth negotiate Hip Hop music and culture to form social, cultural, and political identities to create new and sustaining ways of thinking about urban education and intersectional social justice.

Manny and Dr. Love speak about hip-hop in educational settings, as well as Dr. Love's recent work in the field of "hip-hop civics."

This episode, Manny Faces talks with Dr. Ian Levy about hip-hop and school counseling. Dr. Levy was the 2016 New York State school counselor of the year and is currently Assistant Professor of School Counseling at Manhattan College.

Levy, who has been recognized for piloting the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Hip Hop based counseling framework in urban schools, examines mental health practices in those schools, interrogating the role of the school counselor and other school staff to ensure the emotional lives of young people are adequately addressed.

His work has been featured on CNN and in the New York Times.

But most important. He has used hip-hop to help kids. Lots of them.

Hip-Hop just might be the most malleable of musical genres -- it is built off of the foundations of so many other genres, and is itself perhaps the most mashiest up of all musical mashups -- so by its very nature, blending in other genres -- from jazz to Latin to classical have often proven to be often surprisingly fluid

And if you are the type to consider its literary qualities, the same could be said about its immense spectrum of subject matter. Indeed, Hip-Hop easily rivals most traditional literary movements in its ability to encapsulate so much of the human condition within its linguistic art.

When done right, these artistic conglomerates can be creative, inventive, inspiring, and help build intellectual and musical bridges. Think Hamilton’s merging of Hip-Hop and traditional American musical. Or Guru’s Jazzamatazz series.

With all of this though, there are still certain combinations that, to many, are simply too much oil and water. Too incompatible. You won’t hear a lot of Polka Rap after all.

Country music was once considered this sort of Hip-Hop antithesis. Musically it’s not impossible -- generally a 4/4 style of music, more influenced by pop these days -- it COULD be done... Perhaps the perceived divides -- both in musical taste and often, ideology-- between the demographics of the fans of each of these respective genre made the idea less tolerable than say, rap and rock.

Also, attempts at mashing up rap and rock have, for a variety of reasons, been traditionally well-received.

Rap and country, not so much.

Credit is due, of course, to Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus for re-opening this door, and though seen to many as a bit gimmicky, the effect on the zeitgeist was unquestionable.

Still, in such a polarized world, can there exist a true merging of Hip-Hop and Country -- or even its more traditional subgenre, Bluegrass.

One that doesn’t try to sugarcoat those ideological differences between fanbases. One that is unafraid to forcefully address even the most sensitive social justice issues, as Hip-Hop is wont to do, uncompromising even in the face of potentially unwelcoming audiences.

But one that does so with the kind of musical authenticity that will influence fans of the genre to open their ears to those messages, and arms to those messengers.

Gangstagrass says hell yea, and an enthusiastic fanbase on both sides of the musical aisle, agree.

This fusion band is masterminded by singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Rench, features banjo playing by Dan “Danjo” Whitener, fiddle playing by Brian “B” Farrow, and lyrical prowess from two MCs, R-Son and Dolio The Sleuth.

On the eve of their new single release “Ain’t No Crime,” and a month ahead of their new album, “No Time For Enemies, I spoke at length with B Farrow, R-Son and Dolio to discuss the way their formula for tackling this fabled combination of style and substance can, and should, be taken seriously, perhaps now more than ever.

My name is Manny Faces. This is my conversation with Gangstagrass.

On this episode of the world's most enlightening Hip Hop podcast, Dr. Raphael Travis Jr. joins us to talk about the healing power of Hip Hop, including his seminal book. "The Healing Power of Hip Hop," which explores the therapeutic and empowering aspects of hip hop culture.

Dr. Travis takes us on a journey through the unique importance of Hip Hop to help society, particularly communities of color, highlighting the empowering narratives that consistently appear in Hip Hop culture: esteem, resilience, growth, community, and social change. These narratives provide a vital purpose for individuals to explore self-identity, cope with adversity, and make crucial decisions.

We further explore the use of Hip Hop concepts in therapy and mental health work, particularly in school settings. Dr. Travis emphasizes the transformative potential of using Hip Hop culture as a platform for self-expression and giving young people a voice. He also delves into the role of technology in music creation and its empowering effect on individuals.

Join us as Dr. Travis challenges traditional curriculum-focused approaches and encourages educators and practitioners to embrace the richness and flexibility of Hip Hop culture, as we hear how this genre can be harnessed as a powerful tool for inclusion, healing, and personal growth in schools and beyond.

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Hip-Hop Can Save America! with Manny Faces is a Manny Faces Media production, in association with The Center for Hip-Hop Advocacy.

Links and resources:

Dr. Raphael Travis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raptjr

SHOW WEBSITE: https://www.hiphopcansaveamerica.com

MANNY FACES: https://www.mannyfaces.com

NEWSLETTER (free!): https://mannyfaces.substack.com

SUPPORT QUALITY INDIE HIP HOP JOURNALISM: https://www.patreon.com/mannyfaces

Manny Faces Media (podcast production company): https://www.mannyfacesmedia.com

The Center for Hip-Hop Advocacy: https://www.hiphopadvocacy.org

SPONSORS / FRIENDS:

The Mixtape Museum: https://www.mixtapemuseum.org

Hip-Hop Hacks: https://www.hiphophacks.com

Hip-Hop Can Save America! is produced, written, edited, smacked, flipped, rubbed down, and distributed by Manny Faces.

Eternal thanks to Consulting Producer, Sommer McCoy.