Projects for Teens About Rap Music
Love it or hate it, rap music has been an integral part of the U.S. music scene for decades and continues to have a major influence on teens and young adults. Although some people associate rap music with negative aspects of society, it doesn't define the entire genre. Many rap artists have used rap music to give hope to kids and even educate them. Find common ground with your rap-loving teen by helping him work on rap-focused projects that will educate the both of you on this multi-faceted music style.
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Roots of Rap
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Your teen can work on a history project detailing the origins of the rap music genre in the U.S. Rap can be traced to West Africa, where elderly storytellers would tell oral histories and folk stories over drum beats. Early blues jazz and funk music have also been attributed to the beginnings of rap music, and early spoken-word poetry. Have your teen research those music genres and how they link to rap. If he is working on this project for a school assignment, he can enhance his presentation by including recordings of music and famous spoken word recordings that were the basis of the rap genre.
Rap City
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Nearly every major city has a distinct story of the rap and hip-hop culture and how it came to be in that city. Your teen can research the history of the rap scene in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta and use the Internet to find pictures and background information on the pioneers of rap in those cities, and current local rappers. He can do a comparison to see how the style of rapping in those cities have changed over time.
The Positive Side of Rap
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Have your teen profile rap artists who use their talents to promote positive actions. Rap is sometimes used by teachers in school to get kids interested in a particular school subject or as a memorization tool. Have your teen come up with his own positive rap, perhaps about the history of rap that he has been learning, or as a study tool for an important test he has coming up.
Rap Around the World
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The U.S. rap scene has had a major influence on global music. From Japan to the Middle East, you can find a significant rap music scene. Have your teen research the rap scene in a few countries, learning how the culture and traditional music in those countries influences their version of rap music. He should also focus on how rap is being used in some of these countries to challenge the establishment, much in the same way as it was in the U.S.
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