A Phenomenological Study on the Experience of Composing Rap Lyrics among ‘at-risk’ Youth

Abstract

Existing literature exploring the integration of Hip Hop in therapeutic contexts predominately focuses on utilizing the music in a receptive fashion, while a limited amount of literature has explored active techniques (i.e., lyric composition). Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological method, this study explored the experience of composing Hip Hop lyrics of young people who have been labelled ‘at risk’ (N=5). From the participant interviews emerged seven categories related to the experience of composing Hip Hop: (a) Hip Hop as a constant in one’s life, (b) Descriptions of the composing process, (c) Hip Hop song composition is therapeutic, (d) Hip Hop supports expression, (e) Remixing the story: Constructing and living the story we tell of ourselves, (f) Acts of resistance: ‘Each one, teach one’, and (g) Delivery of content: Messages within messages. The findings are discussed in relation to existing literature and implications are offered for the clinical social work context.