Hip Hop Public Health
Team sports are an excellent way to get kids active. They teach kids teamwork, time management, discipline, and get their blood pumping.
However, not every child is motivated by team sports. Solo activities including dance could enhance health-related fitness skills such as cardiorespiratory fitness and flexibility. There is also the benefit of enhancing skill-related fitness including coordination, balance, and agility. Dance can equip young people with skills beyond fitness that can serve them a lifetime—leadership, memory, control, interdependence, and more.
Yet, it’s not very common that we see elements of dance curricula incorporated into our school’s physical education programs. When a dance program exists, it’s usually rolled out as a standalone afterschool activity with special attention given to more niche types of dance. For example, ballet is beautiful, but it may not appeal to everyone.
Hip hop is a leading genre in pop music (surpassing Rock music as the most dominant genre in the United States), and it has the potential to connect with students all across the nation in ways that far exceed simply listening to music—it can get them moving! Too often, hip hop is stereotyped and gets a bad rep. However, when you dig deep into the genre and its roots, it’s a story of resilience, metamorphosis, and rising up to the social issues we face in our communities.
At Hip Hop Public Health, we’re big fans of remixing our approach to healthy living. For many of us, music and dance have been a lifeline to positive transformation. Through hip hop music, we seek to promote health equity among youth.
After an iterative cycle of program evaluation, academic research, and resource refinement, we’ve developed an innovative array of multimedia tools designed to improve health literacy among youth inspired by hip hop culture. Best of all, they are performed by artists kids likely already enjoy, and coverer the classics, too! Featured artists include icons such as Doug E. Fresh, Ariana Grande, Chuck D., Ashanti, Jordin Sparks, Darryl DMC McDaniels, and more.
Ready to join the movement? We’re always looking to connect with health and socially conscious educators, artists, and thought leaders who seek to inspire a healthier generation. As a Hip Hop Public Health MC, you get access to all of our entertaining, educational resources. You can also search for any of our cartoons, music, or videos using a variety of criteria such as grade level and content area, or sort through them by the National Health and Physical Education Learning Standards and the Healthy Out of School Time (HOST) Standards. Become a Hip Hop Public Health MC today and network with an innovative community transforming the lives of youth around the world.
About Hip Hop Public Health
Hip Hop Public Health focuses on fostering positive health behavior change through the power of hip hop music. Based in New York City, their vision is for youth to be empowered with the knowledge and skills to make healthier choices, reducing preventable health conditions and the rising tide of childhood obesity. For more information about Hip Hop Public Health, visit: https://hhph.org/.
