Hip-Hop Homework

Available for over a year

Hip-hop taught Nkem Ifejika everything - how to dress, how to speak, how to be a black man. Now he has a dilemma - as his young son develops his musical preferences, how does Nkem navigate aspects of the genre that he thinks haven’t aged well. Nkem’s son wants to go to a Kendrick Lamar concert. Before he decides if he’ll allow that or not, Nkem has some homework to do. He sets out to get advice from other hip-hop heads, his family, friends and experts. Nkem’s introduction to hip-hop came from his “naughty uncle” Ken who smuggled him MTV videos and tapes from America. From the outset, listening to hip-hop was something that seemed naughty and rebellious. Nkem and actor Babou Ceesay recall the thrill of discovering Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle while at school in West Africa and sparking their interest in everything the music conjured. As fathers now to young children, do they want their kids to feel that same excitement? Dr Abenaa Owusu-Bempah from LSE’s School of Law tells Nkem she’s deeply concerned with the way the music is being used by prosecutors to build criminal cases. It’s starting to stifle artists’ freedom of expression. American Sociologist Tricia Rose says Nkem’s right to take this seriously. It takes effort to critique something you love when it falls short. They discuss the representation of women in the music. Comedian and broadcaster Romesh Ranganathan created a kid-friendly hip-hop playlist. But just because there’s no swearing doesn’t mean that the issues raised in some of the tracks are easy to swallow. He tells Nkem to be realistic. Hip-hop reflects life. Don’t shy away from it. Thanks to Romesh Ranganathan, Tricia Rose, Babou Ceesay, Dr Abenaa Owusu-Bempah, Pete Paphides and everyone in the queue for JPEG MAFIA, The Roots, De La Soul and The Pharcyde. Presented by Nkem Ifejika Produced by Alexandra Quinn Executive Producer Rami Tzabar A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4