Several U.S. law professors have begun offering a course entitled “Hip Hop and the Law” or “Hip Hop and the American Constitution.” The experience of these professors has led to exciting outcomes in teaching law students about social justice and empowering millennial students to engage in social activism. Students report that taking one of these courses has reignited their passion for becoming lawyers and has inspired them to believe that they can make positive change within their community, state, and nation. Hip hop music has long critiqued the U.S. Constitution and statutes, particularly in the areas of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, First Amendment, mass incarceration, hyper-policing, family law, and intellectual property. Using hip hop’s critique of the Constitution and proposing solutions from the “bottom-up” enables a powerful classroom experience that can change the trajectory of a law student’s experience and provide skills that can produce social engineers that support democracy.
To be published in North Carolina Central Law Review.