MUSIC 208 - Exploration of Making Rap

Number of Credits: 3
Examine the lyrics and music of rap. Explore the creative process of rap using digital technology. Discuss cultural and social contexts of rap’s creators, both in the US and globally. Evaluate artists’ use of rap’s musical and lyrical traits as political communication and resistance. Analyze, interpret, and create songs. (Fall) Three hours lecture each week. Three credit hours. Three billable hours.

Diversity: meets diversity requirement
General Education Category: Arts and Humanities

Pre-requisite(s): ENGL 101
Course Topics:
-Examine and learn the elements of music

-Analyze the music of rap

-Create and compose the music of rap

-Analyze and learn both rhyme schemes and poetic devices

-Analyze the lyrics of rap

-Create and write the lyrics of rap

-Examine the sociological context of rap

-Examine the connections between the message of rap and its contexts

-Make connections between the lyrics and music in order to analyze the artistry of rap

-Examine the intersection and connections between message, music, lyrics, and artistry
Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Connect the cultural heritage of rap and the function and content of rap. (GE3, GE7, GE8)

2. Relate the cultural heritage of rap with the musical and lyrical traits of rap. (GE3, GE6, GE8)

3. Analyze music and lyrics as strategies of resistance. (GE1, GE3, GE4, GE8)

4. Articulate diverse views of different cultures and communities. (GE4, GE7, GE8)

5. Examine rap’s political communication and resistance in the US and globally within the artists’ own social and cultural contexts. (GE6, GE8)

6. Create advanced lyrical devices, rhyme schemes, and allusions. (GE1, GE6)

7. Create music with digital audio platforms. (GE3, GE5)

8. Analyze rap within the context of cultural appropriation from minstrelsy to today. (GE3, GE4, GE8)