Rhythm and Resilience: Hip-Hop’s Role in Mental Health

Hip-hop is a multi-billion-dollar industry and the world’s most popular music genre. Originating in the South Bronx in the 1970s by African American and Latino communities in response to industrial environmental stressors of social injustice, it served to bring people together in protest (Chang, 2005).

As hip-hop developed, it provided a space for marginalized voices, especially as an outlet for youth to express their opinions. This expression took the form of break dancing, music, and lyricism, and eventually permeated into all aspects of culture from fashion to language (Robinson et al., 2018). In 1998, Dr. Edgar Tyson coined the term “hip-hop therapy” as a social work, strengths-based, culturally competent framework. Hip-hop therapy sparked the creative imagination of communities and began to be used in spaces where mental health services could not permeate due to stigma or lack of access. Hip-hop therapy is now found in classrooms, social service agencies, and clinical programs (Adjapong and Levy, 2021).

From Fire to Flow

Hip-hop has jumped from the urban to the suburban but also has expanded past African American and Latino communities to be definitive for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) youth overall. In fact, it has become a significant vehicle in the art-as-activism movement. In a recent conversation between Filipino hip-hop artists, Marc “Sen” Palad, Bambu, and Marikit, they talked about how hip-hop moved them from “fire to flow” in terms of their own life experiences and how they have used their art for their own well-being and community empowerment. They discussed how they use their music for raising awareness about what is happening in the community, to expose power dynamics, to bring people together, and even for their own healing.

Marikit, a hip-hop artist from Utrecht, Netherlands, shared how her family was forced to migrate to Europe as political asylees when she was just a child: “This is where I met hip hop and all the elements of it, and I was truly amazed and inspired and moved to express myself and understand what was happening in my life. I started rapping when I was 13 and telling my story, and my family’s story.” As an adult, Marikit became a victim of political oppression when she tried to return to the Philippines for her grandmother’s 100th birthday and instead was detained by Philippine immigration, incarcerated in the airport for a week, and then just as suddenly sent back to the Netherlands—all with no official reason being provided:

“I was scared at first, you know, like I felt so helpless, but then I realized this is what those in power do—they scare people not to rise up and fight so I thought I’m going to do the opposite and use my art to fight.”

A Healing Space

From the political to the personal, hip-hop is a healing space. Abdul-Adil, from the Chicago School and a hip-hop therapy practitioner, reminisces that he started in the late 1990s with low-income, African American youth, using “Rap music lyrics and hip hop culture to initiate engaging conversations as bridges between their lives and topics they may otherwise been less likely to speak about.” Now, he even teaches a graduate course in hip-hop therapy. Strategies include analyzing hip-hop lyrics to parallel what individuals might be experiencing, how to link coping skills to hip-hop practices such as dancing or rapping, and even how to identify trauma using lyrics and beats from “pro-social” rap.

Art Imitates Life

Hip-hop itself is shifting to reflect the awareness of mental health issues. In 2020, researchers conducted a content analysis of more than a hundred popular hip-hop songs and found that there was a clear increase in the number of times mental health and mental health-specific issues such as depression and anxiety were mentioned. For instance, from 1998 to 2018, songs went from mentioning suicide from 0 percent in 1998 to 12 percent in 2018. In connection with mental health terms, stressors such as environmental conditions (including poverty) and love life were most likely to also be mentioned. Many hip-hop songs have become "anthems of resilience." Some have even been used to help people find parallels in their own trauma journeys.

Ordinary Magic in Action

This is not the first time that this type of ordinary magic—the use of creativity and art for well-being—has been utilized. Everyone can engage in the use of these strategies in nonclinical settings. Here are some ways to be creative in one of the five pillars of hip-hop, as outlined by mental health therapist Randolph D. Sconiers, DSW, LCSW, and experience your well-being flourishing:

1. The MC or the music controller is the first pillar of hip hop. They are the storytellers, the rappers, and poets. Forget about the beat for the moment and, like an MC, throw your story onto the page. “Freestyle” on the page about a situation, experience, or thoughts and feelings you want to share.
2. Music is powerful, and in hip-hop, the curator of that power is the DJ (pillar 2). Be your own DJ and create a playlist of mood-elevating songs.
3. Breaking is not just an Olympic sport; it’s the third pillar of hip-hop. So, get your favorite beat going and move your body to it. You might not be able to master a windmill, but dancing still raises your mood and alleviates symptoms of depression and anxiety.
4. Graffiti (yes, that spray-painted-on-walls kind of graffiti) is the fourth pillar. It is the ultimate self-expression for expression’s sake. In this exercise, start with a blank page (Paper is preferable!) and use colors to either paint or color images or statements that express what you are thinking or feeling.
5. The final pillar is “knowledge,” referring to the origins of hip-hop and how it was born from historical contexts of oppression, exploitation, and power. Read a book or article, watch a documentary, or listen to a podcast on the issues your favorite hip-hop song talks about (see the references section for suggestions).