A 2022 study on mental health, done by the National Library of Science, revealed that Black adolescents are less likely to seek out and find mental health care than white individuals. This study showed that 53% of the sample of Black individuals were not in care, but about 33% of this sample met the criteria to undergo treatment.
Many of these individuals who make up this gap in data, struggle to open up to traditional therapists and feel alienated. Hip-hop therapy is an opportunity for these individuals to express themselves and deal with their traumas and loss through a different, more culturally comfortable outlet.
Psychologist and family therapist, George James, has seen how mental health professionals need a unique approach when speaking with Black adolescents. Hip-hop therapy is a safe space where they can meet in the middle.
In 1996, Edgar H. Tyson, an Associate Professor at Fordham Graduate School of Social Service, created the term and foundational model for hip-hop therapy. John C. Hall, a clinical social worker in NYC, studied under Tyson and now runs the hip-hop therapy program at Mott Haven Community High School in the South Bronx.
The school opened in 2012 as a second-chance alternative for kids who had either fallen behind or dropped out of the public school system. That same year, Hall turned a storage room on campus into a music studio and became the Hip Hop Therapy Studio Program Director. Students began staying after class to take part, writing lyrics and rapping about their experiences, and the group began growing.
One of the group members, Joshua Acosta, was murdered outside a high school in the South Bronx and the hip-hop therapy students and J.C. Hall put on a series of open-mic rap performances in his honor, showcased in Kyle Morrison’s short film, Mott Haven. These raps were filled with lyrics about their own personal struggles, as well as their feelings on losing Acosta.
“You’re using something in a high school setting and you’re being accepted," Tyson said to Hall. "That was unheard of 10 years ago. You’re gonna play rap music- are you crazy? To see you pull off that celebration in the way that you did man. Cause kids need that shit you know what I’m saying? They need that man.”
Music therapy in has been proven effective in helping reduce stress, improve sleep, lower heart rate and blood pressure, and boost memory and cognitive function. It has even been linked to treating individuals with serious health conditions such as dementia and cancer.
“Hip-hop music addresses many of the issues that high-achieving therapy clients are trying to overcome or personality aspects they are attempting to cultivate: motivation, the drive to overcome, chasing success, and staying resilient despite setbacks,” said celebrity therapist, mental health expert, and Former Forbes Councils Member, Dr. Jeff Rocker.
Hip hop therapy has become an outlet for adolescent minorities to express themself in a group, around individuals that can understand them and their experiences far more than a traditional therapist could. Many of these individuals found that hip-hop therapy assisted with their abilities in picking apart the roots of their problems in their lives and being able to grow from this self comprehension.
JC Hall told Fordham GSS News, “In my experience, in order to even approach academic concerns, it is vital for mental health professionals to assess and address mental health needs first and foremost, and what better way to do that with youth than in a culturally relevant manner such as that of Hip-Hop Therapy?”