Thematic Analysis of Hip-Hop Music

The Arts in Psychotherapy 33 (2006) 343–356 Thematic analysis of hip-hop music: Can hip-hop in therapy facilitate empathic connections when working with clients in urban settings? Caroline Kobin, MSW a,∗, Edgar Tyson, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor) b,1 a School of Social Work, Columbia University, 5400 SW Burton Drive, Portland, OR 97221, United States b University of Georgia School of Social, Work, Tucker Hall, United States Abstract The purpose of this article is to offer readers and clinicians a general understanding of the relevance of hip-hop in social work and empowerment practice with many clients of ethnic and cultural backgrounds who are from urban settings. The type of analysis proposed here is interpretative and the particular segments of songs explored in this paper were chosen based on both authors’ experiences working with clients who relate to rap music, are mainly of ethnic and cultural minorities and are from low-income neighborhoods. We propose using rap lyrics as the impetus for the therapeutic dialogue and the facilitation of empathic connections between clients and therapists. In practice, it is not the subjective perception of the lyrics that is important, but the client’s personal response to these lyrics. Using this type of analysis with clients in treatment could aid in “breaking the ice,” encouraging the client to engage in projective narration and helping the therapist establish relevant, client-centered treatment goals. In this way, analysis of rap lyrics in therapy could be used to deconstruct racial barriers and diffuse power dynamics between the therapist and the client, leading to a more client-centered focus and expediting the formation of the therapeutic alliance. Several examples of rap lyrics and their interpretative value to treatment are presented and future directions in research and practice are discussed. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Social work; Cultural competence; Rap music; Client-centered therapy; Therapeutic alliance Introduction A critical aspect of the treatment process is the development of the client–therapist relationship, also referred to as the “therapeutic alliance or working alliance” (Lambert & Hill, 1994). Some suggest that the therapeutic relationship may be more important to treatment effectiveness than the particular method of intervention (Lambert & Hill, 1994; Marziali & Alexander, 1991). Many factors impact the client–therapist relationship, such as the apparent hierarchy that exists because of the perceived and real authority of therapists (Yalom, 2002). When cultural barriers are added to the equation, the formation of the therapeutic alliance becomes even more challenging. Specifically, when non-minority therapists and counselors work in urban settings, which serve primarily clients from low-income neighborhoods of African-American and various Latino backgrounds, they often struggle to be accepted and respected for what they can contribute to the clients they serve (Anez, Paris, Bedregal, Davidson, & Grilo, 2005). This appears to have been part of the rationale for the movement towards cultural competence in the major helping professions, including social ∗ Tel.: +1 503 975 4794; fax: +1 503 922 3524. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (C. Kobin), [email protected] (E. Tyson). 1 Tel.: +1 706 542 3364. 0197-4556/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aip.2006.05.001 344 C. Kobin, E. Tyson / The Arts in Psychotherapy 33 (2006) 343–356 work, psychology, psychiatry and the medical profession. Therefore, innovations that can improve the therapeutic relationship and potentially enhance treatment effectiveness should be explored and studied. A recent culturally relevant treatment innovation in working with clients in urban settings is “hip-hop therapy” (HHT) (Tyson, 2002, 2003). One of the reasons for its preliminary success is that it appears to increase the client’s perception of the therapist’s empathy and relatedness (Tillie, 2005; Tyson, 2002). Another potentially useful element of HHT is that it can be used to help identify relevant themes in treatment (Elligan, 2004; Tyson, 2003) that grow from the analysis of the client’s environment. However, previous work on the therapeutic value of using hip-hop music in practice has not provided in-depth examples of how these lyrics can be analyzed and used in therapy. As a result, the potential meaning and relevance of these lyrics is not fully understood. The present analysis attempts to fill this gap in knowledge by deconstructing several sets of lyrics and illustrating potential interpretations and their practical significance in clinical work. Conceptualization of hip-hop There are many conceptualizations of hip-hop and it is important to clarify how this construct will be used in this paper. Hip-hop’s core component is a music format established in the 1970s in the Bronx, an era of culturally rich, urban street activities such as break-dancing, graffiti and verbal rhythmic “battling” (Chang, 2005), more popularly known as “rap music.” Hip-hop was not solely a musical phenomenon; it embodied an entire way of exis- tence for those immersed in or touched by its culture. One factor that distinguishes hip-hop from other genres of music is its primary focus on the spoken word. The use of spoken word in hip-hop (i.e., rap) will be the subject of this analysis. While many people interpret much mainstream rap music as offensive, many of the lyrics presented here could be thought of as essentially poetic narration of years of black history and speak to the values, dreams, goals and feelings of many people from various populations that have been oppressed (Rose, 1994; Tyson, 2002). Purpose of this analysis The purpose of this article is to offer readers and clinicians, regardless of race, ethnicity or stance on the validity of hip-hop music, a general understanding of the relevance of hip-hop in social work and empowerment practice with many clients of ethnic and cultural minorities from low-income neighborhoods. Specifically, towards the overall goal, this paper: (a) introduces hip-hop as a cultural phenomenon, (b) provides support for analysis of lyrics by drawing from music therapy, bibliotherapy and two existing models that feature hip-hop in therapy, (c) discusses how therapists’ general acknowledgement of hip-hop culture and music can increase clients’ perceived empathic connection with the therapist, (d) subjectively analyzes rap lyrics in the context of strengths-based and empowerment themes that arise in client-centered practice and presents various examples of practical and clinically relevant applications of the thematic content of rap music, (e) uses lyrics of various hip-hop genres to determine clients’ stage of racial development and, finally, (f) discusses potential ways to apply this type of analysis to practice in working with clients from urban settings who relate to rap music, limitations of the presented analysis and future directions for the research on the effectiveness of hip-hop-based therapeutic interventions. This work is a natural extension of years of research on the examination of cultural traditions in social work practice with clients of ethnic and cultural minorities. We propose using the lyrics of rappers as the impetus for the therapeutic dialogue. Combining two existing therapeutic methods Therapy using hip-hop music was derived from a combination of music therapy and bibliotherapy. Both are effective in uniting people of different backgrounds and enhancing multi-cultural group collectivity. In terms of rap music, there is little debate that its universal appeal led to its current global prominence. Best and Kellner (1999) stated “rap is currently rocking the casbah and the ghetto, rolling across the mountains and the deserts, hopping across oceans ...” (p. 2). One explanation of music’s capability to unite and connect people from different cultures may be related to its tendency to produce a reaction in the brain that facilitates empathy (Funahashi & Carterette, 1985). Thus, it is possible that listening to or creating music in a group setting could trigger client dialogue and exploration of relevant issues that would otherwise be difficult to identify or access. C. Kobin, E. Tyson / The Arts in Psychotherapy 33 (2006) 343–356 345 Second, hip-hop therapy has its roots in bibliotherapy, a psycho-educational process involving client analysis of culturally relevant literary works in groups. It has been found especially effective in working with African-American women (Jones & Hodges, 2001). African-American literature may illuminate a black person’s perception of social reality or views representative of the broader population. While Jones and Hodges (2001) emphasize the importance of maintaining homogeneous racial groups in bibliotherapy sessions, a white therapist’s ability to reframe the black client’s experience in literary terms, recognizing collective pride and history, could contribute to the deconstruction of racial boundaries and facilitate multi-racial therapeutic relations (Swigonski, 1996). Recent models using hip-hop in therapy Tyson (2002) combined poetry therapy (Mazza, 1999) (a special case of bibliotherapy) and a progressive form of music therapy to create hip-hop therapy. Early research shows that HHT is a potentially powerful method of reaching and engaging Hispanic and African American youth in treatment. In debriefing sessions conducted after an 8-week treatment program, participants communicated preference for group

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