The history and creative elements of Hip Hop Culture are rich with mythic narratives that reflect the lived social, cultural, and political experience of communities marginalized and underrepresented, and it especially connects with a global adolescent audience. Adolescence, as a developmental stage of human growth, can be viewed through the lens of a hero’s journey in which a child moves through a stage of liminality to enter into adulthood. This perspective can be particularly useful for music therapists when making meaning of songs created by adolescents who have experienced childhood trauma.
From Orphan to Sage: The Hero’s Journey as an Assessment Tool for Hip Hop Songs Created in Music Therapy
JOURNAL OF GENIUS AND EMINENCE, 2(2), 79-88, 2017
The Hero’s Journey in Hip Hop and Its Applications in Music Therapy
Chapter 4, Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop, Edited by Susan Hadley and George Yancy (2011)