The healing power of hip hop /

Travis's purpose is the important task of documenting how hip-hop can be and has been used on behalf of education and social work. The text assumes prior knowledge of hip-hop and its personalities and is awkwardly written, repetitive, and poorly edited. Travis (social work, Texas State Univ., San Marcos) is correct that hip-hop is a larger cultural phenomenon and rap is just one aspect of this culture. However, he focuses primarily on rap and how it can be incorporated into pedagogy and psychological counseling. He acknowledges the misogyny, violence, and substance abuse in popular rap but ignores it in favor of a handful of examples of rap being used for personal and community betterment. Travis mentions a comparative perspective but fails to present one. Comparing hip-hop and rap to a culture and music from the same socioeconomic and ethnic group but from a different era (e.g., blues culture and the evolution of blues from "devil's music" to blues chic to Harvard's "blues in schools") would have enriched understandings of both and their healing potential. It would also have shed light on differences, including rap's huge commercial success. Includes notes and an inadequate index but no bibliography. Summing Up: Not recommended. --Fred J. Hay, Appalachian State University