Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop. Susan Hadley and George Yancy (Eds.). New York: Routledge, 2012, 427 pages. ISBN: 978-0-415-88474-7, $34.95, paperback

Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop. Susan Hadley and George Yancy (Eds.). New York: Routledge, 2012, 427 pages. ISBN: 978-0-415-88474-7, $34.95, paperback. Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop asks readers to examine their personal and professional perceptions of rap music and hip-hop culture to consider potential benefits across diverse therapeutic settings. This challenge cuts to the heart of "starting where the client is" by appreciating context--the roles of both music and culture in the lives of the clients with whom we engage--and our ethical responsibility to give clients a voice via a metaphoric microphone, or "one mic" (as the editors put it in their introduction). Susan Hadley and George Yancy suggest that culturally competent therapy must give one mic--an opportunity to be heard, a voice, ownership, empowerment, and cognizance of one's lived experiences. From this perspective, they contend that rap and hip-hop cannot be overlooked, undervalued, or blindly and wholly branded as violent, drug promoting, misogynistic, or sexually offensive. Instead, professionals working with those who embrace hip-hop culture must be able to appreciate rap's positive attributes, which are rooted in the importance of oral tradition. Specifically, this requires regard for Nommo, a Bantu term referring to the power of words to create change, redefine reality, and realize actualization (Smitherman, 1999); this is a powerful manner by which to give "one mic" and, therefore, holds a valuable place in therapeutic settings. The impressive backgrounds of both Hadley and Yancy bring strength to their argument, which not only suggests the use of rap music in therapy, but contends that it is "about as close to perfection as one can get to a therapeutic medium!" (p. xxvii). Hadley is a professor and director of the Music Therapy Program at Slippery Rock University and a board certified music therapist, and she has a lengthy history of research and publication in the areas of therapy, feminism, and race. Yancy, a three-time Choice Outstanding Academic Book award winner and associate professor of philosophy at Duquesne University, has published widely on the lived experiences of black people, or "Black Erlebnis." Both editors bring a great deal of expertise to Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop, as do their chapter contributors, comprising experienced music therapists, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists. The 26 contributing authors of the 19 chapters of this volume are diverse not only in discipline, but also in their areas of clinical expertise; the characteristics of their clients; and their geographical locations, representing the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia. This variety brings divergent applications and perspectives, all of which share cutting-edge use of rap in therapy. Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop is divided into three parts: Part 1 provides a foundation by reviewing historical and theoretical perspectives, part 2 demonstrates applications of setting-specific rap therapies with at-risk youths, and part 3 illustrates diagnosis-specific rap therapies within varied client populations and clinical settings. In each section, chapter authors exemplify the benefits of listening, performing, creating, or improvising rap as a means of validation for those who find this medium significant in their lives. It is important to clarify the usage of terms within this book and this review. Although sometimes used interchangeably with rap, hip-hop refers to a culture and its related practices, among which rap music and its subgenres are components; therefore, the term "hip-hop" is used to refer to broader cultural approaches, whereas "rap" is used to refer specifically to musical applications and uses. Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop begins with an introductory chapter by the editors, who frame the book through the divergent lenses of their own personal and professional experiences, which converge as they both realize that rap is an integral medium for exploring identity, expressing feelings, understanding impulses, and storytelling and reauthoring--all of which highlight the importance of context in various therapeutic settings. …