Dr. Jason Rawls: Hip-Hop From Around the World to Ohio State
Dr. Jason Rawls is an educator, scholar, DJ, producer, and emcee. This is a unique combination of skills, and MIC was lucky enough to have a visit from such a multifaceted speaker. Dr. Rawls began his presentation by discussing his love for teaching. “To me, the students are first. I come from a different world than some professors who prioritize their research because I started teaching fourth graders.”
“While I was studying at the University of Cincinnati, I was a DJ and producer in my free time. I started working with artists around the city. We had no idea that Cincinnati was an underground scene for hip-hop at the time!” Later, while being a teacher and DJ, Dr. Rawls was able to work with artists like the Beastie Boys and members of Odd Future, and he watched his peers get record deals.
As a teacher, he enjoyed using hip-hop-based education. “There is nothing more important than sharing with students, while I have learned from being a teacher from fourth grade to college students. Hip-hop-based education helps young people understand what they are going to be learning culturally, and it helps build relationships and connections.”
Dr. Rawl’s approach to hip-hop-based education is still going strong, as he is implementing a hip-hop studies program at Ohio State in Autumn 2023. We had an open discussion about things we, as students, would be interested in learning in this program. From copyright law and artificial intelligence to Kendrick Lamar, the possibilities were endless! These courses are going to be diverse and informational, as Dr. Rawls has seen the world’s love of hip-hop from Iceland and Poland, to Brazil and Japan during his time as a touring DJ. “It’s true about Iceland,” he said. “The sun never goes down in the summer. It’s crazy!”
While discussing the hip-hop studies program, Dr. Rawls also facilitated an open conversation about what it means to be a leader in the music industry. “Build relationships with artists as a manager, a lawyer, as their accountant. And you have to stay ahead of trends and make predictions. Youth culture runs trends! You also need certain characteristics, like motivation, talent, perseverance. You have to learn the business side of the industry! A lot of artists don’t want to deal with the business side, and they just want to be creative. I always teach artists to learn both.”
