Beats, rhymes, and college life: making a case for mixtape methodology in higher education research

Abstract

In this article, I will do two things: (1) synthesize existing literature exploring critical methodological frameworks that center race and hip-hop in educational contexts; and (2) propose future considerations for research for research, and introduce a new qualitative methodology called mixtaping. The aim of this article is to contribute to a growing body of scholarship supporting the decolonization of methodological practices, by framing minoritized voices – which are in this case, Black men in higher education, who identify as hip-hop artists – as both the subject of research and the producers of new knowledge.

Keywords:

• Hip-hop
• higher education
• Black men
• qualitative methods
• arts-based methods

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Donovan Livingston

Donovan Livingston is an award-winning educator, spoken word poet, and public speaker. In 2016, his Harvard Graduate School of Education convocation address “Lift Off” went viral, reaching over thirteen million views and prompting Hillary Clinton to praise, “It’s young graduates like [Livingston] who make it clear that America’s best days are still ahead.” His convocation address was published as a book in 2017. Livingston began his career in education with the College Advising Corps at UNC and later, NYU. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Livingston went on to earn master’s degrees from Columbia University and Harvard University, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro where he studied the impact of Hip-Hop and spoken word poetry in student experiences in higher education. More specifically, Livingston is interested in understanding how poetics – rooted in Black lyrical, oral traditions – serve as a catalyst for student success. Livingston currently serves as the Senior Director of Program Operations at the Emily Krzyzewski Center in Durham, NC.