A poet’s approach to hip-hop education | Christian Foley | TEDxReigate

On the turntables in August 1973, at a house party in the Bronx, DJ Kool Herc first demonstrated his pioneering "Merry Go Round" technique. Hip-Hop was born. Soon after, MCs emerged, rhyming in the midst of the block parties, by 1979 these MC’s began to have their words sealed in wax.
In the following decades, MC’s began to position themselves as educators, and Hip-Hop began to appear in schools. Hip-Hop educator Christian Foley, through a blend of speech and performance, traces the origins of his profession, journeying into the past to demonstrate why Hip-Hop Education is a revolutionary and disruptive method that has a part to play in future schooling. Christian is one of the only few poets in the world selected to complete a ‘Spoken Word Education Programme’ and Teaching MA at Goldsmiths University, an incentive which was created to transform professional poets into specialised facilitators.
Over the last decade, Christian has worked with thousands of children, and hundreds of teachers, delivering workshops for staff and students. He also works in a number of schools and alternative provisions in East London, as a permanent Poet in Residence. Christian is the editor of, to date, fourteen poetry anthologies written by the young people he teaches.
Christian studies a PhD in ‘Hip-Hop Education’ at Goldsmiths University and is an expert on incorporating rap into the process of learning. His research involves a case study of four teenagers who have been excluded from school, who, under Christian’s supervision, recorded a rap album challenging the societal preconceptions they face.
In the field of music, Christian has released two albums Excommunication and Happy Hour which focus on mental health. Christian, with his expertise on a drum sampler has also produced numerous instrumental Hip-Hop albums.
As an author, Christian’s has written two ‘Hip-Hop picture books’ for Early Years students, The Oddsocktopus (2023) and Some Bears (2024) featuring his trademark tongue twisting rhymes, bringing Hip-Hop to the page. Christian has also published Moving Up (Scholastic, 2024) which is an instructional guide of raps for students arriving at Secondary school in year seven. Christian’s next book Barney’s Rock (Flying Eye, 2025) focuses on the healing and transformative power of music, for children in turbulent times. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@ChristianFoleyRaps]

If you liked the talk, and would like me to visit your school - then get in touch! Thanks, Christian.