![Marginalized youth might be offered opportunity to study hip-hop in Barcelona](https://vintagemediagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3-4-Hip-Hop.jpg)
New York City youth may have a chance to study hip-hop in Barcelona, Spain this year through a growing East Village-based travel non-profit.
The Hip Hop Re:Education Project has been sending youth to Berlin, Germany and New Orleans, La. since 2005. Through an initiative called Travel Agency of Change, the program hopes to raise $12,000 to fund a trip to Barcelona this year. The program is using a website called Indiegogo for its fundraiser, which will end on March 20. At the time of publication, the project has reached a quarter of its goal, with 17 days left to raise funds.
The opportunities are open to those between 18 and 24 years old from all five boroughs. Fabian “Farbeon” Saucedo, the founder of the Hip Hop Re:Education Project, said many of these of these potential students are unemployed and are not attending school.
“They are marginalized and, for whatever reason, traditional institutions aren’t reaching them,” he said.
Saucedo said hip-hop has the potential to become a binding force for disadvantaged children.
“Hip-hop has been given a bad rep because it has been co-opted by media and record labels to sell products,” he explained. “We want to get back to the roots of hip-hop as a community-building force. It was originally used to fight drugs and violence, not to promote them.”
CultureHub is a partner of Travel Agency of Change, and specializes in artistic collaboration. Although European countries are not necessarily associated with hip-hop, Suceado said the burgeoning hip-hop culture in these European cities would be especially interesting for students to explore.
“People used to say other countries are copying what America was doing by adopting hip-hop culture, and maybe in the ’80s that was true,” said Billy Clark, CultureHub’s international program director. “But currently, young German rappers are listening to German pioneers. Now we’re being inspired by German and Spanish rap.”
Another initiative by Travel Agency of Change involves developing curricula in public schools and creating dynamic, yet simple learning methods such as working with a middle school in the Bronx to get seventh graders to write rap songs about their science curriculum.
NYU Steinhardt music education sophomore Nsangi Kariamu said the Hip Hop Re:Education Project’s trips would be an exciting opportunity for students.
“We all think of hip-hop as just an American music genre, so it would be interesting to see if European hip-hop is any different,” Kariamu said. “It would be fascinating to get a different perspective on hip-hop music.”