Hip Hop Theatre: An Avenue for Theatre for Youth: Reclaiming Black Radical Tradition and Centering Urban Youth in Liberatory Performance

The following is an essay I constructed during my doctoral studies while I was still an emerging scholar. This essay explores the intersection of Hip Hop Theatre and Theatre for Youth, arguing that Hip Hop Theatre—rooted in the Black Radical Tradition—is a powerful liberatory tool for African American youth in urban communities. Drawing on the work of Dr. Daniel Banks and Dr. Cedric J. Robinson, the essay examines how integrating culturally relevant Hip Hop narratives into youth theatre can both diversify the field and empower marginalized voices through authentic, resistance-driven performance.
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Donta McGilvery
April 30, 2019
Theory Project

In Say Word: Voices from Hip-Hop Theatre (2011), Dr. Daniel Banks defines and critiques the evolution of Hip Hop Theatre, highlighting its growing popularity and the challenges it faces within mainstream theatrical institutions. Two key challenges he identifies are the lack of informed criticism and the threat of cultural dilution: “Hip Hop Theatre needs reviewers and critics who have the background to assess it based on its aesthetic principles and logic, instead of a more traditionally Eurocentric lens or one that primarily values realism.” He continues, “The second challenge is how Hip Hop Theatre can keep the ‘authenticity’ of the art form while engaging with a market that, by nature, has a history of mass marketing and diluting cultural production” (Banks, 2014, p. 18). These concerns form the foundation of my inquiry. In this essay, I explore the intersection of Hip Hop Theatre and Theatre for Youth (TFY), arguing that their collaboration can offer reciprocal benefits that address these challenges.
Specifically, I ask: What shared challenges do Hip Hop Theatre and TFY face? How might each benefit from the other? What new possibilities emerge when TFY embraces Hip Hop Theatre as part of its canon? Although this essay cannot fully resolve the complex questions Dr. Banks poses, it offers a critical and practice-oriented response by grounding Hip Hop Theatre in the Black Radical Tradition, as Dr. Cedric J. Robinson articulated. I argue that Hip Hop Theatre should be understood as a liberatory practice deeply rooted in resistance—particularly for African American youth in urban communities. While Hip Hop Theatre encompasses multiple genres, this essay focuses on rap as a primary expressive form.
By focusing on Black youth in urban environments, Hip-Hop Theatre can cultivate new generations of artists and critics and reaffirm its revolutionary origins. In turn, Theatre for Youth can evolve into a more inclusive, justice-centered practice that reflects the realities and voices of marginalized communities.
Hip Hop Theatre: Then and Now
Contemporary Hip Hop Theatre integrates elements of urban culture—rap, beatboxing, hip hop dance, and poetry—into staged performances that reflect the concerns and creativity of historically marginalized communities. The term "Hip Hop Theatre" was first coined by Jonzi D, a London-based dancer, emcee, and poet, who envisioned a performative blend that defied traditional theatrical boundaries. Since then, practitioners such as Will Power, Rha Goddess, Danny Hoch, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and others have helped expand the reach of Hip Hop Theatre across cultures and continents.
Importantly, Hip Hop Theatre emerged as a mode of resistance—a response to systemic oppression and marginalization. As Banks reminds us, “Hip Hop Theatre owes a direct debt to the activist and resistant culture of Hip Hop” (Banks, p. 2). This origin story is crucial when considering the tensions that arise as Hip Hop Theatre seeks legitimacy within mainstream institutions. To survive and thrive, Hip Hop Theatre must remain committed to its founding mission: serving as a cultural tool for liberation rather than assimilation.
My argument is not that Hip-Hop Theatre has lost its radical edge, nor do I claim it alone can redress all the systemic injustices facing urban youth. Rather, I call for a re-centering—a return to its core purpose. To do so, Hip-Hop Theatre must intentionally cultivate liberatory practices that uplift marginalized youth, particularly Black youth, who possess the cultural insight and critical acumen to shape the future of the form.
Black Radicalism and the Agency of Youth
One of the fundamental principles of liberation is the recognition of the agency of the oppressed. Hip Hop Theatre, when aligned with the Black Radical Tradition, must affirm the epistemological authority of marginalized youth. As Jonzi D demonstrated by fusing modern and hip hop dance without compartmentalizing his training, Hip Hop Theatre can resist the cultural hierarchies imposed by Eurocentric aesthetic traditions.
Dr. Cedric J. Robinson’s theory of Black Radicalism traces this resistance back to African cultural practices that existed outside and before European capitalist systems. In Black Marxism (1983), Robinson critiques Marxist orthodoxy for centering European proletarian agency and instead foregrounds the revolutionary potential of Black communities shaped by pre-capitalist African traditions. His work affirms the capacity of Black people—particularly those in the margins—to theorize and enact liberation without reliance on Eurocentric paradigms (Johnson & Lubin, 2017, p. 11).
In this spirit, Hip Hop Theatre and Theatre for Youth must recognize the capacity of Black youth to interpret, evaluate, and create culture. These young people already possess sophisticated systems of signification. In urban communities, expressions like “real talk,” “one hundred,” or “facts” serve as markers of authenticity, while phrases such as “he/she finessing” or “fake” signal disingenuousness. These linguistic codes are not arbitrary but grounded in shared experience, cultural memory, and a keen awareness of who and what can be trusted. Black youth know when art is made “with” them versus “at” them. They know when their culture is being honored versus commodified.
A Path Forward: Merging TFY and Hip Hop Theatre
To develop the critical infrastructure that Banks calls for, Hip-Hop Theatre must engage Black youth more deeply. A productive avenue for doing so is through Theatre for Youth (TYF). By integrating Hip-Hop Theatre into TFY, practitioners can build pipelines for youth participation in the arts while diversifying the field of theatre itself. Simultaneously, TFY gains a dynamic, culturally resonant tool for connecting with marginalized communities.

But what does Hip Hop Theatre for Youth look like? Could it be a musical, a skit, or a dramatic play? The answer is all of the above. The key is cultural relevance. Youth-centered Hip Hop Theatre should begin not with the abstract concept of “hip-hop” but with the music, stories, and voices that youth value. Imagine a staged production built around Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap—not only rapping the lyrics but dramatizing the narratives behind them. Such performances would create space for youth to explore their favorite artists' work's artistic, social, and political dimensions, fostering artistic engagement and critical consciousness.
To illustrate this idea, I offer a conceptual example based on Street Lightz, an album by emerging Phoenix-based artist More Sano. Raised in South Central Los Angeles by a single mother, Sano became involved in gang life and was later incarcerated for over a decade. Now, as a performing artist, Sano channels his life story through music that resonates with young people in urban communities. In adapting Street Lightz into a Hip Hop Theatre for Youth production, students could engage with narratives that reflect their own realities—experiencing catharsis, building empathy, and cultivating artistic skills in the process.
Sano’s hypothetical response to being able to perform his favorite music in a theatre in his youth? He would have loved it. His enthusiasm is not incidental—it affirms the power of culturally grounded theatre to inspire new artistic pathways for youth who may never have imagined themselves on stage.
When brought into intentional dialogue, Hip-Hop Theatre and Theatre for Youth hold transformative potential. Practitioners can empower a new generation of artists and critics by reclaiming Hip-Hop Theatre’s roots in Black resistance and embedding it within youth-centered pedagogies. At the same time, Theatre for Youth can move toward a more inclusive, justice-oriented future that includes and is shaped by the voices and visions of marginalized youth.
Banks, Daniel. Say Word! Voices from Hip Hop Theatre. University of Michigan Press, 2014.
Johnson, Gaye Theresa, and Alex Lubin, editors. Futures of Black Radicalism. Verso, 2017.
Robinson, Cedric J. Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition. University of North Carolina Press, 1983.
Robinson, Cedric J. An Anthology of Marxism. University of North Carolina Press, 2019.