📬 Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.hiphopcansaveamerica.com/newsletter

📘 The book: *Hip Hop Can Save America!* https://www.mannyfaces.com/book

🎤 Watch my TEDx Talk: https://youtu.be/5rRxG1i5iRo?si=jOkW43tVbrYeqdIT

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Discover how Hip Hop and DJ culture are revolutionizing education and support for neurodivergent youth in this powerful episode of "Hip Hop Can Save America." Host Manny Faces sits down with Courtney Willis and JAY*CLIPP, co-founders of Spin the Spectrum, as well as educator Andrew Wang, to discuss how neurodivergent children — including those on the autism spectrum — find connection and empowerment through music production, DJing, beatboxing and more. The conversation taps into the heart of inclusive teaching, showing why Hip Hop’s routines, cyphers, and creative self-expression are a natural fit for autistic and neurodivergent learners.

Spin the Spectrum, based in Dallas, brings together professional DJ training and clinically informed support to create safe, engaging environments for young people with unique communication and sensory needs. Courtney Willis, a seasoned speech-language pathologist, and JAY*CLIPP, a master DJ and instructor, explain how their interdisciplinary approach equips students with social, emotional, and career-building skills—whether they dream of rocking the crowd or simply mastering self-regulation. Real-world student stories illustrate transformative outcomes and highlight how this innovative model builds community, self-confidence, and career opportunities for those historically left out of mainstream music education.

Rounding out the episode, Andrew Wang shares his personal journey as a neurodivergent music educator and researcher, spotlighting the broader movement to incorporate Hip Hop into neuroinclusive classrooms nationwide. If you’re searching for fresh perspectives on music, disability advocacy, or the intersection of Hip Hop and mental health, hit play now!

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share — this is a must-watch for educators, parents, advocates, and anyone who believes in the power of Hip Hop to uplift and transform lives.

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Follow the guests:

Spin the Spectrum — https://www.spinthespectrum.org

Andrew Wang — https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-wang-942138228/

My book: Hip Hop Can Save America! Inspiration for the Nation from a Culture of Innovation" - https://www.mannyfaces.com/book

The Hip Hop Can Save America! media ecosystem (podcast, newsletter, Discord, and more): https://www.hiphopcansaveamerica.com

Support this important, independent cultural journalism: https://www.patreon.com/mannyfaces

📬 Subscribe to the Substack: https://www.hiphopcansaveamerica.com/newsletter

📘 The book: *Hip Hop Can Save America!* https://www.mannyfaces.com/book

🎤 Watch my TEDx Talk: https://youtu.be/5rRxG1i5iRo?si=jOkW43tVbrYeqdIT

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What happens when Hip Hop’s deepest history meets the power of visual storytelling? In this episode of Hip Hop America, Manny Faces sits down with historian Dr. Walter Greason and visual Afrofuturist Tim Fielder, the duo behind "The Graphic History of Hip Hop," a project that has exploded across classrooms, museums, Comic-Cons, and global Hip Hop circles.

Together, we dig into:

🎨 How a simple classroom project became a nationwide phenomenon

📚 Why they chose to tell Hip Hop’s story as a graphic history, not a comic

🌍 The global impact — from NYC schools to the Smithsonian, San Diego Comic-Con, and Senegal

🧠 The role of Hip Hop as pedagogy, historical analysis, and Afrofuturist innovation

🔥 How young people are responding (“middle schoolers literally stormed the room…”)

🕊 Why Hip Hop keeps becoming the blueprint for the future — culturally, politically, and academically

This conversation hits everything from James Brown to Nelson Mandela, Public Enemy to the Native Tongues, the Bronx to Afrofuturism, and the ongoing fight to place Hip Hop where it belongs: at the center of global cultural change.

If you care about Hip Hop, art, education, Black history, visual culture, or the future of storytelling — this is the one.

Get the book: https://www.graphichistorycompany.com

Follow the guests:

Dr. Walter D. Greason — https://www.walterdgreason.com/

Tim Fielder (DieselFunk) — https://www.dieselfunk.com

My book: Hip Hop Can Save America! Inspiration for the Nation from a Culture of Innovation" - https://www.mannyfaces.com/book

The Hip Hop Can Save America! media ecosystem (podcast, newsletter, Discord, and more): https://www.hiphopcansaveamerica.com

Support this important cultural journalism: https://www.patreon.com/mannyfaces

Discover how Hip Hop becomes a powerful force for resistance, community, and transformation in this engaging interview from the "Hip Hop Can Save America" podcast! Host Manny Faces sits down with Ashley Tate, Assistant Professor of Dance at UNC Charlotte and founder of the "To the Beat Y'all: A Hip Hop Symposium" to explore the roots and real impact of street dance, embodied self-affirmation, and the vibrant diversity within Hip Hop culture. Whether you're an artist, educator, parent, community leader, or simply curious about what makes Hip Hop ESSENTIAL to personal and social change, this conversation sheds light on why the mind, body, and soul of Hpi Hop has always been central to its voice.

Get an inside look at the inaugural "To the Beat Y'all Symposium," a three-day celebration of movement, research, and community-building. Ashley shares her motivation for designing a festival that embraces all elements of hip hop—not just MCing or DJing, but also dance, visual art, and scholarship. As she explains: "I just consider hip hop this powerful force for embodied transformation… When they would leave the classroom, a lot of times they felt this new sense of self-worth and their shoulders back, head a little higher... Really understanding that their body is their first home."

Highlights from the episode include why dance is sometimes overlooked in Hip Hop spaces, how community-driven gatherings create lasting connections, and practical ways anyone can engage with Hip Hop culture — artistically, academically, or just for the love of it.

If you want to be inspired by hip hop's power as a "vehicle for creativity and education and social change," this one's for you! Don't miss Ashley's inside scoop and Manny's signature, thought-provoking questions. Hit play, join the conversation, and find out how Hip Hop Can Save America.

TIX/INFO: https://www.tinyurl.com/tothebeatyallsymposium

#HipHopCulture #DanceEducation #CommunityEmpowerment

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📚 This interview also connects to themes from the Cornel West-endorsed book, "Hip Hop Can Save America! Inspiration for the Nation from a Culture of Innovation," showing how Hip Hop provides strategies for education, social justice, mental health, and civic engagement.

Purchase the book here: https://www.hiphopcansaveamerica.com/book

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For more from Manny Faces: https://www.mannyfaces.com

The Hip Hop Can Save America! media ecosystem (podcast, newsletter, Discord, and more): https://www.hiphopcansaveamerica.com

Support this important cultural journalism: https://www.patreon.com/mannyfaces

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Key topics: hip hop symposium organization, dance as resistance and empowerment, movement and rhythm in hip hop, hip hop pedagogy, intersection of art and scholarship, accessibility of hip hop events, research presentations in hip hop, student involvement and poster presentations, visual arts in hip hop culture, community building and networking, inclusivity within hip hop conferences, history and types of hip hop dance, social dances and their significance, street dance and hip hop adjacency, empowerment through body movement, cultural legacy and memory in hip hop, bridging academic and community gaps, creative education and social change, youth contributions to hip hop, authenticity and expression in dance, ecosystem of hip hop arts

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If you believe Hip Hop is more than music—if you see it as a force for unity, creativity, and change—then hit LIKE, drop a COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more interviews, essays, and stories at the intersection of Hip Hop and society.