Jason Rawls

Known for his music production work with artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Domo Genesis (Odd Future), Capital Steez (Pro Era), Beastie Boys, Del tha Funky Homosapien, Aloe Blacc and more, Dr. Jason Rawls is an educator with over two decades of teaching experience. A leader of the #HipHopEd movement, Dr. Rawls is an Assistant Professor of Hip Hop at THE Ohio State University. He is leading the team that is creating the FIRST Hip Hop Studies program in a School of Music at an R1 university in the United States. Before this, at Ohio University, Dr. Rawls helped develop the first Hip-Hop Based Education program in a College of Education. The program called H.O.P.E. is a series of four courses rooted in Hip-Hop Based Education using both Culturally Relevant and Relational Pedagogy and he was the coordinator of the Brothers R.I.S.E. program at Ohio University. Dr. Rawls is also co-author of a book entitled, Youth Culture Power: A #HipHopEd Guide to Building Teacher-Student Relationships and Increasing Student Engagement. Rawls is also featured in an exhibit on Hip Hop at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.