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.Over the past ten years, hip hop classes at our studio have exploded in popularity. We offer hip hop starting with age six through adult. I know it can be a struggle to find fun, age-appropriate hip hop music when the majority of the songs on the radio are about sex, drinking or profanity.
Looking over the playlist selection on this blog, I noticed that I am slacking in the hip hop department. While I teach a variety of genres, hip hop is most definitely not one of them. I can shim sham all day and pirouette with the best of them, but I cannot pop or lock (although it doesn’t stop me from trying!).
Luckily, I have a bunch of great hip hop instructors at my studio who do try to find age-appropriate music that their students love.
Here are their suggestions for finding appropriate music for class (links open in iTunes – The Dance Buzz is a proud iTunes affiliate):
1. Go ‘Old School’ for the younger classes!
To my dismay, apparently the following songs are now considered “old school” by one of my hip hop teachers (she’s 20-something). In any case – look to the past for some fun hip hop songs (although I still recommend checking out the lyrics on older tunes):
Shake It – Aaron Carter
Let’s Get It Started – Black Eyed Peas
U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer
Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) – Michael Jackson
2. Look for young hip hop artists
Ke$ha and Kanye are all grown up and rapping about grown-up subjects. Instead, look for pint-size rappers whose parent won’t let them use four-letter words in their lyrics. The Disney tween stars and starlets also fall under this category.
Suggested Artists: Lil’ Romeo, Willow Smith, China Anne McClain (A.N.T. Farm), Keke Palmer
Lip Gloss – Lil’ Mama
My Baby – Lil’ Romeo
Countdown – Victorious
We Belong to the Music (feat. Miley Cyrus) – Timbaland
The Dance Buzz 