Tapped In

A Collaborative Thought Approach on Reimagining Positionality, Hip Hop, and Therapy Education

Authors

  • Jian Jones Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
  • Hakeem Leonard Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia, USA
  • Khalilah Johnson University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v25i2.4365

Keywords:

autoethnography, Hip Hop, occupational therapy, music therapy, education

Abstract

“Tapped In: A Collaborative Thought Approach on Reimagining Positionality, Hip Hop, and Therapy Education” explored the processes of three Black therapy educators in predominantly white higher education programs and professions. Two occupational therapistsand one music therapist posed the research question: How does Hip Hop identity influence educational practice and praxis for Black therapy educators? The authors collaborated in acquiring autoethnographic data revealing their stance as tapped-in, tapped-out, and untapped educators. Tap-in, a Hip Hop colloquialism, signifies connection. As tapped-in educators, the authors described their experiences in connectedness with Hip Hop culture while doing, being, and becoming within academia; the progression of life as occupational beings in the role of educators. Findings from thematic analysis exposed collaborative Hip Hop associated themes of Black identity, Black intellectualism, theory, and pedagogy. This article provides considerations for Black academics; toreimagine Hip Hop Futurism as Hip Hop Futurism for Therapy Education. With Hip Hop Futurism for Therapy Education, educators seek to create a more inclusive, diverse, and just future that will empower therapy students, educators, and stakeholders to shapetheir destinies in the face of rapid social change.

Author Biographies

Jian Jones, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA

Jian Jones (she/her) is an assistant professor of occupational therapy in the School of Allied Health Sciences at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. Jones is a licensed and registered occupational therapist, an ACSM certified exercise physiologist, a certified life coach, and certified in the Neonatal Oral-Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS). She is also a 500-hour certified yoga instructor. Her research interests include occupation, identity, mindfulness, well-being, culturally responsive teaching, Black student empowerment, and Hip Hop, as well as critical cultural analysis. Jones is particularly committed to ethnographic and narrative inquiry research that amplifies the significance of diverse lived experiences.

Hakeem Leonard, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia, USA

Hakeem Leonard (he/him) is an associate professor of music therapy and assistant provost for inclusion, diversity, and equity at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. There he has collaborated with colleagues to build a program designed to support holistic development, clinical and cultural reflexivity, and anti-racism. He deeply infused sociocultural identities and lived experience in his teaching, mentoring, and professional journey. Raised in Detroit, Michigan and Columbus, Georgia, with Black culture from the city and southern roots shaping his cultural wealth, he shapes spaces not only with his clinical and research knowledge, but also rooted in culture.

Khalilah Johnson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Khalilah R. Johnson (she/her) is an assistant professor of occupational science and occupational therapy in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Broadly, Dr. Johnson’s research focuses on health services access and participation with racially minoritized people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as developing culturally affirming anti-racist interventions that support their community engagement. Additionally, she is involved in research aimed to address pathways to occupational therapy education for Black students and racial equity in occupational science and occupational therapy curricula.

Author photo, 4365 Jones et al.

Downloads

Published

2025-07-01

How to Cite

Jones, J., Leonard, H., & Johnson, K. (2025). Tapped In: A Collaborative Thought Approach on Reimagining Positionality, Hip Hop, and Therapy Education. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v25i2.4365

Issue

Section

Research