We’re adding a hip-hop and rap specific pathway to our popular HND course in Scotland, with acclaimed rapper Steg G joining the team to  lead on the module.

We’re so excited to announce a brand-new instrument specific specialism to our widely-popular HND Music course. Hip-hop and Rap will launch for the upcoming academic year for 2020/21, and will be led by industry professionals.  

The course will involve the same care and attention we apply to our contemporary instrument specific classes in songwriting, drums, guitar and more. Uniquely, it will also offer students weekly classes covering songwriting techniques, style analysis and live performance workshops to improve technical aptitude and theoretical understanding. 

Our Scotland team have been working diligently with leading industry professionals over the past year to finally provide this course in an area typically overlooked in music education and we hope that we can continue to not only help prospective students reach their own goals but also provide expert industry experience and advice to prepare them for work as a full-time musician and artist. 

Joining the AMS team in the near year to help deliver the module is Steven Gilfoyle (otherwise known as Steg G). Steg needs little introduction; he has performed with such acts such as 50 Cent and Kayne West over the years and is widely known in Scotland, having won the SAMA award for best hip-hop artist in 2019. 

Steven also works alongside Sunny Govan, a community based radio station based in Glasgow, and has a strong background in community development and education. AMS are so excited for him to be part of the team and look forward to developing and expanding the course alongside him in the years to come.

The Hip-hop and Rap pathway promises:

  • Develop and refine your lyric and writing skills
  • Improve your live performance and production skills
  • Gain experience as a hip-hop artist

Find out more about the HND in Music on the AMS course page.

 

Why hip hop and rap?

Hip-hop is an under taught and under-acknowledged topic in music education, and indeed other kinds of education. No other mainstream music college or further education centre has a course or pathway dedicated to it specifically, and it’s a gap we really want to fill.

Hip-hop originated in the Bronx in New York City in the 70’s and 80’s in marginalised communities of African Americans and Latinto’s predominantly. The culture has since grown into a global phenomenon and arguably the most commercially successful music genre currently. It has influences in street culture, various other music genres, clothes and fashion, dance, and even hairstyles – this all stems from its cultural origins. Critically, while hip hop must be understood first and foremost as an Afircan American/black genre and culture, the music has taken various forms across the world. 

It began as a way for the marginalised to express their condition and experience, it later became more of a commodified global entity. However the power of the forms of hip hop, and rap specifically, as a means of expression is huge – rap involves powerful lyrical play, fascinating linguistic technique; parody, self-reflection, 

Emerging recently have been academic fields focusing on hip hop itself, and specifically the role of a “hip hop pedagogy” (teaching). Hip hop pedagogy argues for the use of hip-hop and rap texts (songs, music video, lyrics) in the teaching of other traditional subjects such as literature or history. While this isn’t quite how we will teach it – focusing on more practical aspects of making your own hip-hop music – we hope this critical understanding of the subject will underpin the work we do. 

We think it’s an under-valued topic all-round, and we hope we can shine some much needed attention on the benefits and cultural impact of this music form, and help students with other aspects of their music practice.

As we lead up to the start of the HND in September, we plan to bring you much more content surrounding the huge impact of hip hop and rap in the world. Stay tuned!

About the HND in Music 

Our unique selling point has always been supporting students with their chosen pathway – the HND, available at AMS centres in Glasgow or Edinburgh, is a perfect example of this.

Accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the HND is written in partnership with education professionals and industry experts, reflecting the current music industry and allows for further progression onto higher levels of study, expanding career opportunities and personal development.

All our tutors and staff are working in music, and our courses are both delivered by and written by musicians. With that comes a great community, common goals and an immediate industry focus that you won’t get at your run of the mill college.

  • Pathway-specific tuition with professional musicians, now including Hip-Hop & Rap
  • Gain a working, comprehensive knowledge of the music industry
  • Perform and organise your own gig in collaboration with other musicians
  • Compose, arrange and record your own music using industry standard software
  • Exclusive access to our Higher Education enrichment programme
  • HNC and HND Units

Find out more on the course page.