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P. Thandi Hicks Harper, PhD is the President of the Youth Popular Culture Institute, Inc. – an organization dedicated to giving a public health and education spin to Hip-Hop culture, including the fostering of positive youth engagement that leads to positive change worldwide. Her theory of change and practical application, coined Hip-Hop Developmenttm in 2006, emphasizes the role that Hip-Hop culture can play in constructively engaging youth, thus leading them to positive, personal, social, educational, and spiritual development.

Dr. Hicks Harper’s concentration is on the transformation of basic research into applied technologies and culturally appropriate communications for children, youth, families, educators, businesses, and public health professionals. She is an educator and staunch advocate for youth. She spends a lot of time listening to young people and primarily works with and for those who live in situations that place them at risk for failure. She is an nationally and internationally recognized expert in researching, writing and designing programs, curriculums and products that effectively use youth popular culture, particularly Hip-Hop, as the contextual backdrop for youth engagement; pedagogy; gang, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS prevention; strengthening families; and rebuilding communities. Hicks Harper is the first in academia, worldwide, to examine rap music as a tool to facilitate learning using quantitative measures as a part of her graduate study at Howard University (1987). Currently she is exploring the use of interactive new media technologies and Hip-Hop Culture for motivatating youth to choose healthy lifestyles, strive for educational achievement, and to engage in strengthening neighborhoods. In addition, her focus is how to best use these tools to effectively engage young parents, youth workers, and educators in efforts to prepare children and youth for successful school and life experiences. Hip-Hop 2 Prevent Drugs (H2PD.Digitally) and Body Parts Rap 4 Kids DVDs are only two of her products.

Dr. Hicks Harper conducts workshops and training, and has served as a consultant to the Executive Office of the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Justice, D.C. Department of Human Services, NAACP, UNCF, Congress of National Black Churches, National Head Start Association, AOL/Time Warner Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Skillman Foundation, Congressional Black Caucus, National Medical Association, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, numerous community-based organizations, colleges and universities, and school systems nationwide. Dr. Hicks Harper has written and published many articles pertinent to Hip-Hop culture and its research-based benefits to health, education and community building. Her most recent book is entitled: Hip-Hop Developmenttm: Exploring Hip-Hop Culture as a Youth Engagement Tool for Successful Community Building. She has also co-authored two books entitled Hip- Hop’s Influence Within Youth Popular Culture: A Catalyst for Reaching Youth with Substance Abuse Prevention Messages and The Status of Black Adolescent Females in the District of Columbia. Dr. Hicks Harper just completed a program curriculum entitled: H2P (Hip-Hop 2 Prevent Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS) – which in 2008 was accepted by the US DHHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. A 5 year study shows the curriculum empirically demonstrating Hip-Hop’s positive effects on adolescent cognition and behavior. Hicks Harper is working on a new book tentatively entitled: What’s Hip-Hop Got 2 Do With It? Understanding the Power of Hip-Hop Culture in Educating America’s Black Youth.

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