About me
Dr. Rawls is an avid educator with almost two decades of K-12 teaching experience and
10 years of Higher Education teaching experience. Formerly an Associate Professor of
Instruction at Ohio University and currently an Assistant Professor of Hip Hop Studies at The Ohio State University. Dr. Rawls has presented workshops on the music industry, Hip Hop Education and beat making at several major universities and conferences around the country.
In addition to his work in education, he is also known in the independent hip-hop and
soul music scene for his Hip Hop production. Known as a producer and DJ, (PKA J
Rawls), he first gained prominence on the national scene after his work with Black Star,
a hip hop group comprised of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, Dr. Rawls contributed
production on “Brown Skin Lady” and “Yo, Yeah,” which placed him on the map among
independent hip hop producers. The album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star was
critically acclaimed as one of the best albums of 1998 and was a major force in the late-
1990s underground hip hop explosion. His Columbus-based production company and
record label continues to make an impact on the national hip hop scene, and he is in
demand as a DJ for top clubs and private functions around the country.
Dr. Rawls, alongside his partner in the group JayARE, John Robinson published his first
book, titled Youth Culture Power (YCP). The book, part of Dr. Christopher Emdin’s
#HipHopEd book series via Peter Lang Publishing, aligns with Ladson-Billing’s theory of
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy with a look into Rawls and Robinson’s theory of Youth
Culture Pedagogy (YCP). YCP details the many ways that youth in marginalized
schools identify with hip-hop culture, as well as the ways that culture can be used as a
tool and asset in education. What sets this book apart is that Rawls & Robinson have
created an album to accompany the book. The album consists of J Rawls produced,
jazz-infused hip-hop tracks over which John Robinson rhymes on the state of educating
inner city youth today. Each chapter corresponds to a track from the album, and
throughout the book are scenarios of application in various situations to which all
educators can relate.
Dr. Rawls is also co-creator of the first Hip-Hop Based Education (HHBE) program at
The Patton College of Education at OHIO University. The program, named Hip Hop
Ohio Patton Education (HOPE), is The Patton College’s innovative and progressive
HOPE program prepares pre-service teachers to incorporate culturally relevant
pedagogy into their own teaching styles. Using theoretical constructs from Hip-Hop
Based Education (HHBE), the program teaches the value of hip-hop based education,
culturally relevant pedagogy, and relational pedagogy. This program is the FIRST
program of its kind in Higher Education in the United States.
