Since then, rap artists have regularly invoked outer space. They have even seen their tracks played on planets other than Earth. In 2012, will.i.am teamed up with NASA to debut his song \u201cReach for the Stars<\/a>\u201d on Mars via the rover called Curiosity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Others in the hip-hop community have been less enthused by interplanetary exploration. In their 2016 song, \u201cThe Space Program,\u201d the legendary rap group, A Tribe Called Quest, casts doubt over whether America\u2019s space program is meant for everyone, namely poor people and people of color.<\/p>\n The group laments that \u201cthey\u201d would prefer to \u201cleave us where we are so they can play among the stars.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re taking off to Mars, got the space vessels overflowing \/ What, you think they want us there? \/ All us n-gg\u2013 not going.\u201d<\/p>\n As a scholar and hip-hop artist<\/a>, I know that how rap lyrics talk about space tells us as much about what is going on Earth as it does our imaginings of beyond.<\/p>\n My view on the future of space exploration hovers somewhere between the optimism of will.i.am and the pessimism of Tribe. That is to say, while I know that space exploration is an inevitable part of the human journey, I also believe that it pays to remember both past and present realities here on Earth, particularly when it comes to issues of race and oppression.<\/p>\n Along those lines, it\u2019s also important to examine how space is viewed, what purpose it will serve and for whom. Will it be for everyone? Or will it be yet another attempt at the expansion of white global dominance?<\/p>\n I believe our world is shaped by the language we use to describe it. Various scholars and Black astronauts \u2013 from aspiring to retired \u2013 have called attention to worrisome language<\/a> being used to describe humanity\u2019s aims and objectives in outer space.<\/p>\n For instance, retired NASA astronaut Leland Melvin \u2013 known as @Astro_Flow<\/a> in the Twittersphere \u2013 has pointed out how it\u2019s problematic to talk about \u201ccolonizing\u201d Mars.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if words like \u2018colonization\u2019 have a different context off-world, on somewhere like Mars, it\u2019s still not OK to use those narratives, because it erases the history of colonization here on our own planet,\u201d Melvin told National Geographic<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n How we talk about outer space can influence whether children of color see themselves going in the future, argues Shelli Brunswick, chief operating officer at the Space Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for space innovation as well as diversity and inclusion<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are not inclined to consider fields where they don\u2019t have a role model or where they can\u2019t find someone with whom they can identify, whether it\u2019s by their race, gender, economic situation, educational background or something else,\u201d Brunswick told The Conversation for this article. \u201cThis is especially true with children.\u201d<\/p>\n As stated by education professor Gloria Ladson-Billings \u2013 a pioneer and proponent of what is known as \u201cculturally relevant pedagogy\u201d \u2013 one effective way<\/a> to inspire students is through hip-hop, one of the top music genres<\/a> in the U.S. and the world.<\/p>\n With those things in mind, anyone concerned with the future of space exploration might do well to consider how America\u2019s classrooms are fitted for sound and what\u2019s playing through the speakers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/streamapse.com\/Magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Rolling_Loud_Fest.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSpace education<\/h2>\n