André Benito Mountain, a Georgia Southern University alumnus, has been named the director of education at The Hip Hop Museum in New York City, where he will apply a teaching method rooted in hip hop culture. Grice Connect reported that Mountain views the genre not merely as entertainment but as a foundational curriculum that drives curiosity and learning for students globally.
Mountain’s approach, which he terms “def education,” involves deconstructing song lyrics to teach history and language arts while connecting students to their own interests. Grice Connect noted that this strategy previously helped a fifth-grade student from Ethiopia advance three grade levels in reading by integrating Afrobeat into lessons. The educator stated that making students feel seen through their musical preferences allows them to feel capable of academic success.
After spending a decade in school leadership roles, Mountain returned to the classroom to focus directly on youth before securing his position at the Bronx-based museum. Grice Connect reported that his new responsibilities include leading youth entrepreneurship initiatives with Microsoft and developing partnerships with Berklee College of Music and The New York Public Library. Additionally, Mountain recently published a book on urban pedagogy and is scheduled to lecture in the United Kingdom regarding the educational power of the diaspora’s sonic fingerprint.
Mountain credited his time at Georgia Southern with allowing him to merge his identity as an intellectual and a hip hop enthusiast. He described his current work as a continuation of the messaging he began decades ago while spinning records on the university’s student radio station.
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