*NEW YORK – Hip Hop Public Health (HHPH), the internationally recognized nonprofit that creates innovative, multimedia public health and education resources to improve health literacy, inspire behavior change and promote health equity, today announced the release of H.Y.P.E. the Breaks: Breakin’ It Down Volume 2. This next installment of the popular H.Y.P.E. series (Helping Young People Energize) is available today in celebration of the 48th birthday of Hip Hop as a musical genre and global cultural force for change. Featuring a suite of 30, two-minute videos or “breaks,” H.Y.P.E. the Breaks: Breakin’ It Down Volume 2 is available free of charge and can be easily downloaded on the HHPH website.
Since its original debut in February 2018, the H.Y.P.E. the Breaks series has inspired millions of young people across the globe to get moving with popular dance moves to original HHPH Hip Hop music. The videos have also been shared in partnership with school districts across the country and incorporated into in-person, remote and hybrid learning environments. The goal of H.Y.P.E. the Breaks: Breakin’ It Down Volume 2 is to reach as many youth as possible, particularly as research shows that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on physical activity had an adverse effect on the mental health and well-being of children and young adults.
The launch of H.Y.P.E. the Breaks: Breakin’ it Down Volume 2 is one of several initiatives that HHPH has launched over the last 18 months. These include the landmark trilogy of COVID-19 safety protocol music video PSAs in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, in New York City, 20 Seconds or More, 20 Segundos o Más, and Behind the Mask – as well as Community Immunity: A Rap Anthology About Vaccines. Launched in February, these edutainment resources promote vaccine literacy in a series of five animated videos featuring legendary rapper and HHPH advisory board member Darryl DMC McDaniels, Hip Hop Public Health founder and Columbia University neurologist Dr. Olajide Williams, and Dr. Monique Hedmann-Maxey aka Docta Mo Flow, rapper and family medicine physician at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Combined, these resources have reached an estimated 10 million people, solidifying HHPH’s voice as a trusted resource for important, life-saving health information that is both culturally relevant and backed by science. All HHPH resources are grounded in art, music and science, and are created from its evidence-based behavior change Multisensory Multilevel Health Education Model .
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“On this day, 48 years ago in the Bronx, DJ Kool Herc’s Back To School Jam spawned the culture that we now know as Hip Hop,” says Lori Rose Benson, noted authority on childhood physical education and Executive Director and CEO of Hip Hop Public Health. “Music is the ultimate human connector, transcending generations, ethnicity and background – and Hip Hop as a culture and as a musical art form lends itself perfectly to encouraging people to move. Through this series, we are developing physical literacy through hip hop dance. Whether you are in school, learning remotely, in limited space settings, need an office or zoom break, or just looking to get energized with your family in the living room, there’s a H.Y.P.E. Break for you – and Hip Hop Public Health is committed to utilizing our creative and scientific resources to motivate and encourage fitness goals for everyone.”
Adds Dr. Olajide Williams, founder of Hip Hop Public Health and tenured Professor of Neurology at Columbia University, Chief of Staff of the Department of Neurology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center:
“We are inspired daily by the transformative power of this art form that, when backed by science, has the power to change behavior and empower communities – especially young people – to take control of their health. Our H.Y.P.E. the Breaks series is an homage to our mission to address childhood obesity and encourage exercise and physical fitness amongst young people around the world. And with the COVID-19 pandemic still requiring many young people to stay at home, it is vital that they have a creative and fun outlet to stay physically and mentally fit.”
About H.Y.P.E. Breakin’ It Down: Volume 2
H.Y.P.E. the Breaks: Breakin’ It Down: Volume 2 series features innovative, fun physical activity “breaks” to energize, invigorate, focus, and motivate. The music is both contemporary and original, featuring the HHPH World Beats soundtrack composed and produced by multi-platinum producer, Q. Worthy. The easy-to-follow choreography, presented by the dynamic Marc Santa Maria, Yxia Olivares and Jamie Drye, literally breaks down Hip Hop dance moves, step-by-step, while demonstrating inclusive, seated modifications and varying levels of intensity designed to support health-related fitness and fundamental movement skills.
In addition, the series works to help navigate the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the various learning environments, and day to day uncertainty that can add stress to our lives. Young people, teachers, and families all need a ‘break’. Toxic stress impacts decision making, disrupts learning, influences sound sleep, and weakens the immune system. The moves demonstrated in the videos can be carried out as transitional activities between long periods of sitting, as individual workouts, or pieced together for longer workouts or a 60-minute dance party.
“Hip Hop represents individual expression and also has references that we can all relate to as a society,” concludes Ms. Benson. “Our H.Y.P.E. the Breaks series is therefore intended to be adaptable and accessible – young people can take it and make it their own and add their own flavor, while creating a love of movement now and for a lifetime!”
The 62 H.Y.P.E. dance and fitness videos range from 2-min, 6-min, 10-min and 15-min – are all available for free to stream or download. The videos are also designed to inspire sharing and social media engagement. The complete social media kit is available at this link: https://hhph.org/sharebreakinitdown2/
The H.Y.P.E. the Breaks series was recently highlighted in a peer-reviewed journal publication, cited for its innovation and impact.
About Hip Hop Public Health
Hip Hop Public Health (HHPH) is an internationally recognized 501c3 organization that creates and implements multimedia public health and education interventions designed to improve health literacy, inspire behavior change and promote health equity. Based in New York City, HHPH was founded in Harlem in 2006 with the mission to empower youth and families around the globe with the knowledge and skills to deepen health literacy and make healthier choices. Through a research-driven developmental process created by Columbia University Neurologist Dr. Olajide Williams (a.k.a. the “Hip Hop Doc”), Hip Hop Public Health works with socially conscious artists, public health leaders, and educational experts to create scalable, highly engaging, culturally relevant music and multimedia “edutainment” tools. All HHPH music, videos, comic books, video games and guidance documents are available for free and can be accessed on its online resource repository. Learn more at www.hhph.org and follow HHPH on social at @HHPHorg
source: Helen Shelton – FinnPartners.com
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