(T)Rap Music and Language Education: Context of Italian Playful Language Teaching

This paper explores how rap and trap music can be used to teach Italian as a second language. It looks at the close links between music and language learning, showing how rhythm, repetition, and wordplay can help students process and remember language more effectively. Drawing on research in playful language teaching, It is argued that rap—especially its modern trap and drill forms—offers authentic, engaging material that speaks directly to students’ real lives. The article analyses lyrics by Italian rappers, including second-generation artists like Ghali, Mahmood, and Slava, to show how slang, code-switching, and everyday speech can open new paths to cultural understanding. It also reports findings from a lexical study of Marracash, Salmo, and Ghali, revealing the high word density and expressive variety of rap language. Overall, the study suggests that rap can serve as a creative and inclusive tool for teaching language through genuine social expression.