This article presents Alan Sitomer, an English teacher at Lynwood High School, and how he teaches his students classic literature through hip-hop. These at-risk students attend a severely overcrowded, low-performing school in East Los Angeles that's surrounded by what Sitomer describes as "gangs, guns, and drugs." Prostitutes work the streets just a half mile away from the school, and many kids can't take the most direct route home because it would put them in danger. Life at school is rough, too. There's a campus probation officer who tracks students wearing electronic ankle bracelets and a canine crew regularly sniffs students for drugs and gunpowder. Many of the students are in foster care or come from troubled homes, so it's not surprising that more than 45 percent drop out. But since Sitomer's arrival in the fall of 2000, things have changed--at least for those who have taken his class. This article also offers some tips on how to use hip-hop to students: (1) Begin with a specific learning objective; (2) Choose your hip-hop intelligently; (3) Encourage students to build bridges of relevance between hip-hop and academics; (4) Let your kids educate you; and (5) Acknowledge the reality of today's world.