In this paper, the authors analyze and discuss an initiative aimed at engaging urban youth who are traditionally disengaged in STEM. The initiative focuses on utilizing hip-hop as a tool for bridging the divides between urban high school students' culture and the culture of STEM disciplines. In lieu of traditional classroom assignments, students are provided the space to write songs/raps based on science topics aligned to standards and curricula. Our study uncovers the benefits of this approach to pedagogy, and reports findings on its impact on youth engagement/participation in science.