Lupe Fiasco to Teach Students Hip-Hop at Johns Hopkins
Credit: Theo Wargo / Getty Images Entertainment- The new bachelor of music in hip-hop program will feature one-on-one studio lessons with turntablists and rappers like Lupe Fiasco.
- Students in the program will learn about the genre’s cultural history, style, technique, technology, and more.
- Fiasco will also continue teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and pursue his fellowship at Yale University.
Rap’s “No. 1 Headband” wearer, Lupe Fiasco, will pass his skills to Johns Hopkins University students this fall.
The Grammy winner and veteran hip-hop artist announced his distinguished visiting professorship at the university’s Peabody Institute in the bachelor of music in hip-hop program.
“The @peabodyinstitute is one of the oldest music conservatories in America,” he wrote in his Instagram announcement. “World renowned for its rigorous training and for producing some of the world’s greatest musicians, and I’m honored to contribute to this legacy doing what I love most, rap.”
According to the institute, this degree will be the first hip-hop performance degree in the country and is led by composer, producer, and professor Wendel Patrick. The program will run on one-on-one studio lessons so that turntable majors will work with turntablists, and rap majors will work with artists like Fiasco.
The institute also said students won’t just learn hip-hop techniques. They’ll also learn about the music genre’s history.
“Of course, hip-hop exists in a context, so in addition to your private lessons, you’ll learn about the cultural history and sociopolitical environment in which hip-hop was born; developments in style, technique, and technology; and the genre’s rise in popularity and influence,” according to the institute.
The deadline to apply to the program is Jan. 24, 2025.
Fiasco said he would also continue teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and pursue his fellowship at Yale University.
Music artists are no strangers to the academic scene.
In 2024, Travis Scott worked with sports retailers and digital sports platform Fanatics to launch a collegiate-inspired clothing line with his brand, Cactus Jack. Other artists, like Missy Elliott, have donated to their hometown colleges, and some have even inspired college classes.