Hip-hop heavyweight Nas has joined forces with the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute’s Henry Louis Gates and Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute’s Marcyliena Morgan to create the Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellowship. The Harvard University program will provide opportunities for students to research and develop hip-hop centered projects like performance pieces, curriculum planning, and exhibition preparation.
“One thing that drew me to hip-hop was the things Kurtis Blow was saying, the things Melle Mel was saying,” shared Nas who also revealed he had dreams of attending North Carolina State University. “I would ask my folks, ‘What do Run-D.M.C. or Rakim mean by this?’”
“Hip-hop is important like computer science,” he added. “The world is changing. If you want to understand the youth, listen to the music. This is what’s happening right underneath your nose.”
No start date for the fellowship has been given.
