If you thought you knew everything about Drake and The Weeknd, you might want to think again, register for a few classes and brush up. The Toronto power forces of hip-hop and R&B will be the subjects of a new college course at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.
The course will be titled RTA 950: Deconstructing Drake and The Weeknd and will explore the chart-breaking careers and success of the two Toronto natives and how they impacted culture around the world. The class will launch in early 2022 and be taught by hip-hop journalist, podcaster and scholar Dalton Higgins who also penned the OVO boss’ 2012 biography Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake.
“Real talk, I’ve been lecturing about hip hop and popular culture at North American universities, – including all the local ones; University of Toronto, York University, etc.- for the last decade. When I wasn’t doing that, I was pushing Hip Hop Pedagogy in high schools, writing chapters and lesson plans for various hip-hop textbooks. But the real fun & deep learning has only really just begun as I’ll be teaching a course about two Toronto-born music titans; Drake & The Weeknd in early 2022,” Higgins announced on Instagram.
Higgins also noted that successful college courses have been taught on other musical stars in the past like Jay-Z and Outkast and their impacts as well as hip-hop culture taking over the globe.
“Why Drake & The Weeknd one might ask? Well, there are great courses out there being taught about numerous rock, folk and pop stars like Miley Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, so why not The Weeknd and Drizzy. Also, I’ve been kicking around the Hip Hop Ed scene for years and have seen some great courses being taught in the USA about Jay Z (Georgetown University), Outkast (Armstrong State University), Beyonce (there are MANY Bey courses; Arizona State, University of Texas; Rutgers University). Plus the University of Arizona offers a minor in Hip Hop Studies, and Mcnally Smith College in Minnesota offered a hip hop diploma.”
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